Anathema Discography v. So let it take me away...

[senecadawg2]

It's completely slipping my mind- where I saw this- but if I remember correctly the guys in the band have said in the past that Alternative 4 is the first release that they consider to be a legitimate album from a songwriting perspective. That is, in the sense that they wrote al the songs with a single product in mind, whereas in the past they just cobbled together albums from leftover pieces of other songs and different times, etc.

Now if that's true, maybe it explains some of the mixed reactions and perceptions of inconsistency. Though I think the production is also a big culprit as well.

Yeah, as I just wrote at the bottom of the write-up, both Danny and Vinnie have called A4 the first "true" Anathema album.

Good timing.

I haven't listened to Alternative 4, as a whole, in a few weeks but I'd say it's probably in the top half of their albums, for me. My favorites are Lost Control, Inner Silence and Regret. Fragile Dreams is a really nice song as well, but I'd be lying if I said I understood why the band plays it live far more than any other song. The rest of the songs are quite strong as well.

[Evermind]

Will listen to it tomorrow.

[seasonsinthesky]

There's not a single filler track in its 45-minute running time and the album has a strong atmosphere without getting monotonous at any point, thanks to the different styles of the band's songwriters.

Love your writeup, but I depart on this point. For the incredible strength of songs like "Fragile Dreams," "Lost Control," "Inner Silence," "Alternative 4" and "Regret," the rest simply don't live up. "Feel" in particular is quite bad considering this – I actually deleted it, renumbered the tracks, and totally forgot it existed until last week. So that's like 12-13 years I have despised it! I didn't even do that to "Hope," jeez. xD (I like the end riff these days, but the rest is still pretty meh imo.)

Also, I see a lot of people (all over the web) praise the production on this one. While it's a huge improvement over Eternity for sure, and hardly bad sounding, I get very annoyed at how far forward Vincent's vocal is, and how the drums sit on top of the guitars rather than punching through. I'm thankful they fixed these things for Judgement.

[?]

Fragile Dreams is a really nice song as well, but I'd be lying if I said I understood why the band plays it live far more than any other song.

I think it's a great rock song that manages to be upbeat and sad at the same time, and that mix of emotions is what defines Anathema IMO. Also, that guitar melody is so infectious that even newbie fans who only know the latest three albums will probably be humming it after the show is over. However, Fragile Dreams (or any other pre-WHBWH song) hasn't been played lately: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/anathema/2015/concorde-2-brighton-england-7bf67e6c.html

There's not a single filler track in its 45-minute running time and the album has a strong atmosphere without getting monotonous at any point, thanks to the different styles of the band's songwriters.

Love your writeup, but I depart on this point. For the incredible strength of songs like "Fragile Dreams," "Lost Control," "Inner Silence," "Alternative 4" and "Regret," the rest simply don't live up. "Feel" in particular is quite bad considering this – I actually deleted it, renumbered the tracks, and totally forgot it existed until last week. So that's like 12-13 years I have despised it! I didn't even do that to "Hope," jeez. xD (I like the end riff these days, but the rest is still pretty meh imo.)

Also, I see a lot of people (all over the web) praise the production on this one. While it's a huge improvement over Eternity for sure, and hardly bad sounding, I get very annoyed at how far forward Vincent's vocal is, and how the drums sit on top of the guitars rather than punching through. I'm thankful they fixed these things for Judgement.

Glad you enjoyed the writeup! Feel may not be one of the highlights, but I love the Hammond in it and I think it's a pity it has only been played live by Antimatter. I agree that Judgement is better produced than A4, though.

[senecadawg2]

You're right about all that- Fragile Dreams is a great song with a great melody and great melody. I suppose my only issue is that I feel the description you just gave could apply to a whole lot of other Anathema songs that barely ever get played these days (I'm thinking about some from Judgement and AFDTE, in particular, but I think Angelica applies as well).


Does anyone know what kind of stuff Dave Pybus was saying about Dunc in the couple years after he quit the band?

[Evermind]

Nice album, slightly better than Eternity in my opinion. The instrumentation is a definite highlight on this one, but I'm kind of unconvinced by the vocal delivery. I mean, in some songs it works for me, in others it doesn't.

My favourites are Lost Control (the two instrumental parts after "Have I really lost control?" and "I admit I've lost control" are amazing) and Regret (this is where vocalit shines indeed), both songs are great. I also liked the opener, Fragile Dreams, and I think Feel is alright too. My least favourite is probably Empty.

Enjoyable album overall.

[Tomislav95]

Great album. I think it was their first I heard (or just first I liked).

[Sacul]

Nice album, slightly better than Eternity in my opinion. The instrumentation is a definite highlight on this one, but I'm kind of unconvinced by the vocal delivery. I mean, in some songs it works for me, in others it doesn't.

I guess Vincent was still learning how to sing on this one, and I think he gets a bit better with the next album. Glad you're now enjoying their music btw

[Evermind]

Nice album, slightly better than Eternity in my opinion. The instrumentation is a definite highlight on this one, but I'm kind of unconvinced by the vocal delivery. I mean, in some songs it works for me, in others it doesn't.

I guess Vincent was still learning how to sing on this one, and I think he gets a bit better with the next album. Glad you're now enjoying their music btw

I'm kind of dreading the next one. I've never given a chance to both Eternity and Alternative 4, but I did listen to Judgement a few times and didn't like it at all. We'll see, I guess.

[Sacul]

Well, it's not that different from Alternative 4 - some could even say it's just a better version of it. Maybe now you're in the mood it might click. Or not  .

Anyways, you should give A4 a few more spins until you love it

[Elite]

It was nice relistening to Alternative 4 again. I too am dreading Judgement, for out of their second 'phase' (A4 to AND) it's my least favourite and I simply don't 'get' half the tracks on that album. We'll see, I'll spin it when the time comes

[?]

You're right about all that- Fragile Dreams is a great song with a great melody and great melody. I suppose my only issue is that I feel the description you just gave could apply to a whole lot of other Anathema songs that barely ever get played these days (I'm thinking about some from Judgement and AFDTE, in particular, but I think Angelica applies as well).


Does anyone know what kind of stuff Dave Pybus was saying about Dunc in the couple years after he quit the band?

I think Deep is closest to Fragile Dreams musically and could also have become THE song that gets played at every show (it's #3 behind FD and Closer, according to setlist.fm), but maybe they got bored of it - the performance in 2006 in Istanbul was introduced as "maybe the last time we play it in Europe", although they've played it countless times since then.

I haven't managed to find any old interviews with Pybus, but according to Danny he stopped Dunc from being paid royalties, even though they'd just played together in a band called Dreambreed. Funnily enough, the Dreambreed album was engineered by Jamie Cavanagh, so this must be the only time all the three Anathema bassists have worked together.

Nice album, slightly better than Eternity in my opinion. The instrumentation is a definite highlight on this one, but I'm kind of unconvinced by the vocal delivery. I mean, in some songs it works for me, in others it doesn't.

I consider the vocals a massive improvement over Eternity and you can tell the singing lessons helped Vincent. But maybe you'll like his singing on the later albums better, as he continued to improve over time.

I'm kind of dreading the next one. I've never given a chance to both Eternity and Alternative 4, but I did listen to Judgement a few times and didn't like it at all. We'll see, I guess.

I too am dreading Judgement, for out of their second 'phase' (A4 to AND) it's my least favourite and I simply don't 'get' half the tracks on that album.

People not liking Judgement?! You both can redeem yourselves next week!

Well, it's not that different from Alternative 4 - some could even say it's just a better version of it.

Nah, I wouldn't go that far, though I love both albums.

[Elite]

What? I just think that both AFDTE and AND are better than Judgement

[Zantera]

I mean it's their best album so, I guess we'll have plenty to talk about.

[Elite]

Enlighten me



(Or wait until we actually get there and first discuss Alternative 4 )

[seasonsinthesky]

Sue me, but I like this better:

Shroud of False
Fragile Dreams
Alternative 4
Reconnect (the hyphen makes no sense!)
Lost Control
Empty
Inner Silence
Feel
Destiny
Regret

FD->A4 are in the same key, IS->Feel have the same rhythmic end/beginning, and Destiny->Regret are also in the same key. It just works. (I could see swapping Reconnect & Empty, though.)

Also, does anyone like the covers as bonus tracks? The PF ones are great but maaaan those other two are... eugh.

[?]

Fragile Dreams is in G minor, while A4 is in D minor, but the transition works surprisingly well anyway. Destiny is the only right closer, though - the band has often played it after Lost Control in concerts, so LC might work as the penultimate song.

Also, does anyone like the covers as bonus tracks? The PF ones are great but maaaan those other two are... eugh.

There are three PF covers, so which one of them is "eugh" besides the Bad Religion song?

As I said in the blog post, I find the Floyd covers pretty redundant, because they sound almost identical to the original versions. Better Off Dead, on the other hand...

[hefdaddy42]

This album is so depressing, but awesome music-wise. Fragile Dreams, Lost Control, and the self-titled song are the highlights here imo.

I was going to type something, but this post is basically what I was going to type.

So, this.

[Sacul]

This album is so depressing, but awesome music-wise. Fragile Dreams, Lost Control, and the self-titled song are the highlights here imo.

I was going to type something, but this post is basically what I was going to type.

So, this.

Does that mean I get the admin spot? Or bosk will grant me an emoji?

[Evermind]

This album is so depressing, but awesome music-wise. Fragile Dreams, Lost Control, and the self-titled song are the highlights here imo.

I was going to type something, but this post is basically what I was going to type.

So, this.

Does that mean I get the admin spot? Or bosk will grant me an emoji?

No.

[Sacul]

This album is so depressing, but awesome music-wise. Fragile Dreams, Lost Control, and the self-titled song are the highlights here imo.

I was going to type something, but this post is basically what I was going to type.

So, this.

Does that mean I get the admin spot? Or bosk will grant me an emoji?

No.

Well, maybe I always knew. My fragile dreams would be broken 

[Evermind]

This album is so depressing, but awesome music-wise. Fragile Dreams, Lost Control, and the self-titled song are the highlights here imo.

I was going to type something, but this post is basically what I was going to type.

So, this.

Does that mean I get the admin spot? Or bosk will grant me an emoji?

No.

Well, maybe I always knew. My fragile dreams would be broken 

I admit I've lost control.

[?]

I wish I could find that pic Duncan posted on his FB page where there was a keyboard missing a Ctrl button and it said "I admit I've lost control."

[seasonsinthesky]

There are three PF covers, so which one of them is "eugh" besides the Bad Religion song?

Heh, shit. I always associate "Your Possible Pasts" directly with Roger Waters, but you're right, it was released under Floyd. That's the one I meant.

A4 has a lyrical obsession with "coming back." Seemed like there are some references on Eternity too, iirc.

[?]

Sorry about the delay, I got back to work this week!

Judgement (1999)



1. Deep
2. Pitiless
3. Forgotten Hopes
4. Destiny Is Dead
5. Make It Right (FFS)
6. One Last Goodbye
7. Parisienne Moonlight
8. Judgement
9. Don't Look Too Far
10. Emotional Winter
11. Wings of God
12. Anyone, Anywhere
13. 2000 & Gone

Line-up:

Vincent Cavanagh - vocals, guitars
John Douglas - drums
Dave Pybus - bass
Danny Cavanagh - guitars, keyboards, vocals on "Parisienne Moonlight"

Dario Patti - piano on "Anyone, Anywhere"
Lee Douglas - female vocals on "Parisienne Moonlight" and "Don't Look Too Far"

After the tour in support of Alternative 4, John Douglas returned behind the drum kit. According to Vincent, letting Shaun Steels go wasn't a slight on his abilities or personality, but the band "needed to get back home", because Vincent and Danny thought having only two original members in the band wasn't enough. Newcomer Dave Pybus commented at the time: "John has short hair these days, but fuck that, he still does a great job on the drums... and more. He has tons of excellent ideas for new material and spends half of the rehearsal time on the guitar and keyboards." The new line-up had writing sessions in Crash Studios, Liverpool, and they were working on "around 15 new songs and maybe 2 covers which we will demo in late December."

For the first time since The Silent Enigma (and the last time overall), a large number of songs were born as group efforts instead of being written by just one member. Vincent offered some insight on the music and the songwriting process in a news update in January 1999: https://web.archive.org/web/19991008002231/https://www.blackmetal.com/~mega/Anathema/NewsJan99.html

All I can say at this point is that its very ANATHEMA. There are a lot of ideas coming from everyone and the only problem we have is finishing it all in time for the studio. There seems to be so much variation in the songs too, some are very heavy and quite angry, others are beautiful ambient pieces. I don't think the album will be a short one, that's for sure.

[John and Dave] have so many ideas its difficult to say stop! John has fit back in very well and Dave has more of a mature, working attitude with the material we are writing. Its good to have someone in the band listening to the music like a true fan and weeding out any rubbish. We need some guidance right now and they are both filling the gaps great. It feels like John never left.

We are still using working titles with all the new songs so we can't really give anything away. All of them will change before the album is released. Some of the better ones are: "Wings of God", "No One" and "Celestial Warning"

Musically, Judgement is more guitar-driven and rocking than the ambient and keyboard-heavy Alternative 4. According to Vincent, this change of direction was intentional: https://www.examiner.com/article/exclusive-interview-with-vincent-cavanagh-of-anathema-part-i

I said to Danny, “you’ve got to play more lead guitar. It’s one of your most expressive ways of playing. It’s the most expressive way for you to say anything. You can write songs and say lyrics, but to hear you play lead guitar... it’s you. No one plays like you.” So I reminded him of that on Judgement, and it ended up being a more electric guitar based album, rather than piano or acoustic guitar. There are more leads and more rock.

"Parisienne Moonlight" and "Don't Look Too Far" are notable songs for being the first to feature future vocalist Lee Douglas.

Lyrically, the album is dark and sad in traditional Anathema vein: fan-favorite "One Last Goodbye" is about the death of Vincent and Danny's mother, while John Douglas wrote about insanity and "Forgotten Hopes" is, according to Danny, "dedicated to all alcoholic people who blame other people for their problems." Later he has commented that Pybus' sole lyrical contribution, "Anyone, Anywhere" had no meaning at all to its writer and is the only dishonest song in the Anathema catalog.

The sessions went smoothly with the exception of one incident: https://web.archive.org/web/19991008014244/https://www.blackmetal.com/~mega/Anathema/NewsMarch99.html

Vincent and Danny arrested after secret show!

While recording their new album at Damage Inc. studios in Vetimiglia, Italy, ANATHEMA decided to make a special live appearence in a down town bar to air some of their new songs. Just moments after finishing the short set, in burst the local police armed with sniffer dogs who took an instant liking to vocalist Vincentand guitarist Danny. THE CAGE guitarist and studio owner Dario Mollo fails an attempt to save the brothers from spending the night in the cells, and the two are arrested. On their release next morning, Vincent was in good spirits: "One of the Police recognised us and we spent the night signing autographs and listening to Pink Floyds "The Wall" on their tape player." They were not charged.

The recordings were followed by a couple of shows in Greece, where the band played "Deep" and "Pitiless". They also opened for Cathedral at a one-off show in London, where the setlist included "Deep" again, along with the premiere of the title-track and a performance of "Sleepless" with Darren White on vocals. At the end of 1999 Anathema toured Europe with Tiamat and played dates in France on its own. They performed Judgement in full in Paris, and Lee Douglas was flown out to sing "Parisienne Moonlight" with them. You can read a tour diary by Dave Pybus here: https://web.archive.org/web/20000411111556/https://www.blackmetal.com/~mega/Anathema/NewsDecember99.html

Judgement works as the perfect bridge between Anathema's metal beginnings and their later sound. It's also like a companion work to Alternative 4: obviously the songwriting is different, but they were released so close to each other that they feel like two halves of a double album and complement each other. Alternative 4 sounds cold and edgy, whereas Judgement has a warm and full production. If A4 is the soundtrack for hitting the rock bottom, then Judgement represents the first difficult step you have to take to get your life back on track.

The cover art and the band photo in the centerfold of the booklet probably have a lot to do with this, but Judgement is a summer album to me - if you close your eyes while listening, you can imagine yourself by a lake at sunset. The atmosphere of the album also makes it a pleasure to listen to: it's sad, but you can hear that there was a good vibe going on during the making process. Judgement may not be as tight as its precedessor, but I wouldn't change a thing about it regardless.

Full review: https://echotester.blogspot.com/2015/08/anathema-discography-7-judgement.html

[Buddyhunter1]

I listened to this album once on Spotify and it didn't really do anything for me, despite all the praise it gets. Maybe I'll give it another try someday.

[Zantera]

Their best album for sure. Took me a few spins to really appreciate, but boy oh boy what an album it is.

[Sacul]

Their second best album for sure. Took me a few spins to really appreciate, but boy oh boy what an album it is.

Fixed. At first it told me nothing, and bored me. Damn, what a fantastic grower! Don't let one spin disappoint you guys

My fav songs here are Judgement and Pitiless, with Deep just behind.

Didn't know that about their arrest, good everything ended up fine.

[Zantera]

For a long time I had a hard time ranking this or WHBWH highest, but I think Judgement has stood the test of time just slightly better. WHBWH is still most definitely awesome (and second best), but Judgement is just the perfect emotional album. Nowadays it feels like they are just emulating feelings a lot of the time, but on the older albums you could tell it was more genuine, at least IMO.

[seasonsinthesky]

Judgement was the second album I really loved. The opening suite of 4 songs is just perfect, not a single note wasted nor a single transition not perfect. I often wonder if they did all of them in one take while recording the bed tracks.

About the only song that doesn't stand up, imo, is "Don't Look Too Far." Even Lee Douglas couldn't turn it beyond "okay."

Special shoutout to the absolutely crazy title track. What a punchout!

I really dig the "Emotional Winter/Wings of God" medley they play on Universal. Genius. And it dodges the opening part of "Wings of God" that I rather dislike (but is rather like Alternative 4!).

If anyone is wondering why "2000 & Gone" is so boring: It was constructed to be carried by speech samples that were removed, though not quite as well as "Internal Landscapes." Danny had shared the version with samples online around the same time he shared what became "A Fine Day."

[?]

About the only song that doesn't stand up, imo, is "Don't Look Too Far." Even Lee Douglas couldn't turn it beyond "okay."

I love the verses but the chorus is kind of anticlimactic, though I like the guitar effects on it.

If anyone is wondering why "2000 & Gone" is so boring: It was constructed to be carried by speech samples that were removed, though not quite as well as "Internal Landscapes." Danny had shared the version with samples online around the same time he shared what became "A Fine Day."

Oh yeah, I remember hearing that version, along with A Fine Day, when it was still online. I wonder what happened to the samples - they would've given the song a little more color.

Nowadays it feels like they are just emulating feelings a lot of the time, but on the older albums you could tell it was more genuine, at least IMO.

I don't think they're faking or emulating their feelings in the new stuff, but I have to admit the lyrics have gotten slightly predictable in the past few years. Maybe it's because Danny writes pretty much all of them these days, but I also feel that with darker subjects it's easier not to get repetitive. However, the only glaringly fake and cheesy Anathema lyrics can be found in Anyone, Anywhere. "No one really cares where I go..."

[Sacul]

Nowadays it feels like they are just emulating feelings a lot of the time, but on the older albums you could tell it was more genuine, at least IMO.

I don't think they're faking or emulating their feelings in the new stuff, but I have to admit the lyrics have gotten slightly predictable in the past few years. Maybe it's because Danny writes pretty much all of them these days, but I also feel that with darker subjects it's easier not to get repetitive.

This. Maybe they just got past a tough period in their life, and have no intentions of going back to such an obscure place. And their career has never been so successful, thu I don't see why they can't be happy about their situation.

[senecadawg2]

I'm late to the posting on this album...

Judgement was the first pre-WHBWH album that really took a hold over me. I still remember so vividly the first time that it clicked for me. I was out camping, alone in my tent late at night winding down after a long day of hiking. I was physically and mentally exhausted and within seconds of putting the album on I found myself completely transported. It was an immensely calm and beautifully dark space.

Over time the rest of those early albums have similarly clicked and as a result I don't necessarily revere Judgement as much as I once did, but it's still clearly one of the strongest Anathema albums for me. Despite having perhaps my single favorite Anathema song on the album (I'll get to that in a second), I still feel that this album is a great example of the often overused 'whole stronger than the sum of its parts'. The reason I say that is that I very rarely go back for listens of single tracks, as only one of them consistently blows me away. However, the album as a whole- it's atmosphere, the way it flows, the warm sound, the mood conveyed through the lyrics and everything else mixed together- very consistently blows me away.

I will echo the comment about the newer lyrics not necessarily being more cheesy or fake but rather instead being a bit more predictable as a result of Danny writing most of them (though I still the majority of them).

Also, since we're halfway through the discography (not including Hindsight and Falling Deeper, which reminds me- are you going to post on those, Ville?) I'm curious to see how everyone following the thread so far would rank their favorite songs on these first five albums.

A top 10 ranking for me would look something like this:

10. Kingdom
9. Lovelorn Rhapsody
8. Suicide Veil
7. Regret
6. Under a Veil (of Black Lace)
5. Eternity Suite (yes- I cheat a bit on this one...)
4. Inner Silence
3. Lost Control
2. Angelica
1. One Last Goodbye

With three A4 and Eternity songs in my top 10, it seems like those would be the albums to beat. But like I said, Judgement is an incredibly strong album and it has my favorite song thus far. And really, when it comes to individual songs, it's not that close (which is incredible considering how much I love songs 2-5 in particular). One Last Goodbye is the quintessential early-middle Anathema song, in my opinion.

[Sacul]

Oh yes, One last Goodbye is fantastic. My top would look like thin, in no particular order:

Pitiless
Fragile Dreams
Deep
Kingdom
Alternative 4
Lost Control
Eternity
One Last Goodbye

[?]

I still feel that this album is a great example of the often overused 'whole stronger than the sum of its parts'. The reason I say that is that I very rarely go back for listens of single tracks, as only one of them consistently blows me away. However, the album as a whole- it's atmosphere, the way it flows, the warm sound, the mood conveyed through the lyrics and everything else mixed together- very consistently blows me away.

I think Judgement and WHBWH are the most "complete" Anathema albums in the sense that they benefit the most from being listened to in full. Ironically, these are the only two albums Anathema has played front to back live!

Also, since we're halfway through the discography (not including Hindsight and Falling Deeper, which reminds me- are you going to post on those, Ville?)

Yep, that's the plan! I may keep those discussions open for a shorter time, though - maybe 4 or 5 days, depending on how busy I am at that point.

I posted my own Anathema top 25 a couple of years ago, but I can't remember what it looked like and of course my mind has changed in that time, so these are my top 10 90s Anathema songs at the moment (chronologically):

Lovelorn Rhapsody
Restless Oblivion
Sunset of Age
Eternity Part III
Fragile Dreams
Lost Control (my #1)
Inner Silence
Deep
One Last Goodbye
Emotional Winter

Honorable mentions:
They (Will Always) Die
A Dying Wish
Empty
Regret
Judgement