ALL FAITH IS LOST

This demo tape, released by the band, is quite a far cry from what they become. Of course, it is close to their original sound, that of doom/death metal with growling and unclear vocals. Their albums would show marked improvement, which is what you would expect, but even the demo songs here demonstrate the bands talent in the instrumentation department, but not so much in the lyrical and vocal aspects.

As a rule, I don't care for these growling or screaming vocals unless some emotion or some degree of musicality is present, as with Devin Townsend, Opeth or Orphaned Land. But this is not the case in the early Anathema demos and unfortunately in their first EPs and albums. The guitars and the drums here are decent enough, but the vocals and lack of emotion just don't appeal to me. It makes the music sound too much alike and it also takes away from the talent apparent in the rest of the band. These songs are all about darkness and depression, and become increasingly darker as they go on.

"Crestfallen" is the best song on here, it shows off the real talent of the band in instrumentation and emotion, but is still not the easiest thing to listen to, and the EP version would end up being better than this version. "At One with the Earth" and "All Faith is Lost" have awful vocals and cancel out any other sounds that may come from the band. "They Die" is a little bit better, but this one is also on "The Crestfallen" EP in a much better version. It still has the growly vocals I don't like, but again, the best part of the music is the instrumentation here also.

I would suggest not searching for the demo tapes, even if you are into death and doom metal, unless you are a completionist. If you like this kind of music, then look into getting "Serenades" or "The Silent Enigma" or the EP "The Crestfallen". If you like more experiemental or emotional music, then you definitely need to check out anything else by the band, because they are amazingly talented. Their clean vocals in everything released after "The Silent Enigma" don't take away from the music and their ingenuity is much more apparent.