WEATHER SYSTEMS

I'm not sure why this album has so few reviews at this point. It's rare for me to obtain an album and listen to it over and over; it maybe happens two or three times per year, and "Weather Systems" is definitely one of those.

Anathema has been among my favorite bands for about 10 years. It was "Judgement" which first attracted me to the band along with "Sleepless" off their first album. I must admit I'm not as much a fan of their albums "A Natural Disaster" and "A Fine Day to Exit", but I'll still listen to them now and then and there's some good stuff to be found on them.

"We're Here Because We're Here" in 2010 was a step up, and I'm especially a fan of "A Simple Mistake", but it never caught on for me like this album. "Untouchable, Part 1" in a great opener with a little bit more energy than they have been displaying on their previous three efforts. "Untouchable, Part 2" is its counterpart, providing the ambient sound Anathema is so good at.

"Lightning Song" is also a highlight for me with a calm first half building into a somewhat hard- rocking 2nd half with great female vocals. I suppose I like the heavier stuff they produce, but I appreciate it more when it's done in moderation.

My favorite track on the album is "Storm Before the Calm". The first half is a ridiculously catchy bass-driven groove that could be the soundtrack for a Tom Cruise movie, but it's much better than that. The 2nd half ties it all together and the line, "this is fucking insane" is perhaps the highlight of the whole listening experience.

The final three songs have a hard time living up to "storm" but are all equally melodic and beautiful in their own right. The album closer, "Internal Landscapes" features a monologue by a man with a near death experience followed by an appropriately peaceful closer where if I close my eyes I feel like I'm flying over the Himalayas. Anathema's music has that effect at its peak and this whole album reaches it over and over. I can't rate it anything less than a masterpiece.