When female lead vocalist Cadaveria left Opera IX and formed her own band (also called Cadaveria), some fans of the Italian outfit were worried. Cadaveria did her part to make Opera IX one of the more unusual bands in symphonic black metal, which -- like the death metal/black metal field in general -- is very male-dominated. There have been other death metal and black metal units that had female singers (including France's Hypnosis and Italy's Lifend), but they are definitely the exception instead of the rule. How well would Opera IX fare without Cadaveria, fans wondered? But while her departure was a major loss for Opera, it was by no means a fatal blow. Recorded in 2004, Anphisbena finds a post-Cadaveria lineup -- M the Bard on lead vocals, founder Ossian on guitar, Lunaris on keyboards, Vlad on bass, and Dalamar on drums -- getting along nicely. It's important to remember that Opera is Ossian's band; he founded an early lineup back in 1988 (before they were symphonic black metal and before Cadaveria came on board), and he's no dummy.