PENTECOST III

Pentecost III is the second EP released by british doom metal ( at the time) band Anathema. My first experience with Anathema was through their debut album Serenades and the video for the track Sweet Tears which was often played on Headbangers Ball back then. I bought Serenades and found it good but never as good as some of my favorite doom metal albums from that time which included Gothic and Shades of God by Paradise Lost, Forest of Equilibrium and The Ethereal Mirror by Cathedral and As the Flower Withers and Turn Loose the Swans by My Dying Bride. Serenades always came second to those albums and still do IMO. Well about the time Pentecost III was released I lost my interest in doom metal and therefore never purchased that one until recently when I found it second hand. I´m glad I did as I really think Anathema has improved since Serenades and become a much more exciting band.

The music is still in the doom metal style with both whispering and growling vocals from Darren White but the songs are better structured, better played and better produced. I will mention the opener Kingdom as the best track here. It´s very melodic and I think that fans of Post metal will recognise the sound of the background guitars. It´s a sound frequently used by bands like Pelican and Isis. This is not Post metal of course but Anathema must have inspired a lot of those bands.

The musicianship has improved considerably since Serenades and the only weak spot is Darren White´s vocals which are still not very good. His growling is weak and his whispering clean vocals are a bit embarresing at times. The music is strong enough to not by ruined by this though.

The production is one of the really positive things about Pentecost III. A really strong production for the time.

The cover is very typical for the style and not that exciting.

I think this EP is very good and I´m a bit surprised at how much I like it. I´ll rate Pentecost III 3 stars and recommend that you start here if you want to hear some of the early music from Anathema. Also note that the playing time is 41:22 minutes and this is an EP. Great value for your money. This is definitely quality.