August 9, 2012 • PIAS Recordings
Arguably one of the most important and influential groups of the late '80s/early '90s, Dead Can Dance was too good to last, for a while at least... but after sixteen years they cam back out of nowhere with a new album and it's almost like no time has passed at all.
As usual, it's difficult to describe this album without either going into excruciating detail or overgeneralizing. The music sounds influenced by mostly Indian and Middle Eastern culture, picking back up on the shift the band was already headed towards since their European-styled earlier works with Into the Labyrinth. And they do it well, needless to say; the huge variety of instruments is carefully arranged in a way that is both exotic and accessible.
"Children of the Sun" is the definite standout for a variety of reasons. As the opener, it functions basically as a way of saying "Hey! We're back!"—which is a pretty smart idea. It's also incredibly catchy by darkwave standards, both with its vocal melodies and the backing instruments; practically everything about that track is perfect with a great sense of majesty that the group is known for.
Unfortunately, for me at least, the superiority of that opener makes the rest of the album seem a bit weak in comparison. However it's not much weaker, and there are plenty of very solid tracks to go around ("Agape", "Return of the She-King", and "Opium" are probably my other favorites). They haven't lost their creativity and style during the hiatus, so given that one enjoys their other albums this will be enjoyed as well.
Personally I'm very impressed by Anastasis (if you couldn't tell). I don't know if I'd call it the best Dead Can Dance album yet (that's probably still Within the Realm of a Dying Sun for me, though I haven't been listening to them as much lately as I should be) but it's an absolutely excellent comeback album, and probably up there with the best of this year so far. Definitely recommended.
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