ETERNITY

This record is the start of a new era for ANATHEMA. Gone for good are the Death Metal vocals, and they would become more PINK FLOYD sounding.The best song for me on the record is "Hope" which was co-written by David Gilmour and is a cover from the Roy Harper and Jimmy Page record called HARPER AND JAGULA. The monologue to open the song was also done by Roy Harper. I really like the guitar line in this one. Duncan Patterson's finger prints are all over this album from the lyrics to the excellent bass playing. Compared to the albums that follow this is a little dingy sounding and the vocals to the songs themselves just aren't as good. Maybe it's because this is the transition album.

The first song "Sentient" has some nice piano and guitar, and ends with some vocal sampling sounding a lot like PINK FLOYD. "Angelica" has a quiet beginning that builds in intensity until the vocals come in. Some emotional guitar on this one."The Beloved" is a rocker, much more aggressive than the first two tracks. Some excellent guitar 4 minutes in. "Eternity Part 1" is emotional much like most of this record, love the line "do you think were forever ?" "Eternity Part II" is atmospheric with a guitar line that comes and goes, some faint spoken vocals 2 1/2 minutes in.

"Suicide Veil" is pretty much a gothic tune, dark and slow, with lots of bass, ending with some beautiful acoustic guitar and rain. "Radiance" kicks in around a minute and gets heavier with synths before 3 minutes. Passionate vocals and guitar after 4 minutes. I love the chorus on "Far Away", and the bass is great too. I like the way the song speeds up at around 4 minutes and then the guitars of Vincent and Daniel shine. "Eternity Part III" is a dark tune that gets heavy with some nice guitar. "Cries On The Wind" features some heavy passages early. Check out the ripping guitar solo after 3 minutes, then the tempo picks up. It ends with spoken vocals. "Ascension" is a melodic instrumental ending emotionally with piano.

A pretty good record but the best is just around the corner. For me "A Fine Day To Exit", "Alternative 4" and "Judgement" are all a level up from this one.