Maximum Metal Rating Legend

The one word that comes to mind when listening to "The Conductor's Departure" is schizophrenic. Parts of this CD are straightforward brutal death metal, while the other parts are twisted technical death that would confound many a guitar wizard. This does not mean that some songs are overly technical and some are straight-forward, that would be too easy. Rather, each song is divided in that manner, over and over again throughout the song. While at times it gets pretty trite and difficult to follow, at other times we are treated to some standard-setting death metal riffs. Case in point, the opening riff on "Downward Spiral Into Madness". Sometimes it is too jumbled, other times it is nothing less than masterful. You get the idea that the band has four guitarists at various points of this opus, yet that is obviously not the case. The drumming is simply some of the most technical ever to exist on a death metal album. Very tight, although very diverse with gruesome time changes. Extremely nuanced. The vocals are great, reminding me of David Vincent (think the "Covenant" and "Domination" years). No expenses were spared in producing this album either.

The best part of this album is the melodies. While the riffing styles change throughout, the melodies flow well over and tie them together. The worst part of this album is that the songs are not actually songs in the most basic sense of the word. It seems to be a grand collection of riffs. Seemingly not one riff on "The Conductor's Departure" (album, not just song) is repeated. Thus, there is inconsistency abound. ANATA can best be described here as MORBID ANGEL, BRUTALITY, and NECROPHAGIST getting together to listen to CYNIC and YES. Or, you could imagine early GENESIS set to death metal.