Anathema

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…

Hindsight is a set of unplugged re-recordings of Anathema's own songs from their latter-day, atmospheric period. The band has been increasing the emphasis on acoustic instrumentation ever since they turned away from their doom-death roots, and so the idea of Hindsight seems to have been almost unavoidable. Thankfully, however, unlike most unplugged albums, this one was done in the studio, with obvious care taken to transmit the songs in a new format, as opposed to simply plugging off the distortion pedal and plucking away at the same chords. The songs have been rearranged for an acoustic guitar, piano, and cello, and are barely recognizable, except for the vocals - Vincent Cavanagh's moan is as sad and dejected as ever - and for the parts that were acoustic to begin with, such as most of "Inner Silence"…

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…

The Crestfallen EP (1992). The style of early Anathema was a strange juxtaposition between smooth, melancholy guitar leads and deformed death metal children with one leg longer than the other trying to dance. The rhythms are sometimes absolutely horrible and do not even create distinctive riffs, just juddering patterns that do nothing for atmosphere or heaviness. Many of the riffs are dominated by bass and drums, but when we get something with recognizable shapes and moods it picks up something from the scuzzy production and works a treat, conjuring real feeling with ease. The first two songs definitely have the pick of the riffs and manage to express their anguish a little better: the melodies are also all over them, and these features give the release its character…

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…

Given Anathema's gradual transformation from doom metal merchants to sophisticated prog rockers over the course of many personnel changes since the mid-'90s, an album like Falling Deeper was a logical conceit. The band first revisited select moments from its catalog on the unplugged offering Hindsight in 2008. For some, it foretold the end. Then the band surprised many by returning in 2010 with new ideas and a renewed sense of purpose on the musically and sonically expansive - yet utterly accessible - We're Here Because We're Here, which drew raves from critics and fans alike. But digging into their oeuvre was an unsatisfied hunger for Anathema's founding brothers, Daniel and Vincent Cavanagh (who are in the company of Jamie Cavanagh and John and Lee Helen Douglas here)…

A Vision of A Dying Embrace’contains a night of spellbinding Doom Metal from Anathema’s live show in Krakow, Poland, in 1996. Whilst still reasonably early in the career of the band, and with rhythm guitarist Vincent Cavanagh taking on vocal duties only relatively recently for the sublime The Silent Enigma opus, the set contained a whole selection of now-established classics from Anathema’s first two studio albums and Pentecost III EP, with epics like "A Dying Wish", "Sleepless", and "Mine Is Yours To Drown In" captured in their purest and rawest form in the live setting.

After the mildly disappointing Alternative 4, Anathema strikes back with Judgement. Upon first listen, the music and message seem a bit mellow for these doomy metal moguls. Second listen is like a magical rediscovery of a lost art form, the art of creating simple, depressing hard rock that is so emotionally expressive that it bends one's own constitution. Quiet and introspective on songs like "One Last Goodbye" and "Anyone, Anywhere," Anathema has the ability to spew forth raw, volcanic pain on cuts like "Judgement" and "Pitiless" - the last of which contains the most heart-wrenching solo the Cavanagh brothers have ever penned. Drummer John Douglas also surprises, making an amazing contribution to the album, by writing two of the most memorable songs, "Don't Look Too Far" and "Wings of God." The first is a gorgeous Porcupine Tree-like tune with somewhat upbeat female vocals and melodies…

Although the band Anathema has since gone down a much more atmospheric and melodic route with their music, it's important to note that the group began as one of the pioneers of death doom metal, a style of music similar in its melancholic feeling to what Anathema has done more recently, but much heavier and darker in the one it is executed. With a few demos and this debut 'Serenades', Anathema would be setting the groundwork for a style that has since become much more popular by the likes of bands like Swallow the Sun. Although 'Serenades' is a classic work for its development in that doom metal sound, it is an incredibly hit-or-miss ordeal throughout, and may be better appreciated for its place in history than as a listening experience of its own.