Artist: AnathemaAlbum: We're here because we're hereGenre: Progressive/Atmospheric rockYear: 2010Tracklist:
1. "Thin Air" – 5:59
2. "Summernight Horizon" – 4:12
3. "Dreaming Light" – 5:47
4. "Everything" – 5:05
5. "Angels Walk Among Us" – 5:17
6. "Presence" – 2:58
7. "A Simple Mistake" – 8:14
8. "Get Off, Get Out" – 5:01
9. "Universal" – 7:19
10. "Hindsight" – 8:10
7 years ago back in 2003, Anathema released their 7th album 'A Natural Disaster'.
Back then they had released albums pretty frequently, with just a year or two between them, and nobody would've thought that it would take another 7 years to get album number 8.
During all these years there has been demo-versions of songs played live, some of them destined to end up on the album, others would be either scrapped completely, or saved for another release.
Obviously 7 years is a long time, and if expectations are high on a new album normally, in this case they were sky-high.
Another question-mark was what direction they would take sound wise, being a band that has evolved enormously during the years.
I knew demo & live versions of some songs had been circling on the web for a while, but i stayed away, because i didn't want it to spoil the experience, and i didn't want to start comparing demo-versions to the album-versions.
"
Thin Air" starts the album off, and it's a very happy & uplifting song.
The Anathema-sound has been pushed to a completely new level, and it's noticeable here.
6 minutes long, it's one of the longer-tracks on the album, and it's one of their best openers, maybe even THE best.
Next comes "
Summernight Horizon", which sounds like nothing they've done before.
A bit of a gothic-atmosphere with the piano, combined with epic harmonies from
Vincent, this song is one of the absolute highlights for me.
Then the album kinda reaches a 'slow down' in pace, the following 3 songs are more ballad-structured, and it takes the word "emotional" to a whole new point, even by Anathema-standards.
After that, "
Presence" comes on, which brings thoughts back to
Eternity, and i instantly thought about "
Hope".
Since the first play, it has really grown on me, the spoken words makes me really emotional, combined with gorgeous keyboards, beautiful guitars, and some of
Lee's best vocals, it makes a strong song.
Life is eternal.
"
A Simple Mistake" with its 8.14 minutes makes the longest song on the album, and it's def. a highlight.
Personally i prefer the second part of it, it has a haunting & gothic feeling to it, and it sounds like something from
The Silent Enigma/Eternity/Alternative 4 that has been spiced up, wonderful with other words.
"
Universal" stands out as being very epic, an atmospheric & progressive journey.
I think the name of the song suits it very well.
"
Hindsight" closes the album, and what's better then closing an album with an instrumental?
Being a huge fan of "
Violence" (on A Natural Disaster), i was shocked that they managed to make an even better instrumental, and "
Hindsight" is like the soundtrack to a perfect day in life.
It's the perfect ending on a perfect album.
So, what are my thoughts overall?
I come across lots of albums that makes me think "this is really great" (normally followed by me digging through the discography), but this album made me go "WOW.".
After my first listen, i just sat in my chair silent for 5 minutes staring into the wall.
This album is brilliant, it's one of the best albums i've heard in a REALLY long time.
It stands out amongst the other Anathema-albums, for being more positive/uplifting, but apart from that i think it has songs that qualifies as the best songs they've done.
This is already a strong candidate for 'album of the year', maybe even 'album of the decade', and this is an album you just shouldn't miss.
Points:
5/5Highlight:
UniversalReviewed by: Jimmy O. (Zantera)