A NATURAL DISASTER

To write the follow-up to a career-defining masterpiece like A Fine Day to Exit must have been a daunting task for Anathema. Yet, 2003's A Natural Disaster does not disappoint: although it does not reach the same heights of its predecessor, the album manages to further hone and consolidate the formula of previous releases, while at the same time pushing boundaries in unexplored directions. The quality of A Natural Disaster is even more remarkable considering that it was written during rather difficult times for the band, with mainman Danny Cavanagh even briefly quitting Anathema to join former bandmate Duncan Patterson in Antimatter, before quickly returning to the mothership. Bassist Dave Pybus also left the band during the years between A Fine Day to Exit and A Natural Disaster, and was replaced by yet another Cavanagh brother, Vincent's twin Jamie (who was actually the original bass player of the band back in the 1990s). Meanwhile, John Douglas' sister, Lee, earns a lead spot behind the mic on the iconic title-track of the album, foreshadowing her inclusion in the band's line-up on subsequent releases.

Besides the partially revamped line-up, the other big difference relative to previous albums is that A Natural Disaster was written nearly single-handedly by Danny, with only one song ("Balance") co-written with other band members. This change in songwriting approach is reflected in subtle but significant differences in style and sound. At times, A Natural Disaster feels like a singer-songwriter album of sorts, with intimate tracks like "Are You There?" and "Electricity" built almost exclusively on piano arpeggios, clean guitars and Danny's tentative but emotional vocals. Elsewhere, intriguing electronica and trip-hop influences surface on pieces like the title-track (impossible not to be reminded of Portishead) and "Closer", where an obsessive electric piano motif and menacing vocoder lines give the track a dark futuristic vibe. Post-rock is another detectable influence, with several tracks ("Closer", "Electricity", "Violence") exploiting the crescendo of simple repeated patterns to deliver their emotional payload ? a songwriting trick that will become a trademark of future Anathema's releases. The rest of the album follows more in the footsteps of its predecessor, albeit with a heavier dose of keyboards and programming layers thrown in the mix. "Balance" and "Flying", in particular, are beautiful emotive tracks, perfectly balanced between acoustic and electric instruments and with powerful crescendos in the finale. "Pulled Under at 2000 Metres a Second" is a nervous track, starting slow before exploding in unexpected sonic violence - which is not too dissimilar from what the band had already attempted on "Panic" from A Fine Day to Exit or on the title-track of Judgment.

The result is an album that feels familiar and experimental at the same time. This is great, as the biggest mistake Anathema could have done in following up on a monster-album like A Fine Day to Exit would have been to repeat its songwriting formula. Instead, the injections of new influences and sounds ensure that the album feels sufficiently fresh and varied to escape the perils of being directly compared to the beloved predecessor. The mood and atmosphere of the two albums are also quite different. If A Fine Day to Exit ended with Anathema reaching a temporary peace, a sort of calm after the storm, A Natural Disaster, with its spectral and downcast atmosphere, finds the band plunging straight back into the dark clouds.

The album contains some the absolutely most brilliant songs that Anathema have ever written. "Balance", "Closer", "A Natural Disaster" and "Flying" in particular all feature in my top 10 of Anathema's songs from their 30 years of career and in my top 50 of all-time metal/rock songs. And I am most likely not alone, seeing how these songs have been a regular staple of the band's concert setlist since their release.

Nevertheless, A Natural Disaster is not a faultless album. For one thing, the album lacks that perfect flow between tracks that had made A Fine Day to Exit a record to listen as a whole piece of work. Instead, A Natural Disaster feels slightly disjointed at times, which in part may be due to the fact that the different influences mostly surface in isolation across different groups of songs on the album, rather than smoothly amalgamated throughout. Moreover, some of the songs on A Natural Disaster are somewhat weaker compared to others on this and previous albums. "Harmonium" is a bit of a shallow opener, not really memorable nor spectacular. "Pulled Under at 2000 Metres a Second" feels somewhat derivative and does not have the punch of the tracks it takes inspiration from ("Panic", "Judgment"). The album also closes fairly weakly, with the lengthy and directionless instrumental "Violence" (if there is one thing that Anathema never quite managed to get right, it is instrumental tracks).

Overall, A Natural Disaster is a classy release that consolidates the status of Anathema as one of the leading purveyors of dark atmospheric rock, tastefully combining interesting musical ideas with melodic accessibility and immediacy. While not reaching the level of perfection of a masterpiece like A Fine Day to Exit, it is a worthy follow-up to its predecessor, and remains one of the best albums released by the band in their 30-year long career.

[Originally posted on www.metal-archives.com]