WE'RE HERE BECAUSE WE'RE HERE

I, too, was lured into the world of ANATHEMA by the high rating "We're Here Because We're Here" is currently receiving here on ProArchives. While I am enjoying their music (I have gone back to acquire songs from all of their catalog), and I am enjoying the songs from WHBWH more than the other albums', I am once again mystified at their genre placement. Once a band evolves, perhaps its individual albums should be given their own genre placements--e.g. early Porcupine Tree is far more space/psychedelic and even symphonic than the more recent "heavy" prog. Early The Gathering was far more progressive than more recent crossover stuff--as was the reverse for Big Big Train!

Anyway, the music here is slightly more complex than previous albums--more PINK FLOYD-ish. The excellent lead voice commanded by Vince Cavanaugh almost boosts this group into the Crossover genre--he has that "poppish" kind of voice--the kind that attracts all the attention and makes you forget (or tolerate) the background music. So many acoustic guitars strumming away, yet not varied enough to even garner comparisons to The Church or some PT, Opeth, or Pain of Salvation. Yet, I do like this album. I'm not sure it's very proggy prog, but I do think it qualifies as an "Excellent addition to any music collection"

Anathema is a band that has always suffered from the public's expectations. By changing their sound and style throughout this career, they've been criticized for either being too metal, too soft, too melancholic, not metal enough, too pop, not prog enough, too Radiohead and so on. This album won't be an exception.

However, if you're open to contemporary rock and allow the passion of this music to engulf you, then you're in for a treat. Anathema's mission is not to fit in a genre box but to purge pure emotion through their music, whatever form that music takes: imposing doom metal, gothic prog or atmospheric rock as on their previous 2 albums.

We're Here Because We're Here is the long-expected 8th album and it is a logical continuation of A Fine Day To Exit and A Natural Disaster. It's more consistent then the latter but not as musical and varied as A Fine Day To Exit. But whatever personal preference you have between these albums, it would be quite surprising if you would not appreciate We're Here Because We're Here if you loved the preceding albums. The influences from modern alternative rock and post rock such as Radiohead and Sigur Ros are still the main source of inspiration, meaning we get outstretched and minimal compositions with a brooding atmosphere that grows to rousing climaxes. Needless to say this will not appeal to people who rate music by the number of notes played per second.

The album starts very strongly with 3 brilliant songs. It then has a short dip with a couple of poppy songs of which Everything is the most disappointing. It's a track that has been available for download from Anathema's home site for more then 5 years and it had really lowered my expectations towards this album. The final album version is more focused then the demo but it remains a rather lame pop song similar to Porcupine Tree's Lazarus. Also Angels Walk Among Us is rather average. But with the album's highlight A Simple Mistake, we're all set for another string of gorgeous Anathema songs.

The music on this album is seemingly simple but it strikes with a devastating emotional blow. What else did you expect? It's Anathema, and they are back, with an album that I would rate just below the creative peak they reached with Alternative 4, Judgement and A Fine Day To Exit.

'We're Here Because We're Here' - Anathema (8/10)

Each year, there is always a small handful of albums that I really anticipate, and count down the days until they are released. 2009 had me with the new Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree albums that came out, and 2010 presented me with months of eager excitement for the moment I would finally get my hands on a copy of this latest Anathema record. Hearing a few stunning samples from the album beforehand only intensified the hype for me, and all I could do is wait until the day 'We're Here Because We're Here' arrived in the mail.

'We're Here Because We're Here' (previously named 'Horizons' until a few months before release) might seem like a redundant, even stupid name for an album, but looking deeper into the title alone shows a level of deepness which reflects the rest of the album. Despite being silly at first glance, the title suggests a nihilistic (or possibly humanistic) point of view; that we exist simply for the sake of existing, and that there is no underlying meaning to life. To this extent, it is a very fitting title for an album that enjoys a recurring theme of mortality and life itself.

After having listened to it, I really found myself torn in terms of what to think of it. On one hand, it certainly did not live up to my expectations of being 'the instant classic' I sought it out to be, but there really was some beautiful music here that made it completely worth the purchase. The songs I had sampled were still as moving as ever, and there was some great fresh material to delve into as well. However, the second half of the record seemed to start taking a bit of a dive in quality as the album reached the last two or three tracks. This fact is almost tragic, because had the last fifteen or so minutes of the album been occupied with something as engaging and moving as the rest of it, 'We're Here Because We're Here' would be Anathema's definitive, even 'perfect' work of art they were meant to make.

Starting out with the atmospheric track 'Thin Air,' things take a little while to heat up but the track nails down it's sense of atmosphere very well. Although using repetition alot, things still feel fresh by the end of the song and it's a good, lucid track to bring things into the mix, although definitely not my favourite.

Things start really getting going with the second track 'Summerlight Horizon,' which is arguably the heaviest track on the album, despite being piano driven. Opening up with a dark, heavy piano motif, some metal-styled drumming erupts and a song in the typically dark style of Anathema is in full swing. This song really shines though for it's heavy use of vocal harmonies, which are of real highlight in the album. Although the songwriting itself is enough to carry most of the album along beautifully, producer Steven Wilson has really actualized Anathema's vocal potential, and made the music ring out even more as a result.

Next up is possibly my favourite song off of the album, and possibly even my favourite tune ever written by the band, 'Dreaming Light.' Despite sounding a little bit in the vein of Coldplay, the song shows a side of Anathema that has rarely been shown until this album; a sense of optimism. While 'happy-sounding' tunes have a bad reputation with me for seeming superficial and emotionally hollow, 'Dreaming Light' takes the typical melancholic feel of the band's music and spices it up with the all-so elusive motif of hope. Reaching a climax of tremolo-plucked guitar beauty, atmosphere and harmony all around, my heart almost dropped when I first heard this. This is definitely not the sort of track you would expect coming from a metal band, but it's stunning in any context.

The next two songs were the ones I heard even a year before the album was released. Strangely enough, the versions of 'Everything' and 'Angels Walk Among Us' that I heard without Wilson's production, I enjoyed more. The musicianship seemed more organic and vibrant, even though things are still beautiful as ever here. 'Everything' takes Anathema's newfound spirit of hope to new heights creating a song that has almost no sense of despair whatsoever; only forward thinking cheer. Don't let the description turn you off however, it's executed brilliantly and the vocal harmonies shine through once again. Ville Valo of the alternative rock band HIM does guest vocals for the song 'Angels Walk Among Us.' While red flags definitely poked up a bit when I heard this, his voice does fit the music well, and even bears a stunning resemblance to Vincent Cavanagh's tenor voice itself.

After the beautiful crescendos and melodic peaks of 'Angels Walk Among Us,' the album begins to take a bit of an unsettling slip from the 'absolutely stunning' to 'above average' to relative mediocrity. 'Presence' is an extension of the previous track, and has some bluesy soloing and organ work while a voiceover speaks on top. While the dialogue helps tie the recurring subject of mortality less abstractly into the music, I sort of wish I could turn off the dialogue after listening to it once or twice, so I could enjoy the calming ambience without the annoyance.

'A Simple Mistake' is a good song, but it certainly takes it's time to get to the good part, and the melodies aren't as moving as they were earlier on. Using alot of the same textures as were used on 'Thin Air' except with a much more sombre feel. Despite being less engaging and satisfying than the better tracks on the album, it works itself up to a really powerful climax, giving one last section of aural perfection before 'We're Here' falls into a state of complacent mediocrity.

'Get Off, Get Out' is a decent song, but it really doesn't match up to anything previously played on the album. It reminds me alot of 'Panic' from the album 'A Fine Day To Exit.' While variety is nice, it's very fast-paced compared to the two songs it sits betweens, so it fits in a bit awkwardly. It doesn't sit quite right with me, but it's more or less a good track.

The last two songs are where I started to really get disappointed. 'Universal' is the most down- tempo song on the record, and while it has some very nice string section work going on (reminiscent of some of the stuff that Muse has done) and builds up rather well, some of that 'hopefulness' from the earlier tracks would do well to rub off on this one. While the first few minutes aren't much to talk about, 'Universal' builds up once a classically influenced piano melody starts playing and a buildup in the post-rock vein starts off. Before you know it, the orchestral string section is in full blast, making the music sound like something out of an epic film score. In fact, had this been the last song on the album, it would have been all the more powerful and intense to behold. However, the band made the problem of throwing an extra track in, robbing the effective climax of 'Universal' of it's rightful place as the finale.

'Hindsight' is pleasant enough, but it feels more like a wandering afterthought that the grand conclusion that an album of this calibre seems to warrant. It feels like Anathema wanted to recreate the brilliant conclusion of their previous album, 'A Natural Disaster' with this closer. However, 'Hindsight' proves to be alot less effective and makes for a bit of a sour note to what was otherwise a brilliant album.

'We're Here Because We're Here' was an album that disappoints in sections, but is phenomenal in others. A mixed bag of sorts, things range from being 'mediocre' to being some of the best music my ears have ever been graced with. While I am really tempted to call this a masterpiece, the few things that went wrong with the album seem to hurt what could have otherwise been a classic in the art rock scene for years to come. Despite it's flaws however, Anathema still stand as being one of the most emotive bands out there in the music scene, and with 'We're Here Because We're Here,' they have established yet another chapter of beautiful music that will get under your skin if you let it do so.

I hope since it's my birthday today you will put up with some ramblings from yours truly. It would have been Antoine's birthday today too, as well as Ronnie James Dio's, but both are gone. It's been a good day in spite of having to work. Listened to ANEKDOTEN's "Gravity" this afternoon, sort of a present to myself. The greatest gift I received today though was listening to this complete album on my way to work. It was sunny, I left plenty early so I could take my time and drive the long way so as to enjoy this new album from ANATHEMA. I've actually been listening to it for about a week now. It's different from their previous albums. Sure you know it's them right away but the lyrics are different. This band really is a family with three Cavangh brothers along with the brother / sister duo of John and Lee Douglas.They share expenses and just about everything else.The pictures in the liner notes are very meaningful to them. There's one of the school they went to, the old neighbourhood and streets they frequented. As I said before something has changed with this band.

The song "Presence" has this man speaking words and he talks about reading a little exerpt in a book that said "Life is not the opposite of death. Death is the opposite of birth, life is eternal." And you can't help but feel this is really the band speaking through this man as he talks about life. It was an epithany as it were. Life changing words. So we get this album cover much like EPIGNOSIS' album cover where light chases away the darkness.This is a very spiritual album, not religious at all but very spiritual and positive. And emotional beyond anything I have ever heard. Steven Wilson who mixed it said it was one of the best albums he has ever worked on.

"Hindsight" begins with this woman speaking these words "Intangible. Eternal. Without beginning nor end. The nameless, formless energy that permeates all living things.That sweeps through nature like a ripple in an ocean, sending cascades of timeless wonder through the air, on the song of a bird, the freshness of the morning air. A clear calling for our inner nature to awaken beyond our every day lives, and fears...". This album contains very powerful words along with just as powerful music.The combination has left me not knowing what to say. All I can do is feel as water rises in my eyes then falls throughout this experience. Lots of strings here and perhaps mellotron I don't know.The atmosphere is thick and powerful though. "Dreaming Light" and "Angels Walk Amongst Us" are beyond beautiful.The latter especially when he cries out "Mother can you hear me ?" which brings to mind right away that emotional song from "Judgment" called "One Last Goodbye" about their mom.

Best album of 2010 ? I can't answer this now but in time I will. The fact i'm even considering this questions in regards to this album is enough.

After 6 years of silence, Anathema returns at last with this very satisfying, yet ultimately limited entry into their excellent catalogue. We're Here Because We're Here does a great many things very well, but even at its best it only just meets my high expectations of this-- one of my favorite-- bands. For those unfamiliar, Anathema is a post-metal band built on deep textures and handsomely crafted songs, usually with tremendous dynamics and aching emotion. Never truly "heavy" in their metal, Anathema's intense sections punctuate the lengthy atmospheres-- and every note they play is excellent.

We're Here Because We're Here continues this vein, showcasing the band's signature sound of richly nuanced, pathos-thick, beautifully melancholic art rock, although there is a distinct move towards the optimistic in nearly all of these songs. The life-affirming vibe is felt in Cavanaugh's seraphic singing voice, which is more subtle and higher in register than previous albums, as well as in the general move towards the sort of post-rock swells and major-key crescendos common in the genre (Sigor Ros' "Takk" comes to mind). This feel is made direct in the lyrical content, which places a great emphasis on living life for the sake of it- - rather than the usually suicidal/nihilistic lyrics of earlier albums. The instrumental playing is beautifully understated, and the overall effect is one of emotional swells which carry the listener along for a ride of emotional chord-progressions and well-crafted textures.

The style and feel fo this album is clearly the reason for listening though, since the songwriting is playing it safe. We're Here Because We're Here lacks the ambitiousness and creativity of the past few Anathema releases, which gives the otherwise rich emotion a somewhat superficial feel. So while there are no songs that stand out or will stick with you, you will probably enjoy the experience of We're Here Because We're Here while you're listening; it's a good, but not essential release by this absolutely essential band.

Songwriting: 3 Instrumental Performances: 3 Lyrics/Vocals:3 Style/Emotion/Replay: 4

Anathema, like in "A Natural Disaster" completely abandon the Heavy and Doom Metal riffs, leaving place for delicate, haunting melodies, creating an excellent album, "We're Here Because We're Here", a hymn to peace and positive existentialism.

Just recently I saw this band live, and they performed the full album, from start to finish, so I can confirm that the album is even better live. All the songs perfectly flow one to another, making it really enjoyable and not too hard to listen. We find here songs that seem to be illuminated by divinity, songs that are so light but fragile at the same time, even though some moments are a little shacked by the sublime vocals of both Vincent Cavanagh and Lee Douglas, so sometimes the atmosphere is agitated. But most of the time, everything seems so ethereal and unreal, especially in the second part of the album, which is also the most experimental one, as as well as the weakest one. Basically, this is an album divided in two parts; the first one, more enjoyable, where the experimentation is weaker but the melodies are a lot more haunting, being this way a semi Alternative Rock album. The other half is the more Progressive one, with massive experimentation but weaker melodies.

As a conclusion, this album is definitely a must listen to if you enjoy both Prog and Alt Rock. An excellent addiction to your music collection.

With "We're Here Because We're Here" Anathema just once again confirmed their post metal time is gone. Album's music, tastefully emotional, is a mix of British indie rock rhythmic, post rock dreamy ambient sound and some pop-rock melodies and catchy, but simplified tunes.

Usually not a big fan of such music, in case with this album I think musicians found successful balance, taking some best indie elements from Radiohead (and leaving aside brit -bop flavour), atmospheric liquid guitars sound from Sigur Ros and sensibility and melodics from some best pop-rock.

Sound is dreamy, a bit melancholic, often just beautiful and ... very British. Possibly, the reason is vocals and indie rhythmic. Unhappily second half of the album is more pop-oriented, still good songs anyway.

Not my cup of tea in whole, but really nice and pleasant album. Not for any form of heavy music lovers at all though!

My rating is 3+, almost 3,5.

For Auld Lang Syne

It took some seven years from the release of "A natural disaster" in 2003 for Anathema to bring forward their next full album. In the interim, several singles were released, all of which are on this album, but until now a record label contract for the album's release proved elusive. The band continued to tour during the interim period, including supporting appearances with Porcupine Tree, and Steve Wilson is once again involved in the mixing of this album.

The album's title is taken from a song sung by the allied troops in World War 1 (to the tune of ("Auld lang syne"), the band feeling that the kindred spirits theme applied also to the ongoing atmosphere within the band. In the period between the albums, John Douglas' sister Lee Douglas joined the band on a permanent basis as a vocalist. Also contributing vocals to this album is Ville Valo of HIM, who sings backing vocals on the single "Angels walk among us". The album is produced by the band themselves, with Dave Stewart adding string arrangements where required. Since it took so long in development, the album went through a number of proposed titles, reportedly including "Horizons", "Paradigm Shift", and "Everything".

Perhaps predictably, "We're here..." sees the band continuing their move further and further away from their doom metal roots... no growling here! The opening "Thin air" sets the scene in this respect perfectly, the light vocals, building guitar, and string orchestration combining to deliver a quite stunning piece of prog pop. The vocal arrangement on the following "Summer night Horizon" is probably the most adventurous the band have attempted, Lee Douglas' contribution being particularly impressive here.

"Dreaming light" will catch even the most ardent Anathema fan off guard. Here we move into territories covered more recently by bands such as Elbow, the painfully melodic roots of the song being enhanced by a perfect vocal delivery and some exquisite lead guitar orchestration. Stunning.

While "Everything" has the same terrific sound of the previous tracks, the song itself is not as strong, placing greater reliance on a chiming guitar motif which fills its latter part. "Angels walk among us" is not the most obvious choice for a single, but that it was nonetheless. The song has a slightly Celtic feel, with a light whispy theme bookending a more powerful core section. "Presence" is a short interlude piece featuring organ and spoken word. The track harks back to the band's early days, but thankfully the speaking is still not growled!

"A simple mistake" is the longest track on the album at 8+ minutes. This piece is more reminiscent of the immediately preceding albums, with a heavy repeating guitar based theme building against a downbeat vocal. "Get Off, Get Out" works on a similar level, the distorted vocals betraying the Steve Wilson connection. "Universal" is arguably the most progressive of the tracks, the band's association with latter day Porcupine Tree coming through clearly. The string arrangement injects an extra dynamic into this plodding dirge, the piece developing well from its quite beginnings through to its majestic conclusion. I found myself reminded of Supertramp's "Crime of the century" at times with this highly appealing track.

The closing "Hindsight" sets out as a post rock number, with spoken female voice set firmly behind a chiming lead guitar theme. In true post rock style, this is driven louder by the predominant drums as it builds. It's hardly the most original track the band have recorded, and here it has the feel of an afterthought, but all the same it is rather enjoyable.

In all, another album of great beauty and superb musicianship from Anathema. The highs which they achieve on the opening tracks prove hard to maintain throughout, but this is a collection of significant quality. Recommended.

"We're Here Because We're Here" has ambient passages of tension and release with lyrics that reflect on life and death.

After being absolutely mesmirised by Anathema's excellent "IV" album I was really looking forward to more of the same on this release, and I was not disappointed. In some ways this album is even better than their pinnacle release that floored most listeners.

The soft haunting ambience of Anathema can be uplifting and reflective, as well as encompassing tones of shadowy despair, such as 'Thin Air'. One may be reminded of Radiohead or Muse in places, and the three Cavanagh brothers are at the peak of their powers with this release, as well as the Douglas siblings and Smith who assists on keyboards.

One of the best songs that spring to mind is the raucous 'Summer Night Horizon'; a straight heavy rocker with a cool lyric about the 'space between us'. Very melodic and well executed musicianship throughout. The gorgeous tones of 'Dreaming Light' are beautifully sung by Cavanagh. The piano drives it along with a strong beat. The melody is quite pretty with the orchestrated synths. The sparkling clear vocals sound a bit like Muse or Steven Wilson, alomost like Opeth's quieter moments; there is no growling at all, and in essence the album is more sympohonic than post metal.

The progressive time sig piano motif on 'Everything' locks into a pleasant melody. The vocals are slower and follow the chord structure cautiously with strong harmonies. The atmosphere generated is replete with uplifting feelings of hope. The music builds to a drum heavy rhythm that is not quite in sync with the piano. This odd metronome time augments the estranged lyrical nature that states that the energy is you and me, everything has energy, and that energy is everything when you are near. The lead guitar is played with dexterity and dynamism.

'Angels Walk Among Us' is a soft gentle melody with an ambient synth line, and very nice vocals; "only you can heal your life, only you can heal inside". This builds to a stronger cadence with intonations of pitchy guitar and symphonic strings of sheer beauty.

'Presence' follows straight on with a lecture style narration, stating that one must come to terms with death, birth, and life eternal as a part of a cycle. The spiritual themes are complimented with cathedral organ, a religious atmosphere, and a swathe of symphonic synth lines. The female vocals of Lee are beautiful echoing the same themes in the previous song that only you can heal inside. This works as a sequel.

'A Simple Mistake' is one of the best Anathema songs. It features violining guitars, acoustics, layers of ambient key pads. Cavanagh's vocals are high pitched again, and fractured within the soundscape; "We share trembling between the words, I found my way to fly free from constraints, I have soared through the sky, to see life far below ". The melody is haunting and unforgettable, especially the exquisite chorus; "take a child losing all, to create and deform, a memory in a wild, in a cage." The instrumental is a great guitar riff and chiming keyboard passages. The drums crash in with a metal guitar distortion section darkening the atmosphere, and sealing the deal for me. It is one of the great Anathema tracks that I was compelled to play again as soon as the album ended.

'Get Off Get Out' is one of the heaviest tracks on the album, and is a sound that is similar to Porcupine Tree or Riverside. It has a strong melody and heavy guitars, with a consistent wall of sound generated by synths, bass and pounding drum patterns. It locks into a loud repeated passage with Cavanagh strained through a vocoder effect.

'Universal' begins with ethereal keyboards wrapped around estranged processed vocals; "through the eye of the storm, enter to the light, you're everywhere I go." This tranquil style is downbeat and reflective, the theme is perhaps centred on thinking about what we have done with our lives and what will we take to the grave. It brings the album towards a sobering conclusion that is backed up by the haunting strains of the final track.

'Hindsight' is a virtual instrumental with some commentary from Lee Douglas at the beginning. The music emanates a ray of hope and ends the journey satisfactorily. Overall this album may be Anathema's shining jewel among a treasure of innovative studio releases.

"The Thin Air" weaves a forever spiraling vortex of uncensored emotion, with a devastatingly accurate vision of symphonic expression, fueled by majestic vocals and pulsating instrumentation that does not fear ambiance or atmosphere. The vocal choir effects are masterfully omnipresent, swirling with complete abandon and lusty enterprise. Huge squalls of sound slam mercilessly onto the hull of a gorgeous melody in total paroxysm. A tremendous opener, a song for eternity.

"Summernight Horizon" shoves the mood into overdrive, caressing dissonant and oblique rhythms to hypnotic effect ("the space between us") and carving an anthem-like crescendo of bliss. "In blood red skies" indeed! Lyrically the band has never fared better. The music is rich, cleverly blended to form a colossal whole and orchestrated to please.

"Dreaming Light" is mournfully redolent with deep melancholia (a trait this band owns in luminous spades), Vincent Cavanagh singing like a master, a prog ballad to cherish for evermore and a whopping chorus to expunge for! Incredibly overpowering, this is Anathema's crowning achievement! The lullaby outro is outright daring and mesmerizing.

"Everything" is all about the vocals, en masse or individually as Lee Douglas takes the duet role seriously, echoing the most celestial of tones from the instrumentalists and elevating another haunting melody. "Angels Walk Among Us" serves as a quasi-continuation of the same exalted delirium.

"Presence" is short , sweet and misty, an overture for the next piece. Another massive highlight is the epic "A Simple Mistake" as well as the demo version later in the bonus tracks) are both spectacular accounts of the maturity of the musicianship and the seductive quality of the haunting melodies that grab you by the jugular. Once again, the vocal work is untainted supernatural, deeply resonant and utterly resolute. The rash guitar phrasings ratchet up the adrenalin, the drums bashing along as the string synths weave their magic. A career track, this one.

Drummer John Douglas pens the next 2 tracks, a shift in energy is most noticeable, more angular and more rock, his manic drumming leading the charge, evident on the rather nasty "Get Off Get Out" and even more so on the brooding "Universal", a more sprawling piece, almost ambient-like in a cinematic way perhaps but proposing a colossal vocal performance that transcends the usual superlatives.

"Hindsight" finds Daniel Cavanagh intent on reminding everyone that he is a hot guitarist besides a brilliant composer and arranger. The impenetrable atmospherics are quite experimental, clearly flung into deeper realms of progressive creativity, seeking to maintain the tension instead of slicing it and dicing it into mini-suites.

Three bonus tracks adorn the finale, reworking "A Simple Mistake", "Angels Walk Among Us" and "Presence" into more demo-like atmosphere. The mix master is prog alchemist Steve Wilson and he applies a massive amount of sheen and veneer to the proceedings, creating a luminous sound, purposefully trebled to the nth degree.

A brilliant album for the ages.

5 Sigmund Freuds

Every so often I decide to give late-period Anathema another chance, reasoning that the high regard they are held in by so many prog fans must have some justification. Every time I come away mystified. To give them credit on We're Here Because We're Here, they at least ease off a little on the "echoing telephone" vocal effect so beloved by Pink Floyd imitators everywhere; it's still here and still overused, but it's somewhat quieter and less blatant this time. However, the musical package as a whole consists of slick, smooth and absolutely unthreatening melodic rock. If you like your prog to lack bite or an edge, if you prefer your rock music completely emasculated and unchallenging, if you really don't want your Floyd-influenced ex-metal prog albums to surprise you in any way, I guess We're Here Because We Here more than merits the good reviews it's received. For my part, though, this just doesn't measure up.

My opinion about this band has dramatically changed from their debut EP "Crestfallen" till their great "Eternity" album. From disaster to glory?

I have rated their last three albums (from "Judgment" to "A Natural Disaster") with three stars and this one is rather disappointing in terms of passion and great music. Most of the songs are on the soft edge and lack of feeling. It is really amazing to listen to the band's output between 1992 and this 2001 release.

It is hard for me to depict a great song out there. Most of them are melancholic, mellow and IMHHO, just boring ("Angels Walk Among Us"). The extremely poor (but thanks god very short) "Presence" is another painful moment of this album and is not very encouraging for the remaining part of this work.

The first (and only) great moment of this album is the moving "Simple Mistake". Mostly thanks to its wonderful closing part. A great piece of music but to be honest it is not enough to raise this album to a high level on this site. And it is not the next "Get Off?" that can change my mind. Some very sub par "Cure" (you know: the one from "A Forest") with some hard edges though.

I guess that some of you could cope with the good and melodic "Universal". But, to be honest seven minutes out of an album it is rather short to make a fuss about it. Right? The long and mostly uninspired (especially in the opening section) closing number will not change my mind about this weak effort. Two stars. No more.

We had to wait seven years for Anathema to come back... And they returned with one of their best albums!

Taking the deep and mature sound of the underrated A Natural Disaster, Anathema developed their sound a steep further with the help of the mixing of Steven Wilson, achieving not only their best sounding release to date, but also their most homogeneous in terms of songwriting and quality.

Thin Air opens We're Here Because We're Here energically, with beautiful lyrics and enough progressive moments to satisfy the most demanding fans of the band. The general ambient of this song is a less dark and melancholic the in previous albums, offering a surprising change in the band's direction, a lot more optimistic and bright. Just like the cover of the album!

Summer Night Horizon brings back the best moments of A Natural Disaster with mellow melodies but intense drums and a precious duet between Vincent and Lee, confirming that this album of 2003 was an advance of what the band would later do. Dreaming Light is even better, and a tremendous proof of how Vincent Cavanagh improved his voice through the years. Maybe the lyrics are a bit corny, but that's not so important while we are hearing the marvelous guitar and keyboard solo.

Everything was a single that we heard years before We're Here Because We're Here was released, and a great song despite its obvious Coldplay influences. It's also a very good act in live performances of the band. Angels Walk Among Us is my favorite song of the album. Another sentimental lyrics with splendid guitar melodies in the background. Prodigious!

Presence is musically a follow up of the previous track, but it contains some kind of philosophical speech in consonance with the mood of the album. A Simple Mistake is a bit more melancholic, a bit in the vein of Judgement but without reaching the best moment of this album. A good track nevertheless, with strong guitars towards the end.

Get Off Get Out is the most experimental moment of the album, and also one of its lowest moment. Is not a bad song, just anodyne? Luckily Universal is a better. A orchestral song with beautiful singing from Vincent and a very powerful second half. This should have been the ending of the album, because Hindsight is just pleasant, but not brilliant. And also a bit too long, making a good second half of the album, but not so outstanding as the first five songs.

Conclusion: despite its weak moments, We're Here Because We're Here is a very good Anathema album. Sometimes even excellent. It introduced a brighter and more optimistic stage for the band, which would encounter an excellent follow-up on Weather Systems. It has also a very competent production and mixing (the hand of Steve Wilson is there) and even the sometimes showy lyrics can't ruin the excellent songwriting that the band achieved during its almost seven years without releasing an album.

Best Tacks: Thin Air, Summer Night Horizon, Dreaming Light, Everything, Angels Walk Among Us.

My rating: ****

So, with this album, we are up to Anathema's 8th full album release. They have come a long way from their black metal beginnings. This album is many times more positive and less morose than their previous releases, which tended to be quite dark, even if when they had separated from the heavy sound they started with. The songs now are much mellower, yet they are replete with emotion and passion.

The 3 Cavanaugh brothers are still present, as they have been most of the time through the band's history. Vincent and Daniel still share vocal duties, but they have added another vocalist in Lee Douglas as a full time member of the band. This is the main reason for the brighter feel of this album, but she is an excellent vocalist, so all is good. You will notice her providing harmony in most of the tracks, and with her past guest vocalist duties with the band, it only seems natural to hear her singing as a regular band member.

This album is so well orchestrated and produced. Steven Wilson, of course had a hand in mixing the album, which explains the clarity of every instrument and sound. Interestingly enough, the album does not take on the sound of a Wilson project so much, because of it's positive feel, where most of Wilson's projects tend to be dark. The feel of the tracks is expansive and full, with many places being almost orchestra-like. The keyboards stand out a lot more in the tracks, but don't worry, there are plenty of places where the guitars kick in making the impact of many of the tracks even that much more solid.

Now, with all of this amazing musicianship, there are weaknesses here that weren't as apparent in the previous album, and that is a tendency to get too poppy sounding towards the middle of the album. In addition to this, 'Presence' is an annoying spoken word track with organ supplying back up. Fortunately it is a short track.

Things do get better again after the weak middle however. You know everything is back on track when 'A Simple Mistake' starts playing, and there is a collective sigh of relief. So tracks 4, 5, and 6 might be weaker, they aren't so bad to ruin the album. 'A Simple Mistake' has the feel of one of Pink Floyd's better tracks with a guitar solo that is not only awesome, but very progressive too. And the amazing songs continue after this on through the final track. It's almost as if the band is closer to Symphonic Prog than it is Post Metal.

There is so much to love about this album, and I have always loved Anathema when they are at their most expressive, which happens many times in this album. The weak middle part of the album does bring it down a notch, but for top quality, emotional and passionate music, the rest of the album should not be missed simply because of that. Unfortunately, it takes away from what could have been a 5 star album. When it's at its best, this is still high quality emotional prog.