THE CRESTFALLEN

"The Crestfallen EP" is an EP release by UK doom/death metal act Anathema. The EP was released in 1992 by Peaceville Records.

Back when this album came out I was very much into the Doom/Death metal scene of the early nineties. I considered acts like My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost to be the best thing that ever happened to music. Time has gone by and I´d say my horizon is a bit broader these days, but I still regard those two acts as the best the early nineties doom/death metal scene could muster. Early Anathema is in the same genre and this EP in particular. The problem with Anathema is that they are not quite as intriguing as the aforementioned bands. They were in their early years kind of second division Doom/Death metal if you ask me.

This is of course their debut release (Allthough only an EP the playing time is 33:26 minutes) and maybe I shouldn´t expect too much, but even in those days I remember I wasn´t too impressed with the music on this EP. That might be due to the fact that I already had Anathema´s full-length album debut "Serenades (1993)", which is a far superior release.

Part of the problem with "The Crestfallen EP" is the pretty lifeless sound production which never brings the songs to life. Lead vocalist Darren White really isn´t the best vocalist either. He sounds out of his league here. tired and strained. All this really adds up to an EP that is below average. The musicians aren´t too tight either so what can I say. Hmmm...1 or 2 stars? I´ll have to give this 1.5 stars even though my nostalgic heart has a hard time doing it.

This is not an especially recommendable release. If you want to listen to early Anathema, I´d recommend a purchase of "Serenades (1993)" instead. It´s a worthy purchase with a much better production and some really good songs in the UK Doom/Death style of the early nineties.