Power of Metal.dk – The album was released in March – how has
the reactions been?
Anubis Gate (Jacob Hansen) – It
has been overwhelming at times. There have been some really fantastic reviews
out there, considering our label is not spending too much time and money on
marketing. The press has been very loyal, and maybe due to its limited number of
fans, the progressive metal fans and press has had their eyes on Anubis Gate for
a while. At least it feels like that.
Power of
Metal.dk – what kind of expectations do you have for ‘The Detached’?
Anubis Gate – You know, as long
as we’re happy with the outcome, we’re satisfied. We are not waiting for reviews
to come in, although we think it’s always fun to hear critique from people, we
just go on with our busy lives with a gut feeling of that we did well this time.
But of course as we put so much time and effort into making an album we’d go out
and buy ourselves, you kinda have your hopes up, that other people would be just
as positive about the album as we are.
Power of
Metal.dk – If you had to chose one song you feel represents Anubis Gate today,
which song would you choose and why? Personally there is no doubt I would pick
‘Options – Going nowhere’ – a breathtaking effort that I feel captures the
essence of Anubis Gate.
Anubis Gate – That’s too hard
for me to do, being so involved in everything in the band. I have some personal
fave songs off the album, but they don’t necessarily represent the overall feel
of Anubis Gate 2009. I think capturing all the emotions and soundscapes of
Anubis Gate, you’re probably not too far off mentioning “Options”. That’s maybe
one of our more progressive songs as well, trying to incorporate a 70’s sci-fi
feel, which I believe not many bands do -:)
Power of Metal.dk – What is the biggest difference between ‘The
Detached’ and ‘Andromeda Unchained’, I feel everything has taken a step
forward, and Jacob’s vocals have been better integrated in the songs…
Anubis Gate – You’re right. We
sort of found the way of writing songs and producing an album on “Andromeda
Unchained”. Things were new to us because of the change of vocalist, plus the
fact that now everyone was writing. It’s a big collective effort that would
never sound the same missing one of the personnel. This “new” way of working was
optimized and we felt that we were heading towards something much stronger,
song-structuring wise, on “The Detached”. That was also why we brought in Martin
Rauff to write us a story that we could use as an overall guide to where the
songs should go. I think we improved in every aspect of what is Anubis Gate.
Power of Metal.dk – The title does off course refer to the
story, how hard was it to create the concept based on Martin Rauff’s original
story?
Anubis Gate – I think Henrik had
a hard time incorporating Martin’s story into his lyrics, but they were in
constant contact, and we were changing stuff until the last minute before I
tracked the vocals… I was even calling Henrik asking about how to do this and
that to fit the atmosphere the best. But the whole storyline was of course
written when we did the finishing up on the songs, and therefore we could
incorporate almost everything from the story into lyrics and music. Be it
soundscapes or words…
Power of
Metal.dk – Jacob & Kim have produced the album - how does the final result
compare to the idea you had going into the studio?
Anubis Gate – Being 5 guys in
the band, you’ll have to compromise. Not only when writing the songs, but also
when recording, mixing and mastering. Everyone has a say, although there are
some of us that – by experience – know a little more about something… I think
everyone was happy with how the mix came out. Some wanted it heavier and some
wanted it softer. We tried to be just in between so nobody would be
disappointed. And I’m talking only about the band here!
Power of
Metal.dk - Tell us a bit about artwork… (which I actually think is awful).
Anubis Gate – Oh, there you see!
You can’t make everyone happy! Haha! We were really looking for a cover that
would fit this story and portray Bilao in some way. I called up Johnny Haven
from The Burning, with whom I’ve been working with before, and he came up with
this idea, and we all went “YEAH!”. I’m really happy with the cover, if it
wasn’t for the pretty dark version that they’re printing. The original that I
have looks better… But we’re not in control when it comes to printing.
Power of Metal.dk – Any touring
plans – any festivals booked?
Anubis Gate – We’re playing Prog
Power Scandinavia Pre Party, which is a small festival in Copenhagen. We’re also
working on some more shows, but we’ll see about that. Nothing’s sure by now.
Power of
Metal.dk – Name the five musical pieces that you want to bring with you when we
send you to hell or heaven!
Anubis Gate – I’d take these
albums with me to heaven:
1. Stina Nordenstam – …and She Closed
Her Eyes
2. ELO – Time
3. Fates Warning – Parallels
4. Jellyfish – Spilt Milk
5. Tina Dickow – Count To Ten
And these ones to hell:
1. Slayer – Reign In Blood
2. Ripping Corpse – Dreaming With the Dead
3. Morbid Angel – Domination
4. Raunchy – Confusion Bay
5. King’s X - Dogman
Power of
Metal.dk - Thank you very much for answering my questions. Do you have any last
rants for our readers?
Anubis Gate – Go to our Myspace
page to check out some of our new songs. If you like it, find a way to get hold
of our album! Thanks!
