Anata-Under a Stone With No Inscription
Earache/Wicked World-WICK015-January 19th, 2004
By Josh Phillips
2004 has been a year of musical revelation for me. The sheer amount of new and incredible bands thrown my way literally baffles me. You may ask who leads this talented pack of musicians, and the answer to that, my friend, is the enigma known only as
Anata. In their death metal attack,
Anata combine a mixture of brutality and melody. Now, don’t run away because you heard “death metal” and “melody” used in the same sentence.
Anata is, dare I say it, the perfect blend of brutally grooving riffs and melodic leads that will rend your soul. Not unlike their contemporaries
Arghoslent, these Swedish death-metallers have learned how to walk that very narrow line and transcend genre titles that would aim to pin them down. Calling them melodic death metal would be an injustice, as this band really kicks it into overdrive, shredding and leading us down a path of destruction. So for now they’ll remain in that odd middle category known as “brutal death metal with melody” alongside bands such as
The Chasm.
Earlier this year,
Anata put out their latest release,
Under a Stone With No Inscription. A fitting title as this album buries you with its intricacies from beginning to end. Opener, “Shackled to Guilt” gets things started off on the right foot as we are pounded into oblivion by the impressive drumming of Conny Pettersson. We’ll get to hear plenty of this throughout, and we’re also introduced to another of the album’s motifs - riffs that come flying in from every direction. An overall solid opener that gives the listener a good glimpse of where the group is going, this leads us into “A Problem Yet to be Solved.” It’s a song that nicely displays the band’s aforementioned ability to walk the line of brutality and melody. The mayhem begins with a crushing attack, the equivalent of running into a brick wall at full speed, but as we reach the mid-section of the track, a funny thing happens. The tempo changes and leads us into an uplifting, almost happy, melodic run before we are appropriately smacked back down into a dark, swirling pit. Towards the end of the song we have a recurrence of the earlier “happy” run, ending it on a high note. All over the place, yet cohesive. Again, the title given by the band seems to appropriately fit the music with this track.
“Entropy Within” is another solid piece, similar to “Shackled to Guilt” where the powerful riffs and drumming just take control. “Dance to the Song of Apathy” starts off with a mighty growl and speeds away. Throughout the track, the band slows down for a mid-paced run and Fredrik Schälin’s vocals are able to shine through as he criticizes those who do not forge their own path in life. This sets the stage for the climax of the album and perhaps my song of the year, “Sewerages of the Mind.” The drums really carry this cut, moving along at a marching pace, leading us into battle. Conny Pettersson belabors his symbols into submission and a huge lead takes us into Fredrik Schälin’s first vile growls. Everything comes together now and roars ahead. Then, the music suddenly drops out and Schälin’s voice rips away. Now you know
Anata owns your soul and is never letting go. The track continues to march ahead until we’re treated to one of Conny Pettersson’s tasteful drum breaks, which add so much to this album, at around the three and a half minute mark. Lead trade-offs between Schälin and Andreas Allenmark put the cap on this monster of a song.
“Built on Sand” is an absolute thrasher from beginning to end, only releasing us from its grasp long enough to breathe when Schälin slows things down to add extra emphasis to his screams. “Castles, built on sand!” “Under the Debris” features solid lyrics and sporadic, squealing guitars that add an eerie tone to the driving riffs. On “The Drowning” we get a glimpse of bassist Henrik Drake’s ability as the song begins. Midway through, the track slows down and another unexpectedly uplifting passage is revealed, similar to that of “A Problem Yet to be Solved.”
Crunchy, grooving riffs are the key to “Leaving the Spirit Behind.” They are, of course, complemented nicely by the drumming again. Conny Pettersson really takes his role and runs with it on this album. As the last chords from “Leaving the Spirit Behind” ring out, another epic approaches.
“Any Kind of Magic or Miracle” shifts tempo and direction constantly and showcases the ability of all four band members. The constantly shifting guitars and always grooving riffs make this one of my favorite songs on the album. It is the track you knew was coming after listening to the second half of this release, because it combines the best traits of those songs into one epic piece. “Any Kind of Magic or Miracle” also features one of the album’s best leads and even calms down at four and a half minutes for a thoughtful, slow section, that leads into the most epic riffing and soloing since “Sewerages of the Mind.” Schälin’s final leads are one of the definite highlights of an incredible album.
Overall, it is a masterpiece, and almost undoubtedly my album of the year. Solid, consistent, and just damn good,
Anata has built something special and
Under a Stone With No Inscription is proof. They continue to grow and with their latest have jumped to the front of the death metal pack. I cannot wait to see where they go next.
9.5/10
Official Anata Website
Official Earache Records Website
