Anabasis Of Conviction CD Review
Independent Release
2019
Progressive Metal
In their short time of life, New York’s Anabasis have managed to carve a niche for themselves within the progressive metal genre and this year has the band planting their foot firmly in the soil with their debut album ‘Of Conviction’.
With ‘Of Conviction’, Anabasis easily manage to avoid many of the pitfalls and clichés which befall many up and coming progressive metal bands; yes, as expected, ‘Of Conviction’ is extremely technical and tracks such as the opening ‘Human Supremacy Illusion’, ‘Until The Dust Clears’ and the title track would easily appeal to fans of Devin Townsend and Periphery with their clean meets harsh vocal delivery and thought provoking lyrics where vocalist Patrick Young’s soulful voice sounds as if someone has attached a decent pair of bollocks onto James LaBrie. Furthermore, each layer, melody and rhythm have a purpose, there isn’t anything here that doesn’t serve a purpose, the beautiful synth and piano soundscapes certainly fill out the sound and stop ‘Of Conviction’ from sounding clinical and soulless, particularly during the serene ‘Rainy Season’, a track which encompasses all the classical prog of Emerson, Lake and Palmer with the tranquillity of Opeth and Porcupine Tree.
The main issue with this album is that there isn’t enough of it, but this provides another reason to play the album repeatedly and with each new play, ‘Of Conviction’ throws something new out, from the almost melodic death metal grooves of ‘Until The Dust Clears’, to the classic Dream Theater John Myung style bass playing during ‘Terminal’ or John Petrucci-esque soaring guitars during the title track.
It is still early in the year, but Anabasis have released one of the most enjoyable progressive metal albums of 2019; it is a fantastic place to start their career and hopefully Anabasis will not leave it too long to follow up this extraordinary piece of work.
Rating : 86/100
MHF Magazine/Adam McCann
