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Anathema: Judgement
24/06/10 || Altmer
There are few better albums that I have heard than this one. Yes, I can say this with a straight face. There aren’t many albums, that upon acquiring (it was a wild guess to buy this album on my part – a mere whim that I would like it led me to buy an actual copy of this CD), have gotten so many plays that they could be ranked in my top 10 albums of all time. Top 5, probably. I have listened to this band incessantly since my purchase of this record, expanding through their back catalogue – but although much of their discography is high quality (barring the really early metal releases which I never got into), this album is the one with the highest ratio of killer to filler. That is, there is almost no filler on this album. Almost every song on this album absolutely crushes from start to finish, and not in a Bolt Thrower way, but in a melodic, moody, depressive, taking it in the butt kind of way.
Shattered hearts aside, what of the music, boyo? It’s guitar-centric rock. There are lots of traces of the metal heritage still around, with power chord riffs strewn all over the album, but this album showed how far they already were in the transition from metal band to atmospheric rock band, and it combines those two extremes of their sound to the fullest effect – and it drapes itself in a layer of moody acoustic guitars and warm, tender keyboard sounds that envelop rather than distract (you will find no keyboard solos here).
What is more amazing is the really fluid guitar playing of lead axeman Danny Cavanagh. His solos remind me of that greatest of all guitarists, David Gilmour (he of Pink Floyd fame). As far as I am concerned a guitarist can earn no higher praise than a comparison with the big man himself and the fact that his delightful bluesy, heart-wrenching guitar solos rip apart each and every song that they appear in when they pop up is a testament to the skill of the songwriting as well as the soloing. The best example is “One Last Goodbye” – apart from being the best tune that the band ever wrote, it’s also the saddest tune the band ever wrote (dealing with their deceased mother, who passed away during the recording of this album), the solo at the end tears the rest of the album a new asshole by completely embodying the emotion and power that this band contains. If ever a song was perfect for a funeral, it’s this one. In fact, it’s so good that when I heard “One Last Goodbye” for the first time – I listened to it 50 times in a row and forgot about the rest of the album for a while. It’s that amazing.
Another thing I like is how Vincent Cavanagh’s vocals have developed over time: he used to be a shit singer that would almost seem to waver out of tune and never really amplify anything. But he’s learned how to sing really well, and on here, his vocals carry many of the tunes. Sometimes, it is almost like he is on the verge of despair – the raw emotion and character in his voice is what does the trick for me. He has a sound all his own and it makes the album really more fantastic as a whole. Occasionally, he is flanked by the drummer’s sister, for a fabulous duet as in “Parisienne Moonlight” – an extremely gorgeous piano ballad/acoustic guitar combo that rivals the best work of Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morrissette, Vanessa Carlton, Dido and co.
Nowadays Anathema are less of gloom-mongers – apparently they’ve become happy and they’ve started writing even mellower music. But the trademark Anathema sound to me is one where they combine mellow music with a mood in which suicide is an acceptable and fully reasonable option – a mood in which you want to die. This album can induce that kind of feeling, in much the same way that Katatonia have the ability to make you kill yourself if you’re not paying attention to what you’re thinking. Katatonia’s depression is almost squarely manifested by Renkse’s vocals, though – Anathema’s mood is observable in the grander picture. All the parts in a song work in unison and harmony perfectly and form a beautiful, sorry landscape that will take over anyone who cares.
Whenever I don’t know what I want to listen to, I listen to this, on repeat. It’s quite simply one of the few mainstays that is an all-time must on any of my music outlets – pc, mp3 player, stereo, or otherwise. An excellent and timeless album that surely will never receive the recognition from any mainstream sources, or even metalheads, who will dismiss this as cheesy emotional bullshit rock. But they’re looking only on the surface. I like brutal metal as much as the next guy, but this album is closer to my heart than any Morbid Angel riff will ever be. Fucking beautiful.
Recommendation: Remain the same forever. I don’t need anything more.
- Information
- Released: 1999
- Label: Music for Nations
- Website: www.anathema.ws
- Band
- Danny Cavanagh: guitars, acoustic guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
- Vincent Cavanagh: lead vocals, guitar
- John Douglas: drums
- Dave Pybus: bass
- Lee Douglas: female vocals on “Parisienne Moonlight” & “Don’t Look Too Far”
- Dario Patti: piano on “Anyone, Anywhere”
- Tracklist
- 01. Deep
- 02. Pitiless
- 03. Forgotten Hopes
- 04. Destiny is Dead
- 05. Make it Right (F.F.S.)
- 06. One Last Goodbye
- 07. Parisienne Moonlight
- 08. Judgement
- 09. Don’t Look Too Far
- 10. Emotional Winter
- 11. Wings of God
- 12. Anyone, Anywhere
- 13. 2000 & Gone
