Progressive rock; Hard rock; Doom
Latest release: Land of Legends (2019)
Land of Legends (2019)
Land of Legends is the 3rd release from Anno Mundi, a 5 piece group who play a myriad of prog, hard rock, and metal styles. A very fascinating album, pigeonholing it is a hopeless task. Anno Mundi are frequently compared to Ozzy and Black Sabbath, but on Land of Legends, that influence is only apparent on the closer. It could be argued their songcraft is too modern to capture the true mood of the original Sabbath.
The opener is the only "normal" metal track here and has elements of Dream Theater and Candlemass. Not a representative offering, though in context with the rest, maybe it is. Things get very interesting on 'Hyperborea'. Violins, acoustic guitar, analog synthesizers, and experimental voices all then lead to an Iron Maiden like NWOBHM styled epic. This is followed by a short acoustic ballad. The 9 and a half minute 'Hyperway to Knowhere' (what?) follows and is arguably the best song on the album. Starts off in a proggy experimental way with plenty of acoustic guitar. Then a really cool hard rock break hits strong with echoed electric piano and heavy guitars. Excellent guitar solos as well. All this leads to the closer: 5) 'Female Revenge', now there's a title to ponder! We're back to metal, but it's of the rawer early 80s quality (think NWOBHM). Now we finally get some Black Sabbath riffs but with a modern touch in the vocal department. Always enjoy the Hammond organ and piano being interjected in tracks such as these. Really bizarre mix of ideas here.
This is one of those albums that has plenty of growth potential. Non-linear and creative.
6/28/23 (new entry)
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