Anastasis

Dead Can Dance | Format: MP3 Music

Product Details

• Original Release Date: August 14, 2012
• Release Date: August 14, 2012
• Label: [PIAS] America
• Copyright: (C) 2012 [PIAS] America
• Total Length: 56:06
• Genres:
  • Alternative Rock
• ASIN: B008S7EPXA
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (115 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,969 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 70 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Richly textured & atmospheric sound for a very satisfying reunion August 14, 2012

By Edel

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Dead Can Dance always produced music that was timeless. It therefore strikes as an evidence that they should come back after a 16 years hiatus. Time has mended their differences, and they now appear as a mature musical couple only too happy to forget the bad memories to show that they have much pleasure creating beautiful music together.

The opening track, "Children Of The Sun", sung by Brendan Perry, introduces the general feel of the album. It is deliciously atmospheric. It is Dead Can Dance as a well-aged wine. Less extravagant than in the past but every bit as elaborate, it delivers a very satisfying feeling of plenitude. The tone of the album is given. Follows the slow and very easy to like "Anabasis" sung by Lisa Gerrard, and "Anastasis" slowly unfolds. It is no longer groundbreaking as their first albums were, more a voyage where they take us by the hand for a luxuriant visit into their sophisticated world.

Never production on a Dead Can Dance opus sounded so polished. Not a moment feels cheap or unchallenging to the ear. Both singers have exceptional voices that suit their style perfectly, and they are at their best here. Lisa Gerrard leads four songs (including one, the opulent "The Return Of The She-King" where her partner joins in at the end), as does Brendan Perry. Eight songs may seem on paper like too simple an effort after 16 years, but all songs are in the five to seven minutes range, and most importantly, there is a sense of unity, an "album feel", that is very powerful in this release. Where the old albums were always original, individual songs didn't always flow as strongly into a sense of unity proper to a definite album. There was sometimes a feeling that each song had its determined personality, and contrast between each song was looked after as much as album cohesion. With "Anastasis", there is a more definite sense of musical entity, and while ethnic flavors are very present (Middle Eastern in "Agape" or Irish in "The Return Of The She-King"), it all blends majestically together into a consistent and coherent mood - and a sumptuous album.

Repeat auditions of Dead Can Dance's long-awaited reunion album have only managed to reinforce my spontaneous conviction that indeed it was worth waiting sixteen years.

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fans Can Dance August 14, 2012

By T. A. Daniel TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Audio CD

It's been 16 years since the duo's last proper studio album. Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry's influence on music is hard to measure, but Dead Can Dance's treatment of world music can be felt far and wide. I'll admit, I was skeptical about the studio reunion ANASTASIS: after 16 years, how could the group possibly maintain their striking sound? Dead Can Dance's style is easily aped, and I feared of an album that featured the band simply going through the motions. I was wrong. ANASTASIS is a fantastic return to form for the duo.

Gerrard and Perry's vocal deliveries are strikingly different, and I feel the differences have grown wider only with timer. Brendan Perry's croon sounds now like an old worn catcher's mitt -- it's a comfortable fit, and while it might have some rough edges, it feels lived-in and experienced. Lisa Gerrard's voice, on the other hand, has a more traditionally elegaic quality to it; her singing often sounds transcendent. The two vocalists duet only once on this album: the penultimate track "Return of the She-King," which serves as one of the best songs on the album.

The opening "Children of the Sun" serves as a highlight track on the record. This atmospheric, Perry-sun track isn't just a good song for the band's album: it's a good song for the band's career. It also points out what may be a defining characteristic for this record: these songs aren't as textured or layered as some of the band's earlier work. This change, however, sees no real diminishing returns in terms of quality -- instead, it feels like the band is comfortable with their creations. They have nothing to prove. The songs of ANASTASIS sound much less like a band trying to imitate world music and more like a group profoundly inspired by traditional music from around the world. This album transports listeners to Egypt, Turkey, Ireland, Russia, and beyond. The orchestration of "Opium" is sweeping and hard to not get lost in. The final track features one of Perry's best performances on the album in "All in Good Time."

While I don't feel like it quite reaches the heights of the group's earlier work, ANASTASIS is a phenomenal reunion album. Long-time fans of Dead Can Dance should absolutely love this album; newcomers to the band would also do well to start listening here. Much of what made Dead Can Dance so powerful is representative on this record. Essential tracks to sample/download: "Return of the She-King," "All in Good Time," and "Children of the Sun."

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Return August 21, 2012

By Edward N. Britto Jr.

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

After about my third listen to this album, I'm finding myself unable to stop.
It is amazing, in fact I would say better than most of their albums as it meets the mark in many aspects, and exceeds in others.

Firstly all of the songs are really well done, and have all the elegant compositional hooks and interesting rhythms you would expect from a Dead Can Dance album, from lush strings to epic horn phrases that seem to lift you as you hear Brandon Perry croon.

My favorite songs (so far) are the "Children of the Sun," an incredible Perry song, "Agape," a hypnotic middle-eastern dance song sung by Lisa Gerrard, and "Amnesia," which I think reminds me of the Brandon Perry of the pre-"Into the Labyrinth," years. Those are just my favorites. The rest of the album is gorgeous.

This album reminds me in many ways of their 1985 released Spleen and Ideal album, and I would even dare say it's better as the sound quality of Anastasis is very good. And yet still the elements that I enjoyed from their later albums in the 90's are apparent such as the complex primal rhythms. "Kiko," in that manner is quite a trip.

All in all an Excellent album! I'm happy they released it.