The Conductor’s Departure is a solid album, there’s no doubt about it. Conny Pettersson’s masterful drumming is as clean and concise as ever. Allenmark’s guitar riffs are still technical and polished. Drake’s bass lines are still pronounced and complex, and on an optimistic note, are even more evident in this particular work. Schalin’s vocals... well, they’re still Schalin’s vocals. They implement their trademark tempo shifts and steady rhythmic variations, and most of the other elements that fans have grown to know and love. But overall, the album just seems to be lacking something essential; that compelling, cohesive force that separates the great albums from the adequate albums. Many of the songs come across as confusing and incoherent, and one or two are just flat out boring. Perhaps it has something to do with Fredrik Schalin’s ridiculously flamboyant new haircut?

Bad haircuts aside, one thing that hasn’t changed about Anata throughout their career is their consistently phenomenal album artwork, and fortunately, the new album doesn’t disappoint in that regard. Grzegorz Kmin, the genius behind the cover art and design, did a fantastic job of creating art work that seemingly ties in to the conceptual themes of the album. As far as lyrical content, the album revolves around mortal trials and tribulations and the struggle of man and his sanity. This Anata album, as did all of its predecessors, delivers lyrically, conveying a powerful message with articulate language. Fredrik Schalin does a great job with the writing, as always.

Overall, I suppose you could say the album was very decent. Decent, but not excellent. There were a few good tracks, namely “Downward Spiral Into Madness”, “Renunciation”, “Better Grieved than Fooled”, and maybe even the title track, but they simply didn’t stand out enough to set this album in a class of its own. I could be setting the bar a little high, as a long standing Anata fan with ridiculously high expectations of them, but I have to admit that I was mildly disappointed with this one. Though it’s a good release, it’s missing that special something. I can’t stress enough how it just doesn’t hold a candle to their older works, such as The Infernal Depths of Hatred (my personal favorite). Still, I remain staunchly pro-Anata, and I hope their next one encompasses the excellence that the others did. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that Schalin doesn’t get another haircut; it seems to supress his musical prowess.

written by Aura Harris

Playing time: 53.41