A FINE DAY TO EXIT

After the Floydian rock marvels called Alternative 4 and Judgement, Anathema changed their style and sound to let a new influence come to the fore: post-rock and Radiohead. It's no huge departure from the previous albums but the dense and less immediate nature of the music will cost you a bit more time to fully absorb it. The music is highly textured and organic, it builds and grows, ebbs and flows like the waves of the sea. It is made up of 9 beautifully arranged high quality songs. It is mostly calm and slow but without a dull second and with an emotional impact ranging from fun emotions like sorrow and pain to longing and from craving to ecstatic outbursts of passion.

It's also one of those few albums that is more than the sum of its songs. From the first second to the last, this album flows so naturally that it becomes one continuous experience, dragging you along in its lush and brooding atmosphere. It is hard picking highlights again, but the calm and brooding tracks at the end like Barriers, A Fine Day To Exit and Temporary Peace rate amongst the most gorgeous music ever for me.

Their style has become a very personal mix of atmospheric rock and melancholy, less in debt to the Wall-era Pink Floyd sound of the preceding albums. But it's no use comparing Anathema to any other band anymore, they have become fully their own and surpassed their idols at their game here.