Anathema Weather Systems

After Falling Deeper, Anathema's orchestral detour into greatest hitsville, the Liverpool band return with a true follow-up to We're Here Because We're Here. What Falling Deeper accomplished was to make the band comfortable with the string arrangements of Dave Stewart; they're used abundantly - and to great benefit - on Weather Systems (produced by Christer-Andre Cederberg with Daniel and Vincent Cavanagh). Guitarist Daniel has written a set of songs that are more daring, harmonically ambitious, and poetically sophisticated than anything he's previously attempted. Vocalist and occasional keyboardist Vincent arranges them for drummer John Douglas, vocalist Lee Helen Douglas, and help from Cederberg on bass. Piano, acoustic, and electric guitars continue to dominate Anathema's latter-day sound, but strings are now an immense part of their textural architecture…

In the twenty-first century, Anathema have often been mentioned in the same breath as Opeth and Porcupine Tree due to their increased movement towards thoughtful progressive rock structures. It hasn’t always been that way, of course. Like Opeth, the band began life as a totally different musical beast, playing in a melodic death metal style. Shifting line-ups naturally resulted in shifting sounds, and by the time the band signed with the legendary Music For Nations label for their fifth album "Judgement" in 1999, they’d settled on a rather tough but accessible blend of gothy and alternative rock.
Comprising three discs of remastered audio material, "Fine Days 1999-2004" presents a detailed look this important period in the Anathema history, showing the workings of a band very much moving towards the top of their game…

With each release since the mid-'90s, Anathema have pushed their boundaries to the breaking point, creating a prog pop sound of their own. After the universally celebrated Weather Systems in 2012, it was fair to wonder just where else they could go. Produced once more by Christer-André Cederberg, the set is divided into two halves that diverge from one another musically but are lyrically united, reflecting the evolution of an encounter with love, death, grief, yearning, acceptance, transcendence, and spiritual transformation. The first six tracks are grounded in the three-part "Lost Song" suite, appended by Dave Stewart's lush string charts, expansive, emotionally committed vocals by Vincent Cavanagh and Lee Douglas, acoustic piano and strikingly original guitar work from Daniel Cavanagh, John Douglas' keyboards and percussion, Jamie Cavanagh's thrumming basslines, and Daniel Cardoso's brilliant drumming…