Anubis - Sibuna

Anubis is a new band that features the talents of a man well known to Alloutguitar readers and audiences throughout the UK - Simon Lees. Simon won the Guitarist of The Year title in 1998 and featured in the very first issue of alloutguitar.com back in September 2006. Simon joined classic rockers Budgie for a couple of years, and his storming set was one of the highlights at Allout Guitarfest last year - so we were all looking forward to hearing this album...

The lush Egyptian themed packaging along with the bands pseudonyms 'Isis', 'The Sphinx' etc leave you in no doubt as to the music's general concept, so without further ado lets dig in and check out what's on offer!

Overview!

Little Picture' opens up with some vaguely Eastern riffs from Mr Lees and fellow axe partner in crime Andy Hart.With it's combination of almost narrator vocals combined with a harmony vocal laden chorus this brings up an interesting amount of musical reference points including Evanescence - and even Celtic/ folk rock elements to 'Isis' (aka Sarah Co'burn) vocal approach.

'The Pharaoh' instrumental interlude between the opening track and 'Your World' is absolute guitar nirvana - Simon Lees super charged melodic guitar providing dramatic and eloquent soloing. Simon really is one of the very best guitar players operating in the melodic rock sphere in the world today - he really is the complete package! Such vibrato as well! Simon is an irresistible combination of players such as Doug Aldrich, John Norum, Kee Marchello, John Sykes, Jake E Lee and prime era Viv Campbell. It is a travesty that he is not better known...

Fellow axe slinger Andy Hart proves to be an admirable comrade in arms - a new name to me but a guitarist worthy of further investigation as he is a phenomenal player as well!

Towards the end there is a Randy Rhoads/Yngwie/Macalpine-esque arpeggio sequence - and when this speeds up check out the Nuno Bettancourt/Greg Howe style legato muting before an almost Cacophony-esque (Jason Becker/Marty Friedman) sweep picked finale.

'Your World' is a mid paced moody track again coming from the Evanescence school of rock - although with lots of Lees/Hart picked harmonics in the chugging riffs. This works well enough in its present state - although sonically it veers a little too closely too a glorified demo: with lashings of big keyboards and massed vocal harmonies this could very effective.

'Stalked By Sadness' is a balladic epic, melodic and powerful - and with some stunning guitar. Simon takes lead vocals on this and this is a great vocal performance - indeed should Simon ever tire of the One Man Rock Show and his teaching, we all felt that he could do with investigating a career in musicals.

'Magic Carpet' is an Eastern themed rocker with Mr Lees on lead vocals again - lots of harmonic minor riffage, and again a highlight is a Blackmore tinged solo which just takes off! Dig the Viv Campbell style picked harmonics midway through as well!

Track Eight 'No One Is Immortal' is another Simon Lees led track and has provided much hilarity at AOG HQ as it's a bloody good classic Ozzy track - but one that is a damned site stronger than anything the Double O has released in literally decades. From the Ozzy-esque vocals and classic Jake E Lee style riffage (with a hint of George Lynch) to the smoking old school Zakk Wylde solo - i.e. from the days when he was really hot a la 'No Rest For The Wicked Days' - as opposed to the dial it in pentatonic shredding that he indulges in nowadays... something to discuss at a later date methinks! Andy Hart deserves

Surely this is a Grade A calling card for Simon should Ozzy ever go hunting for another guitar slinger and do the honourable thing and goes for a hot Brit instead of yet another tired face on the LA scene...

'Dual On The Nile' is a driving rock instrumental with shades of Satriani and Vai, but with lots of Eastern melodies to spice it up before a track familiar with all who have seen Simon at his many live appearances - and was one of the highlights of thee recent Allout Guitarfest 'Angry Dolphins'. Again keeping with the harmonic minor/Phrygian dominant theme of much of the album this has loads of those inimitable Mr Lees guitar lines and fantastic tone.

The album proper concludes we have the 'Your World Vampire Waltz' which acts as a fitting conclusion to the album, reiterating many melodic themes introduced over the course of an adventurous album and with it's appropriately 3/4 steel string finale is an appropriate coda to the album.

There are two guitar instrumentals/backing tracks as bonus tracks including the sublime 'Stalked By Sadness Instrumental' and 'Anubian Dream' which, is a laid back almost 'trance' track with lots of Mediterranean/eastern acoustic styling form Mr Lees.

Conclusion

This is an interesting album that, on the whole, works very well. If I were to have any criticisms it is that the production quality is a shade uneven - the drums and bass in particular on certain tracks could be clearer - but without any hesitation I can recommend this to those who want their rock outside of the norm -and it goes without saying that fans of kinetic beautifully played rock/80's metal guitar should purchase this without further ado. Nice one!