JUDGEMENT

Kidding, of course, but since I just reviewed The Mantle I couldn't help but notice how Judgement sounds just a little like Agalloch at a faster pace. And while both play a sort of gloomy doom metal my preference is certainly with Agalloch, directly because of the complaints I would list about Anathema. First the good stuff though. These guys are masters of melodic, high-WAF prog metal that is friendly enough to be played on commercial radio despite the gloomy outlook. They are top-notch musicians who mix great vocals with consistently accessible songwriting and quality lyrics. So what's the problem with Anathema? Two words..cookie-cutter. As accessible as the songs are they are far too similar-sounding and one dimensional for this prog fan. Most tracks have the easily assimilated verse/chorus sections that are quickly memorized enough to sing along to. Often the drums just plod along as straight time-keeping and the songs offer little in the way of genuine excitement. The emotions are there but the delivery is so mechanized and the results so predictable. If only they threw more curveballs like they do on the albums highlights: the welcome female vocals of "Parisienne Moonlight" by which time one is just dying for the different sound color that her voice brings, the occasional piano which again provides *something* suggesting a diversity in the sound, and the triumphant solo at the end of "One Last Goodbye" that brings hope to the sadness. But such moments are too few and far between. This band is sometimes compared to Riverside which is a bad sign as far as I'm concerned as it means results are likely to be formulaic. Anathema, like Riverside, is a band I give good marks to for talent/technical ability but low marks for the kind of musical experience I (and presumably some other progressive fans) are looking for. Whenever I can listen to one track and know what the rest of the album holds in store, I consider that a real warning sign. And in this case it happened again. 5/10

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