The Life not Taken (i. Old Pain, New Wounds ii. The Deepest Wound iii. Circular Roads with Straight Lines iv. Leaving Here Tonight v. Worlds Apart vi. Breaking Water) (2020 studio recording)
Deluxe 2CD mediabook version of the 2020 Partial re-recording and remix of the band's celebrated 2009 debut studio album.
With CD of unreleased tracks, including the new single 'Technicolour Afterlife' (written in 2004), and the unreleased 'lost' epic 'The Life not Taken' recorded in 2020 and 2021 by the band's current line-up; and live tracks recorded across the world throughout the band's career.
With full sleeve notes by the band and photography and design by the band's long term collaborator, Tim Neill.
Includes unlimited streaming of 230503 (Deluxe Anniversary Edition)
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
The Life not Taken was written in stages reaching back as far as early 1999 - with ‘Old Pain’, ‘Deepest Wound’ and ‘Leaving Here Tonight’ in particular all parts of the very earliest demos Robbie and I did under the name Anubis. The piece developed with the Circular Roads section being written to serve as a linking section between the two main songs. Worlds Apart was largely written by Steve and myself for our old band over two decades ago and is by a long way the earliest piece of Anubis music. The piece concludes with a triple 12 string ‘Deepest Wound’ reprise that Breaking Water functions as here. It shows just how much this piece changed when we split the song up.
The Life not Taken was recorded for inclusion in its entirety on the original album but the session is long gone. We made a decision to edit it into the three separate songs and discard the instrumentals shortly after Dougie and before Nick joined us. Consequently, this version is completely re-recorded in 2020 by the current line-up of the band and marks the first time Dean and Dougie have ever played on it as a complete piece, with Anton reinterpreting Robbie’s original bass line. Many of the guitar and keyboard solos as well as some of the bass lines are freshly composed for this version and reflect where the current Anubis may have taken the piece had we been together in 2006. The vocals are Robbie’s original 2007/2008 230503 vocals except for the Worlds Apart which had been discarded by the time we tracked vocals - so Robbie has completed the piece by recording the missing section.
At 21:40 it’s certainly the longest Anubis piece to date, and it’s also logical as to why we edited it down on the original CD - it still feels to me a lot more like a medley of shorter songs joined by instrumental sections, unlike Disinfected and Abused which is a bonafide epic length piece. As an idea, starting a debut album with it would have been suicide - especially in Australia in 2009 - even though it contains some very powerful music. The songs are still perhaps more effective in isolation and Breaking Water on the album ended up with a much more original and atmospheric arrangement and much less derivative of 70’s prog - although we’d unashamedly tread that path later on the A Tower of Silence album.
All that considered - ‘The Life not Taken’ is still undoubtedly an important stepping stone to what the band subsequently would become, serving as a blueprint for ‘Disinfected’, The Passing Bell’, ‘A Room with a View’, ‘Pages of Stone’ and to some extent, the two sides of ‘Homeless’.
lyrics
i. Old Pain, New Wounds
(Instrumental)
ii. The Deepest Wound
Listen to the voice that speaks
Without idea or thought
I knew that I could hear it
So I've never gotten caught
Paint my face and show my name
Hide reason from you all
I'd played the part so well
that you'd forgotten that I'd fall
Keep me safe and keep me warm
Keep me from losing sight
Keep me from dreaming same old shit
From night to night to night
I can't think and I can't feel
The way I always was
Hold back the tears and show no fear
Shake and I dissolve
I never had it, I'm bleeding from it,
I never had it, I'm aching for it,
I never had it.
The Deepest Wound
I never stayed, I never left
I'm always in your heart
Another thought, another dream
That's tearing us apart
I found no gain, the pressure held
It's breaking at the seams
One on one, we held the sun
Your laughter turns to screams
You're next to me but far away
I brought what I had sold
See the noise and taste the smell
It burns when I turn cold
Melt the bricks and drink the fire
Discover my insides
My Insides turn to outsides
when I left it all behind
I never had it, I'm bleeding from it
I never had it, I've never lost it
I never known it
The Deepest Wound.
iii. Circular Roads with Straight Lines
(Instrumental)
iv. Leaving Here Tonight
All that I've known
All that I've felt
Everything I've been through
Everyone I've met
Never, ever knew
What it's really like
To hold in the one hand
Believe in the right
Take my wounds
Patch them up tight
Discover my pain
And cure it tonight
One stolen kiss
That cuts like a knife
Scrambled my feelings
Straightened my life
Time has sent me away
Face to face, don't ever stray.
Don't ever...
You never seem to notice
when I know it's right
I've made my decisions
I'm leaving here tonight
Please stop crying
This river of tears
I have to be with her
And spend my life near her
One more time
Look in my eyes
Melt my soul
And say our goodbyes
Break my fall
Keep me safe
And tell everyone
They won't see me again
I can only make it
When the time is right
There's only one future
And it's looking so bright
GIve me all the riches
That life can bring
Open up to me
And you can show me everything
The moments tick away
More than most
I'm clearing out my closet
Like some homeless ghost
GIve me all the memories
Of this lonely taste of life
Cure me of this nightmare
Is the end in sight?
v. Worlds Apart
Time has sent me away
Face to face, don’t ever stray
Heart and mind brewing numb
I never thought it’d be this much fun
Silence breaks this lightning pace
As my seed is sewn in some fertile place
Can I find the answer page?
Worlds apart, we collide in space
vi. Breaking Water
A silver pendant's just the gift
To show you how I feel
It shows you I'm committed
and my feelings are for real
It's hot in here, I need some air
Not much inside this room
I know it's cold, I'll be OK
I'll come back very soon
You take a dive and realise
it's colder than you thought
You cannot breathe, your legs are numb
Your clothes have gotten caught
You fight to rise for air but find
That everything is screwed
She calls your name, you realise
There's nothing you can do
credits
from 230503 (Deluxe Anniversary Edition),
released May 23, 2022
Performed and written by Robert James Moulding, David Eaton, Douglas Skene, Dean Bennison, Steven Eaton and Anthony Stewart
Anubis is a cinematic Progressive Rock band from Sydney, Australia. Formed in 2004.
The band has
released to date 6 studio records to date, 2 live albums and toured Europe twice. The latest album, ‘Homeless’ reached number 4 in the Australian Indie chart in March 2020. ...more
supported by 31 fans who also own “The Life not Taken (i. Old Pain, New Wounds ii. The Deepest Wound iii. Circular Roads with Straight Lines iv. Leaving Here Tonight v. Worlds Apart vi. Breaking Water) (2020 studio recording)”
BBT are standard bearers for modern prog, with a sound that evokes the spirit of those legendary 70s bands whilst managing to also be thoroughly contemporary. It's astonishing that over 30 minutes of music of this quality, with such high production values, is being made available for free - and their full albums are also very reasonably priced... Eleventh Earl of Blah
supported by 30 fans who also own “The Life not Taken (i. Old Pain, New Wounds ii. The Deepest Wound iii. Circular Roads with Straight Lines iv. Leaving Here Tonight v. Worlds Apart vi. Breaking Water) (2020 studio recording)”
Soothfully a phenomenal prog rock album—an instant classic. What motivates me to say so, is the music’s incredible expressiveness & its wonderfully cinematic song structures. Jargon is a very good fit with this band. It is quite evident that the band’s current lineup have great chemistry together & that they share a common affinity to this vein of music. I look forward to their next creation. Drifting Sun are definitely one of prog rock’s brightest lights. Thank you, DS!
9+/10. Alrihkh
The Long Island metal band's third album etches arena-sized hooks into their jagged compositions, deftly balancing experimental and poppy inclinations. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 12, 2022
Sustained by seismic psych riffs, proggy shifts, and vivid sci-fi storytelling, these Milwaukee cosmonauts command respect. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 29, 2023
