Anata - The Conductor's Departure Review
by Matt Hensch
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Anata originally captured my attention after I heard some songs from "Under A Stone With No Inscription." The music on that album was technical, brutal and exciting. This was a major plus for me since my love for technical death metal is always expanding and Anata seemed like a band that would never bore me, but I was wrong. I heard some tracks from Anata's 2006 album, "The Conductor's Departure," and I became a bit skeptical because these song seemed to lack any form of energy . Sure it was technical and brutal, but something just made it seem boring. After getting a copy of the album, I found that "The Conductor's Departure" is an album that is creative and different, yet somewhat boring and uninteresting.
Anata is properly labeled a technical death metal band because of their complex musical abilities, and "The Conductor's Departure" operates in that same fashion. There are some moments when guitar players Fredrik Schälin and Andreas Allenmark shred like crazy. "Downward Sprial Into Madness" and "The Great Juggler" show the technical side of Anata's riffs due to their speed and swift note changes. This album also has Anata tampering with melodic riffs on some of the other tracks, yet they still manage to keep their technical edge. The riffs seem a bit boring sometimes, but the guitar work is pretty decent overall. Conny Pettersson's drumming is the highlight of this album. Pettersson is always drumming technical patterns and he never lets down on his drum attack.
Even though "The Conductor's Departure" has its positive aspects, there are some negative points that drag the album down. The biggest mistake made on this album is the production. Production on a typical metal album should sound like the band is playing right in front of you, but this isn't the case on "The Conductor's Departure." Instead of a clear and crisp sound, the production is very muddy and sounds a bit faint. Another complication that infects this album is the vocal work. Schälin's vocals don't match up to his stellar guitar show. His vocals sound rough and a bit forced. Schälin's voice sounds unclear throughout most of the album, but this is mainly because of the muddy production. His vocal patterns seem to be a bit messed up too. The vocal patterns tend to be placed in rough areas that sound like that don't fit the music. Schälin's vocals don't completely suck, they just they don't match Anata's musical style in any proper form.
I did my best to like this album, but it just doesn't seem to be anything special. I really didn't find "The Conductor's Departure" interesting, but it isn't something I'll be disowning any time soon. If you're considering entering the world of Anata, you should start with "Under A Stone With No Inscription" and get used to their sound before trying out "The Conductor's Departure."
CD Info and Links
Anata - The Conductor's Departure Label:MSI Music (import)
Rating:5.6
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