Review and live Photos by Tony Gaskin

Waking the Dead is the second full studio album from the genre defying Anubis. We’ve been promised a much heavier sound on this album with a darker theme to it.

The band consists of an eclectic mix of styles and influences, with Simon Lees on guitars (the former Budgie axe man) bringing the more classic rock sounds, whilst Kev Bartlett on drums does nothing to hide his passion for all things prog. Add to the mix Pete Williamson's background as a session bass player for the likes of space rock legends Hawkwind and Gong, combined with Sarah Co’burns gothic style vocals and you begin to see why it’s difficult to pigeon-hole Anubis, and what gives them that unique sound.

Vocal duties are shared equally by Simon and Sarah, with an interesting concept of alternating the tracks on which they switch from lead to backing vocal, i.e. track 1 sees Sarah with the lead whilst Simon backs, vice versa for track 2 and so on throughout the album. I’m not sure if this was a deliberate ordering of the tracks to create this switching of lead vocals, but either way it almost gives the impression of a concept album with two characters swapping stories.

As I mentioned, we had been promised a darker, heavier album and straight away with the gentle melodic strumming of Simon’s guitar and Sarah’s soothing singing you think “hang on, this ain’t heavy”, but we’re being lulled into a false sense of security as we’re suddenly hit with a rising crescendo of distorted guitars, thumping bass and an avalanche of drums, and thus, the opening track “Locked In” introduces us to the dark world of “Waking the Dead”.

This opening track is a song about despair and desperation and the longing to escape, and the album is full of tracks which delve into the darkest recesses of the human psyche.

Second track on the album, “‘Til It Hurts”, sees the first with Simon taking over lead vocals, again is this a response to the opening track? Who knows, but it is definitely heavier, with the guitars cranked up a notch, with Pantera style riffs this is the most “metal” track on the album in its sound and structure. The lyrics are full of ambiguity, is it about drugs, love, depression? It’s one of those songs that speak to people in different ways, if you think it’s about one thing, then that’s probably most relevant to you at that time

Track three is a dig at organised religion. “My God” tries to make us think about what we believe in and that we don’t need anonymous men in black from far flung cities to dictate how or what we choose to believe in. A cleverly structured song, with dark ominous passages, separated by the calming acoustic guitar and Sarah’s softer vocals.

If you thought that the album couldn’t get much darker and morose, then forget it! Track four, “Without Anaesthetic” starts of with a simple two note tune on the piano with Simon’s melancholic vocals, which draws us into the dark depths of someone’s mind and what happens when those dark thoughts are given release.

So far we’ve had despair, sadness, loss? So how about something harrowing to make you angry? “Abandoned” first saw the light of day on Sarah’s solo EP “Wish”, after she saw a news piece on abandoned orphans in Bulgaria. Here it has been given the full Anubis treatment, and you get an altogether different feel than the original version. On “Wish” the overriding emotion was sadness, but here with the re-vamped version it’s now got an angry, outraged feel to it.

More than half-way through now and the underlying emotional feel to the whole album as so far been difficult to take in all at once, and we’re now faced with another negative emotion – fear.  “Are We There Yet”, looks at our childhood fears, dark rooms and bogeymen, but musically this is probably the best on the album. Simon really lets go with the guitars and there is a great solo in there, whilst the bass and drum lines keep the tension building

Track 7 “Hold Me Now” is my own personal favourite off the album, and on the face of it, is at last a more positive song, but even here we are left with a question. Is it more about a love lost or a love fading? I don’t care really, I just think this is a very well written and performed song with Simon and Sarah’s vocal harmonies giving the impression of two lovers dancing, not quite touching each other, but unable to look away from each other. The use of the acoustic guitar is magical, and this song will leave a lump in your throat.

After the emotional roller coaster ride we’ve been on so far, we’re given the chance to catch our breath with in instrumental interlude.

Track 8 is called “Chenevare”, which is the ancient name for Kinver in Shropshire. It’s starts slowly with a folky feel to it, but is suddenly ripped apart as Simon’s guitar shreds it’s way through some incredible displays of string wizardry, with Pete’s bass rolling along behind, desperate to stay with the pace that Simon and Kev on drums are setting.

The next two songs up are both been lifted off the EP “Avatar”, dusted down, reworked and re-recorded so that the overall feel of the album remains uniform.  ”Above Water”, is another glimpse of something positive, all about helping someone in need, no matter what your own circumstances may be. Again some great vocals from Sarah, with subtle harmonies from Simon this time.

“In Your Mind” was probably a sign of things to come when it first appeared on “Avatar”, this was heavy first time round so not much had to be done to incorporate it into this album, this is the most classic sounding track on the album.

As we draw near to the end of the album, track eleven sees a return to the dark side! “Colourful” is a bitter song about betrayal an failed relationships, but the good thing about this track is some amazing skin work from Kev Bartlett, listen out for his complex drum combinations, a real masterclass.

Kev has a strong influence on the penultimate track as well as he wrote the music for “Dawn Will Never Come”, with Simon penning the lyrics. It’s quite a dramatic, but upbeat track, and with Kev's Prog Rock background, this feels like a huge stadium song, great guitar solos, epic tempo changes and a rousing finale, definitely one to hear on the big stage!

To close the album, we have another instrumental which carries with it a lot of sadness. a strange way to end an album you may think, but “End Game” is all about the passing on of those closest to us, and a celebration of their memory.

To summarize then, this album is dark. There’s no getting away from it, the writing was done through some difficult and traumatic times, and it show through. The negative emotions explored here; anger, betrayal, loss etc are there with us all, and we have to face our own demons at times to accept that we all have a dark side and this album gives us food for thought.

www.anubismusic.co.uk

Waking The Dead is out now on Flying V Records