ANATHEMA

The opening is very strong. Harmonium is a great textured rock. Similar to the previous album, the arrangement is rich with guitar effects and background synths. But it also brings back a heavier theme into Anathema's sound, a clear nod to their doom past. Next on are the two highlights of the album. Balance is a brooding crescendo that amounts to uncontrollable washes of sound on Closer. Both are very emotive pieces, featuring a watery organ sound that reminds me of Zeppelin's No Quarter. Closer is the most adventurous, with a repetitive mantra of uncanny vocoder voices. The discharge at the end is quite intense.

Unfortunately, the album loses its grip from then on. Are You There is a nice song bound to please many listeners but it has never done much to me, a bit too plaintive really. Childhood's Dream set a nice atmosphere, that could have worked if Pulled Under had been a stronger track. But the melodies have something too Roger Waters that I cant' put my finger on. Also the music isn't but a straightforward rocker without much interesting developments.

The title track is a delight though. Sung by Lee Douglas, the melodious female vocals are a relief after Cavanagh's rather grating tone on the preceding track. A Natural Disaster is rather sparse, slow bass chords and dry drums, the clean electric guitars add a minimal touch of minor chords. The gorgeous melody of the vocal gets all focus. Simply beautiful. Also Flying is a fine piece of mood rock, especially the gothic guitar lines at the end are very touching.

Electricity is an unexpected drop in quality. It's nothing bad but isn't this a Sigur Ross rip-off? The closing 10 minutes of Violence are completely redundant. It simply repeats the guitar lines from the last minutes of Flying on piano and gradually builds up to a short noisy climax in typical post-rock fashion. The last 6 minutes of it provide nothing more then a bit of loitering atmospheric piano and mellow synth strings.

I'd like to, but really can't give more then 3 stars. 4 would mean I rate it on the same level as Alternative 4, a landmark album that sits miles above this Natural Disaster. 3.5 rounded down will have to do.

Anathema's imminent change towards more laid-back atmospheric rock pops up here on plenty of occasions. For instance in the moody chord picking intro of Restless Oblivion and a clearly Fields of the Nephilim-inspired Nocturnal Emission. There's also the acoustic pastoral moment Alone. As on the title track, also the influence from Celtic Frost is quite prominent. Some songs have a loose and lengthy structure, featuring melodious lead guitars and atmospheric synths. Elements that might win over the more gloomy prog fans here.

The attention for atmospherics, the organic song development and the entrancing repetitive nature of the music would serve as a huge inspiration for Agalloch. Still, the dominant features of this album are the oppressively slow doom dirges and the gruff vocals, this time from Vincent Cavanagh. It's a vocal style that suits him pretty well here. He doesn't have full control of his voice but he delivers with a unrelenting conviction. He would soon give it up this gruff style in favour of a more melodic approach.

The Silent Enigma isn't on the same level as the breakthrough albums of Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride, but still it provides a good case why they were listed with those two other bands as the instigators of the doom death metal.

A good 10 years later, the American band known as Agalloch would take the rough material of this album, add some early Katatonia to it and mould everything into one of the most beautiful dark rock albums ever. By consequence, this Anathema album might be worth seeking out if you're curious about their doom death roots. 3.5 stars

A Natural Disaster is much more restrained than any previous Anathema release, even by Judgement's standard. This does not mean the magic has gone, but it does force the listener to focus on other aspects of the overall sound. The album heavily focuses around themes of trust, and the relations between people. Again, Anathema is lyrically strong, neither falling into cliches, not abstract nonsensical drabble. Vocally, this is one of the most diverse band efforts yet, Vincent Cavanagh carries the album well, including a lovely distorted electronic section on "Closer". There are obvious hints to Pink Floyd in the album, borrowing themes and concepts throughout, but still maintaining a characteristic Anathema sound. Several tracks including "Flying" and "Violence" are highly commendable efforts that ultimately drag the album towards an interesting climax. Amid a melee of guitar and percussion thrash, "Violence" builds up to what would normally end in a violent thump of mid tempo metal, instead it quitely subsides into ambient minimalism. I was initially underwhelmed by the restraint shown by the band, however, such restraint comes across as a much more mature effort.

I have to give the benefit of the doubt here to Anathema. A Natural Disaster lacks the impact and power of Alternative 4 or Judgement, but it gains somewhat in maturity and sonic diversity. The concepts and instrumentation developed throughout the album seem like a good move for the band; but it simply lacks a certain punch and power that would push it beyond a slightly undewhelming but solid 3.5/4 stars.

Kingdome is a doom-death classic. It's impossible not to hear the defining influence on Katatonia and especially on Agalloch. Mine Is Yours is almost literally early Swans, an insanely heavy American post-punk band that would also serve as a huge inspiration on Neurosis. Anathema make a worthy and respectful tribute out of it. We The Gods can't maintain the quality, sounding rather tedious and uninspired. After 2 minutes of eerie feedback, Pentecost III goes for a full Swans attack again. If you like this stuff, pick up their albums Filth, Greed or Children of God. Similar to We The Gods, Memento Mori can't capture the drive of the opening tracks.

The 2004 CD-issue also contains Anathema's first EP The Crestfallen. On it's own it has hardly any convincing material, but the delightful dreamy acoustic piece Everwake is all it takes really to lift the 2.5 star rating of Pentecost III to 3 stars.

The opening And I Lust is quite strong, oppressive, as doom should be, but it also contains melodic lead guitars that give it that typical romantic flavour in doom-death. A flowering rose amidst filth, decadence and decay. The Sweet Suffering could have been equally intriguing, but it lacks something truly memorable. Everwake is a delightful acoustic piece sung by an unaccredited female vocalist. It makes a strange appearance here and would have sounded more at ease on Anathema's later masterpiece Judgement.

The last two songs are from an earlier recording session (which is a flattering description for a one-mike recording in their uncle's basement). They are unlistenable for me, sounding monotonous and chaotic. More something of a statement then music to be listened to. Don't even consider buying this, even if you're a fan, like I am.

On the whole, this is a very aesthetically pleasing album. All of the melodies and harmonies are finely crafted to make for a very smooth listen. But there is nothing here that makes me think 'wow, this is great stuff!' There are, perhaps, a few moments that hint at amazing climaxes (the high point of Re-Connect, the climatic melody of Regret) but it all falls a little short.

One of the big problems I have with this album, admittedly, is the lyrics. I'm not against depressing lyrics - they can make a good song great, when done right - but I'm also an advocate of the old writer's rule 'show, don't tell.' Admittedly, musicians aren't writers, and songs don't give as much leeway for literary greatness as regular poets would have to work with. But I also think you can start off a song better than 'Life has betrayed me once again.' The exception here, I think, would be the track Inner Silence, which is beautiful both lyrically and musically, and is probably my favorite song on the album. Other than that, most of the lyrics here are sort of overly bleak, which would be great for doom metal, a genre devoted to taking sorrow to extreme, but not so much for the music here. It just makes it all seem sort of shallow.

This album sort of marked a transition point for Anathema. Their previous album, Eternity, grasped to the final threads of their doom metal passed, but on Alterative 4 they were completely gone. Musically, anyway. They were now transitioning into something more similar to atmospheric rock, which I think they really mastered later on, but not here. This is a decent start to the band's new phase, but it was not their best moment. That would come on their following album, Judgment.

If you're not looking for a progressive masterpiece, but just maybe some really pretty rock music, I would recommend this album. The music here is undoubtedly pretty, but there's not much depth to it. Not yet.

Whilst not progressive in the eclectic or traditional sense, Alternative 4 relies heavily upon lyrical imagery, mixed with deep layers to form a dark timbre and texture. Think Floyd, but metal. There are several links to the old Doom Anathema, but don't worry - the cookie monster vocals stay far away, and only the sweet sounding rhythm section remains. The album focuses heavily upon the theme of trust, or lack thereof, and in typical Anathema style, builds power and momentum with forlorn vocals. The combination of such interesting lyrics and beautiful compositions means that the album flows nicely and does not feel overdone. The small touches of violin and sweeping keyboard movements add an extra spice to an otherwise standard Anathema composition. Make no mistake - this is the ultimate Anathema album, even if it doesn't quite reach the same desperate atmosphere as Judgement. The reason I prefer this album over Judgement is quite simple, while they are musically very similar, Alternative 4 is more daring in its lyrical content, and still maintains a heavy and dark atmosphere. Judgement may be just too similar, and possibly derrivative to its predeccessor compared.

Alternative 4 is not without fault, it is crushingly downcast, and never quite reaches the musical smile inducing zentith of Judgement. But given the conceptual purpose, development and beauty of Alternative 4's composition, it is hard to listen to it and not feel a sense of warmth, in the brutal honesty of despair and wonder.

5 Stars

Anathema's debut pales in comparison to the other pioneers. I had heard the excellent Sweet Tears and Sleepless on my favourite radio show but I was very disappointed with the rest of the album. Given that I could only afford 2 CD purchases in a month back then, I felt particularly cheated, the remainder of the album is very tough to sit through.

Well, some artist start with their best work, others need a few years to mature. Great artwork though!

The style consists of the mix of latter day Pink Floyd with a strong UK post-punk heritage, of which the atmospheric doomrock of Fields Of The Nephilim is felt most prominently. The vocals are entirely Floydian though, so don't fear for any gruff zombie voices if that would be the sound of your nightmares.

As all Anathema albums, also this one coalesces into one harmonized listening experience that must be heard in its entity. 'Hearing' isn't even entirely appropriate here, this is music that must be felt, that you should submit yourself to. The focus isn't on technical tricks; it's on the emotive power of minor chords and on the brooding intensity of their emotive rock.

I think Alternative 4 serves as a perfect Anathema introduction. It should easily please all fans of the melancholic rock of Floyd albums such as The Wall, The Final Cut and Gilmour's first solo album. This album could as easily be rated 5 stars but since Anathema kept growing on the next albums. 4.99 wil have to do.

What used to be the band that innovated one of the most grim genres on the planet has now changed into something that I'm sure even the 'indie' kids could now appreciate. 'A Fine Day To Exit' is by no means a commercial album; but it does have alot more of an accesible sound than even the predecessor 'Judgement' had. What we have here are songs that resonate a warm but haunting art-rock sound.

As far as the songs themselves go, many of the songs are fantastic, with there being only a few moments of exception ('Panic' and 'Looking Outside Inside' both do very little for me.) Still, the band has seen better days. 'A Fine Day To Exit' has not the paralyzing moments of inspiration that 'Judgement' had, nor the overall album cohesion of 'A Natural Disaster' but it's a fine album for those looking for a good, melancholic art-rock album to get into, and a fitting gateway for one of the most emotive bands out there.

A perfect example of a four star album.