Fancy a Viennese waltz down the blue Danube? No, ok, well we can leave that to the tourists on those horrible cruise liners then. We are going much closer to the water itself here courtesy of Captain Marrock who is ably assisted on drums by first mate Lukas Schlintl. Apart from being main composer of Anomalie and participating live with Harakiri For The Sky and Schammasch we are informed that the musician grew up on “rural shores of the Danube river.” Naturally it loomed large in his formative years so it is no surprise that on the group’s fifth album he has turned his attention to it as a source of inspiration. Rivers are somewhat mystical entities and have many a tale to tell. If anyone has read fiction by Ben Aaronovitch they will be all too aware of this in regards to those like the Thames in London. Hope and wisdom are mentioned here but so too are the powers of wrath and destruction. Perhaps a life jacket is a good idea, these waters may well get choppy and turbulent.

Presented in the form of post black metal the work of Anomalie has always been enthralling and taken us on a journey and that is exactly what we get here as we enter the waters at ‘Mother Of Stars’ and drift downstream navigating by the wonders of the night-sky. You can follow if you wish to a certain extent as Marrock draws out the narrative in English and via a large array of styles from clean and harmonious to vicious snarls and growls. The sound on the opener is a bit like that made by a dulcimer and is full of mystery and intrigue. Fans of the family of groups centred round the artist may also draw some of the style of The Vision Bleak here and also with Victor Santura in charge of the mix and master this has a suitably powerful sound as the main lines literally dance around like water sprites. Avast, ‘An Unforgiving Tide’ rocks us about and takes us on a jaunty ride, vocals turn a little Gothic with it and the drummer powers up and batters away. There’s even a touch of throat-singing and booming timpani, which brings plenty of dramatic atmosphere into play. There are no shortage of impressive melodies unfolding along the way and along with the clean croons of ‘Perpetual Twilight’ everything soars and glistens in a grandiose fashion that is nothing short of uplifting. The captain growls a bit like a grizzled sea-dog but as foam sprays over the deck, don’t worry though this is far from pirate metal! Mind you when things hit a storm-laden height on the driving ‘Awakening’ you may well feel the need to repel boarders.

The title track transfixed on first listen. With plucked string intro which reminded a bit of Moonspell classic ‘Everything Invaded’ it moves into a shiver down spine inducing melody which really is quite glorious. It gets right under the skin and the vocals expertly carry you off with them. If you just listen to one song, make it this delightfully addictive number. Be prepared though with a doomy demeanour and a chanting verse bringing to mind Santura’s own Triptykon ‘Among Shadows’ drops a dark depressive anchor on proceedings. There’s no shortage of moods and emotions going on here and time is necessary to digest it all. This was an album where things suddenly clicked into place though and rest assured it is well worth spending time with it. Get set to sail at the following links…

(8.5/10 Pete Woods)

https://www.facebook.com/The.Anomalie.Experience

https://artofpropaganda.bandcamp.com/album/riverchild