The Anabasis – Back From Being Gone (2011)

Well, just when I thought 10T Records had unveiled all of its fantastic surprises, which this year have included, TCP’s Fantastic Dreamer, as well as new albums from Mars Hollow, From.UZ, Man on Fire, and Farpoint, they pull another rabbit out of the hat with The Anabasis! I am nominating them for record label of the year if nobody else does!

“The ANABASIS is a progressive rock collaboration project, conceived by USA multi-instrumentalist and composer, Barry Thompson, with lyrics by noted professional author, George Andrade, who is also Executive Producer. A group of extraordinarily talented musicians were recruited from all over the world to take part in the project. The premise was to provide a basic framework for the songs and then to allow the musicians to play their parts with their own style and sound”,

This is a great combination of Mandalaband meets Terra Incognita. If you enjoyed any of their epics, you’ll probably like this one as well. The big difference for me was the inclusion of Ryo Okumoto, of Spock’s Beard, on keyboards. He really does make an incredible difference in the sound and quality of this album. An example of how important Okumoto’s keys are to the mix comes in right around the 13 and a half minute mark, of “Egypt”. He joins in with a nice slower keyboard/synth solo to save the song from being overwhelmed by too much of Pellek Åsly’s lead vocals. The guitar soloing also helps give Pellek Åsly’s vocals a break. The slower pace of the second half of the track brings out the good quality of his vocals from the first three songs of the album.

Speaking of epics, there are only six tracks on the album; the shortest comes in at 5:48, so fans of epic long tracks, this is your feast to devour. The longest track, “Egypt” clocks in at over 23 minutes.

As with all epic albums, you have the excellent with the good. For me the strongest side of the album includes the first three songs. The final three songs feature too much of Per Fredrik Pellek Åsly’s loud vocals, except for the second half of “Egypt”.

01.Rome (14:11)
I.Prologue
II.Back To The Future (Part 1)
III.The Sands of Time (Part 1)
IV.The Final Word
V.Playing With Fire
02.Fly (6:47)
03.Carpe Diem (5:47)
04.Vikings (17:28)
I.Lindisfarne Abbey 793AD.
II.Mercia 877AD
III.Along The Fjords
IV.A Price To Pray
05.Epiphany (5:54)
06.Egypt (23:52)
I.The Sands of Time
II.The End and The Beginning
III.Along The Nile
IV.Back To The Future
V.The Sands of Time (Reprise)

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