| An Illiad of Woes (Demo tape) | 1990 | No Label |
There is actually a little bit of doom on here. Primarily, it is meshed throughout the hateful nastiness that is 'Memento Mori', a song that would be re-recorded and dressed up for 'Pentecost III' a few years later. 'In the Name of the Father' also features a passage here and there in which one can plainly discern the "doomed" Anathema that we all know and love. There is a groove breakdown in 'Echoes of Terror' which segues into that characteristic "distant" Daniel Cavanagh guitar sustain. The recognizable sound of the band is in the notes executed only. Darren White bellows with much less clarity here than on 'The Crestfallen' EP. The drumming is hyperspeed and the riffing, frenzied. As a whole, this sounds much more like your standard fare Sunlight Studios death metal that was so innovative and popular in the underground of the early 1990s.
Lyrically, I think this is some great work. There is little trace of the Victorian morbid romanticism that they would embrace on future definitive releases. Instead, we are treated to some poetic explorations of death, apostasy and perdition which are at a level of maturity above their peers at the time.
I would recommend this release, which can sometimes be found auctioned at ridiculous prices on eBay, solely to the most staunch Anathema fans. If you feel as though your life will end without every piece of Anathema's music at your fingertips, then you need to get your hands on this posthaste! Newcomers to Anathema, however, should start their collections with 'Serenades' or 'The Silent Enigma'.
1. The Lord of Mortal Pestilence
2. Memento Mori
3. In The Name Of The Father
4. Echoes of Terror
Approx. 30 minutes
| All Faith is Lost (Demo tape) | 1991 | No Label |
The demo consists of four tracks. The first one is 'Crestfallen' and also appears on their latter EP 'Crestfallen'. The last one is 'They Die', which also appears on the aforementioned EP and on the debut full-length 'Serenades'. Both songs are hearably recorded earlier than the versions we all know. Production is a bit rough, Darren's voice sounds heavy as always, but the guitar sound is not that well.
The second song on this demo is called 'At One With the Earth' and is rather a plain death-metal song, which is normal if you consider the scene in England at that moment. Even the band logo has a far more "deathish" look to it (have a look on their homepage). 'At One With the Earth' is rough, hard, fast and heavy. The first time I played the song to a friend, he was taking guesses into the Six Feet Under or even Cannibal Corpse directions. He apparently did not recognize Darren's typical voice and was mislead by the raging guitar work and the double-bass drums.
The third song is the title track of the demo, 'All Faith is Lost'. This song is a bit more in the typical Anathema vein again. Slow, mournful, heavily loaden with dark emotions and hypnotizing. You can hear clearly where Anathema is going from here. 'Serenades' is nothing more than a logical evolution: The same talented band, but with money and time to write and record good songs. This demo is definitely worth having!
1. Crestfallen
2. At One with the Earth
3. All Faith Is Lost
4. They Die
Approx. 25 minutes
| Crestfallen (Mcd) | 1992 | Peaceville |
In any case, the Crestfallen EP consists of five songs, each beautiful in its own way. The tempo of the songs is slower than on the demos and the seven inch single of 'They Die'; the title track is about three minutes longer, 'They Die' is a minute longer. The production isn't the best I've heard, but it thankfully does not affect the music in a negative way.
'Everwake' is a slow acoustic piece that reveals a gentle side of Anathema, with Ruth's innocent, crystal clear vocals. 'Crestfallen' is a ten minute epic with a piano intro and a combination of clean and growling vocals, while 'The Sweet Suffering' has a stunningly dark atmosphere and some great lyrics as well. I must not forget the incredibly bittersweet '...And I Lust', the opening track.
In short, simply an impressive EP for such a young band. If you consider yourself a doom-death fan, you should own this one. Period.
1. ...And I Lust
2. The Sweet Suffering
3. Everwake
4. Crestfallen
5. They Die
Approx. 25 minutes
Reviewed by Bojan Janjanin
| Serenades (CD) | 1993 | Peaceville |
The epic, melodic and heavy opus 'Lovelorn rhapsody' is the proud album opener. Vocalist Darren White introduces himself with a soft, spoken voice. Then suddenly, his powerful, ultra deep grunt blows away the all too innocent listener who only discovered Anathema's last few albums and -ignorant about the death metal roots of this band- expected ' Serenades' to be a dark rock album.
Darren White's vocal style is more or less known to most doom fans: especially his 'moaning' and 'wailing' have become the trademark of early Anathema and influenced a lot of doom vocalists. Whether you like those vocals is another question, as many a doom fan has been drawn away from early Anathema because of Darren White's particular singing. Also worth noticing, is the fact that 'Serenades' was actually the last album featuring Darren's ultra deep grunts (as the moaning and wailing takes a predominant place in this album's follow up ' Pentecost III').
Highlights of this album are, except the opening track which is still one of my favourite Anathema tunes, the beautiful, acoustic 'J'ai fait une promesse' and perhaps the most classic Anathema track, the catchy 'Sleepless'. Darren White's lyrics are pretty naïve at times, but they usually depart from an original point of view and contribute to the dark, mysterious atmosphere on this album.
Unfortunately, the last track [Editor note: the bonus track 'Dreaming', only found on the original pressing], is a much too long (25 minutes!), extremely minimastic and annoying ambient tune. However, since it it the last track, you don't need to skip it, so it shouldn't prevent any fan of heavy -and death metal influenced- doom metal to add 'Serenades' to their collection.
1. Lovelorn Rhapsody
2. Sweet Tears
3. J'ai Fait une Promesse
4. They (will always)
5. Sleepless
6. Sleep in Sanity
7. Scars of the Old Stream
8. Under a Veil (of Black Lace)
9. Where Shadows Dance
10. Dreaming: The Romance
Approx. 65 minutes
| Pentecost III (Mcd) | 1995 | Peaceville |
Darren White's vocals are not grunted any more. He uses a very characteristic, wailing singing style that was very original around the time of the release of this work. The only tracks on this album on which we can hear his famous grunt, are the aggressive and heavy 'Memento Mori' (which is a re-recorded track from the band's demo 'An illiad of woes') and the entertaining hidden punkmetal track '666'.
The lyrics are also very original and depressive, contributing to two of the saddest and most doomy tracks in the occidental music history: 'Kingdom' and 'We, the gods'. The endless building up of 'Kingdom', eventually leading to nowhere, creates an usually suffocating and nihilistic atmosphere, while the guitar work sends some first hints towards the evolution of the band's sound in the direction of Pink Floyd worshipping dark rock. This is, in my view, the absolute highlight on this album, although I'm sure that many a doom fan shall object to this, because of the presence of the other masterpiece, 'We, the gods'.
Many a doom fan considers this album the best Anathema ever composed -and they have very good reasons to do so.
1. Kingdom
2. Mine is Yours To Drown In (Ours Is the New Tribe)
3. We, The Gods
4. Pentecost III
5. Memento Mori
6. Nailed to the Cross / 666 (hidden track)
Approx. 41 minutes
| The Silent Enigma (CD) | 1995 | Peaceville |
The album varies from harsh crunchy parts to slow, hypnotic and depressing tunes, and it is certainly a hard one to get into. Listen, for instance, to the everlasting 'Carulean Twilight' and you'll see what I mean. The Silent Enigma departs with 'Restless Oblivion', which is perhaps the strongest of the nine tracks on this record. Other fine songs, with a nice melodic tinge, include 'Shroud of False', 'A Dying Wish' and the title track. The latter being less complex and significantly shorter. Anathema have made a video for that track, where the lads pretend to play on a beautiful location surrounded by mother nature. Not a bad video, that one.
I've read somewhere that a lot of this material has been written in the studio, practically minutes before recording. And it sounds like that to me. Some of the songs are dull, monotone and uninteresting. Whether the guys were pressured by a deadline, or it was the dropping of White that has made writing music more difficult, it doesn't really matter. The Silent Enigma remains one of my least favorite Anathema albums. These guys are capable of more.
1. Restless Oblivion
2. Shroud of Frost
3. ...Alone
4. Sunset of the Age
5. Nocturnal Emission
6. Cerulean Twilight
7. The Silent Enigma
8. A Dying Wish
9. Black Orchid
Approx. 54 minutes
| Eternity (CD) | 1996 | Peaceville |
It's interesting how in a short period of time all of 'The Big Three' bands ventured into unexplored territory. All of them also came across negative responses from old fans, with the fabulous term 'sellout' surfacing. I've never liked that term, so I won't use it to characterize this album. I wouldn't use it anyway since I like this album. Now that we've put that aside, let's concentrate on the important issues.
Eternity is quite different than The Silent Enigma, which is obvious right away. After an instrumental intro, 'Angelica' slightly reveals the new Anathema - a pretty catchy but moving guitar line, gentle clear vocals and keyboards. All of which makes a fine contrast to the harsh opener, 'Restless Oblivion', from the last full-length.
As the album moves along, the first part of the title track and 'The Beloved' are a bit more direct and 'heavier'. 'Hope' clearly stands out with its spoken part and the simple guitar melody. Mind you, this is a cover of Pink Floyd, a band Anathema have been compared to on numerous occasions. A song I most definitely dislike, is the suicidal 'Cries on the Wind'. Vincent's questionable vocal skills are surely the weakest part of the album, which is (also) evident on this track. Fortunately for the band, the sheer quality of the music on the rest of the album makes up for this imperfection.
Eternity, clocking in at just over fifty eight minutes, is the result of a cooperation of four talented musicians. As I've said, this album is different from The Silent Enigma, but under the surface, there's that beautiful sorrowful music that Anathema always provides.
[Editor note: the digipack, with an all red cover, features 2 acoustic bonus tracks]
1. Sentient
2. Angelica
3. The Beloved
4. Eternity Part I
5. Eternity Part II
6. Hope
7. Suicide Veil
8. Radiance
9. Far Away
10. Eternity Part III
11. Cries on the Wind
12. Ascension
Approx. 58 minutes
| A Vision of a Dying Embrace (VHS/DVD) | 1997/2002 | Peaceville |
The promo video section is the better part of the DVD. The first two contain lots of layered film which seems to be intended to go with the flow of the music and to give the band a chance to stand around according to their image. Curiously 'Mine is Yours' was also fitted with a completely misplaced strobe section that must have been intended for a track with a much higher tempo. Then there is the pleasant surprise. 'The Silent Enigma' is both a track of above average quality and with a really decent video with a few maidens and the band amongst some medieval church ruins - definitely the highlight of the DVD. The final video is a very average rock track with a slight touch of absurdness.
The live part starts off well with a nice slow tune. The band played quite decently, actually. It was actually the audience that bothered me the most. The crowd up front all acted like on speed. Even on the slow sections they stubbornly continued to jump around with their kiddy signs in the air as if it was Slayer on stage. It didn't start off that bad, but already halfway through it was beyond silly. However, it should be duly noted that this annoyance is only due to the mosh pit. The remaining audience seemed completely in tune with the music. The stage show was at its most active when Darren White, the vocalist, decided to spray some water from his bottle onto the audience. The remaining live experience was probably good enough for those who'd enjoy the music. For someone who's new to the band, then sound-wise, it seems to be a decent introduction to them.
Finally, there is a small section with six photographs. You can't choose which one to view. Instead, they flicker slowly past you for a little less than a minute while the band plays a short interlude. All the photos are of the band and some of them are almost identical. Completely unnecessary and annoying.
Promos:
1. Sweet Tears
2. Mine is Yours
3. The Silent Enigma
4. Hope
Live in Krakow March '96:
5. Intro
6. Restless Children
7. Shroud of Frost
8. We the Gods
9. Sunset of Age
10. Mine is Yours
11. Sleepless
12. The Silent Enigma
13. A Dying Wish
Approx. 75 minutes
| Alternative 4 (CD) | 1998 | Peaceville |
The first shock I had when this album was released was that Vincent Cavanagh had actually learned how to sing! This is probably the reason that the music sounds less fragile and depressive than on 'Eternity', but it still is a welcome change.
The album mixes feelings of depression, loneliness and pure uncensored hate. No joy can be found on this silver disk, that's for sure. From the painfully depressive intro 'Shroud of False' to the demoralising last track 'Destiny' the listener is taken on a trip that deals with subjects such as lost love, being betrayed, alcoholism, depression and wishing the entire world to end. For example a track like 'Empty' just breathes hate, hate towards people who have betrayed and hurt you while songs like 'Lost Control' and 'Inner Silence' relay a total loss of hope and just want to make you break down and cry eternally.
Perhaps the album can be best described by the lyrics of the song 'Shroud of False': "We are just a moment in time, A blink of an eye, A dream for the blind, Visions from a dying brain, I hope you don't understand".
1. Shroud of False
2. Fragile Dreams
3. Empty
4. Lost Control
5. Re-connect
6. Inner Silence
7. Alternative 4
8. Regret
9. Feel
10. Destiny
Approx. 45 minutes
| Judgement (CD) | 1999 | Music for Nations |
Some of the elements they kept from their previous works, are the general atmosphere of melancholy, the emotional songs and a serious stigma in the eyes of their new audience of being the band that used to play death metal once.
'Judgement' is actually a quality work, featuring some of the most original and emotional rock music you can find in our days and it is a recommendation for all fans of quality music with a dark edge.
But this doesn't guarantee that most doom fans will like this work, especially not the ones that think that bands like f.i. Katatonia are too soft. But in my opinion, it's difficult to ignore the emotional, beautiful music one can find in this work, even if you feel depressed (like me) because so many doom bands abandon their roots and evolved towards a more accesible sound.
1. Deep
2. Pitiless
3. Forgotten Hopes
4. Destiny Is Dead
5. One Last Goodbye
6. Make It Right (F.F.S.)
7. Parisienne Moonlight
8. Don't Look too Far
9. Emotional Winter
10. Wings of God
11. Judgement
12. Anyone, Anywhere
13. 2000 & Gone
Approx. 56 minutes
| Resonance (CD) | 2001 | Peaceville |
Aside from this rant, I must admit that this compilation is a good 'chill out' album. The sequence of these soft, beautiful tracks seems to be part of a natural process. It's pretty remarkable how well old tracks like 'Scars of the old stream' and 'Alone' seem to fit together with more recent tranquil tracks like 'Innersilence' and 'Destiny'. Melody and emotion always went hand in hand with this band and the same thing happens in this 'Resonance' compilation.
The question you always have to ask yourself with this kind of 'greatest hits' compilations, is: 'What does that album offer me that I can't find in the other albums of the band?' The answer regarding this album, depends on the digipack versions and compilation albums with tracks of this band that you have. The acoustic version of 'Far away' and the orchestral version of 'The silent enigma' are bonus tracks from previous releases. Especially the second track is really worth a listen; imagine a whole orchestra playing Anathema! Pure brilliance. The two short Pink Floyd covers 'One of the few' and 'Goodbye cruel world' are also very effective and capture quite well the spirit of the originals. The Bad Religion cover 'Better off dead' however, makes me less enthusiastic, especially because of the mediocre female vocals which keep the sound of this cover far from the typical Anathema sound.
The rest of the tracks come all from the previous Anathema albums. The only two exceptions are mystery track 'Horses' (I still can't figure out where this track comes from) and a live version of the 'Eternity' track 'Angelica'. The sound quality of that second track, is absolutely outrageous. It is clear that the only reason Peaceville chose for this bootleg, is because the Hungarian public seems to go completely crazy during this song. Unfortunately, they go so crazy that it's almost impossible to hear the band performing, probably because the bootleg was taken from amidst the audience! A live track with a bad sound quality and an audience which sounds louder than the band? We're talking about a band that has already performed this track live so many times, so the excuse that it is a rare recording can't be used here. Smells like rip-off to me.
I have quite some mixed feelings about this release (and such retrospective compilations in general), but all in all, this is a nice album. I'll repeat once again though that whether it's worth it or not, depends mostly on which of the 'rare' tracks on this album you already own.
1. Scars Of The Old Stream
2. Everwake
3. J'fait Une Promesse
4. Alone
5. Far Away (Acoustic)
6. Eternity (Part 2)
7. Eternity (Part 3) (Acoustic)
8. Better Off Dead
9. One Of The Few
10. Inner Silence
11. Goodbye Cruel World
12. Destiny
13. The Silent Enigma (Orchestral)
14. Angelica (Live Budapest 1997)
15. Horses
Approx. 50 minutes
| A fine day to Exit (CD) | 2001 | Music for Nations |
So was this album worth the wait? Is this another roller coaster of emotions? Well, I am sad to say that if you ask me, the only emotion that surfaced with me was that of disappointment. While I am sure the die-hard Anathema fans will gobble this one up as they have done with past releases, this album fails to truly catch my attention. Don't get me wrong, this is by no means a bad album. The musicianship is high-quality and there are some nice tracks on there, but the "radioheadish sound" makes me long for the real thing and not some second rate interpretation of this rock band. Unless I put in a real effort, most of the album passes through one ear and right out of the other.
I have no problems with mellow and soft music, but somewhere along the road, Anathema seem to have lost their emotional nature that should be an interwoven part of this type of music. This is something where Anathema could learn from for example Katatonia, who have pulled off their metamorphosis towards emotional rock much more to my liking. The long-winded songs, bland song writing and Vincent's at times truly whiny voice, they simply all seem to miss the sorrow that I am looking for. They try, but it to me it just seems hollow. The spark of sadness seems to have been exinguised and what is left, is a band desperately trying to recapture it. I however am sure most Anathema fans will shed more the one tear when listening to this album and declare me both insane and insensitive.
If I had to point out a few songs that do interest me it would be the nice claustrophobic rocker 'Panic', the more mellow 'Leave no Trace' and the emotional beginning of 'Looking Outside Inside'. 'Pressure', or "The stalker song" as I have already dubbed it due to the line "I don't care where you go, you won't get away from me" also has its good moments. Still overall this is a disappointment for me. A grower? Only time will tell and this is one that is going to need time. a LOT of time.
1. Intro (untitled)
2. Looking Outside Inside
3. Underworld
4. Pressure
5. Release
6. Breaking Down the Barriers
7. Leave No Trace
8. A Fleeting Glimpse
9. Panic
10. A Fine Day to Exit
11. Temporary Peace
Approx. 60 minutes