Alternative 4 (1998)
1. Shroud of False
2. Fragile Dreams
3. Empty
4. Lost Control
5. Re-Connect
6. Inner Silence
7. Alternative 4
8. Regret
9. Feel
10. Destiny
Line-up:
Vincent Cavanagh - vocals, guitars
Shaun Steels - drums
Duncan Patterson - bass, keyboards, piano
Danny Cavanagh - guitars, keyboards, piano
Andy Duncan - drum loops on "Empty"
George Rucci - violin
In 1997 Anathema parted ways with drummer John Douglas, who,
according to Vincent at the time, "was full of ideas, but he couldn't really bring any of them into action. He was too caught up with his ecstasy and his dancing... He lost all his enthusiasm; he wasn't really part of the band anymore." He was replaced by Shaun Steels, who would later go on to join My Dying Bride. However, before hiring him the band was requested to contribute a few cover tracks to a Peaceville compilation, and due to the lack of a drummer they recorded two Pink Floyd songs that had no drums and a piano ballad version of Bad Religion's "Better Off Dead" (featuring Michelle Richfield on vocals).
When Anathema started working on their fourth full-length album, everything wasn't alright within the band, as Vincent stated in
a 2010 interview: "Danny [Cavanagh] and Duncan [Patterson] weren’t really talking at all. They didn’t even play on each other’s songs." Duncan left the band after the album was recorded, and in 2012 he explained his departure like this:
https://autumnsphere.blogspot.fi/2012/01/interview-with-duncan-patterson.htmlIt was something that was on the cards for years. I was carrying the band, both musically and in every other sense. The guys got very lazy after Darren went and I was left to deal with everything. Danny went through a difficult period in his life around the time of Eternity and I stood up and took the musical reigns while he wasn't so creative. Thats how I ended up writing lyrics on his tracks, as he didn't have the energy or motivation at that time. I was always living in the hope that the guys would start to take more responsibility, but it never happened. Then around the time of Alternative 4 we were having big problems between us. A lot of it was a lack of communication, which we were all guilty of. And there were problems between all three of us, not just me versus Danny, which seems to be the accepted version of the tale. As I said earlier, we were surrounded by real parasitic people who were giving each of us their own 'advice' to basically play us off against each other and take advantage of whoever ended up leaving or being fired. We were very close to splitting up and then a family tragedy struck for the brothers. It was then that I put it all into perspective and told Danny and Vinny to sort out their differences and continue the band, and I decided to pursue another project. That was a pure gesture from me out of goodwill and decency. I'm glad I came away with my head held high. But after that I was shit on from a great height. I was stopped from making music, silenced in the press, and lied about and defamed in big magazines. I had my royalties stopped (illegally) and I was in a dark place for a while. I didn't deserve that at all. Then a couple of years later I bumped into Danny in a club and he helped fix a lot of the problems. He made sure that I got paid again and apologised for the band making me the scapegoat for their own chaos and guilt. I also bumped into someone who was close to Vinny at the time who told me "WE didn't mean to hurt you, WE had to do what was best for the bands image after you left". She used the word "WE" which confirmed that she was involved in influencing a lot of that shit. And I wont even mention the name of the guy who unsuccessfully replaced me. He was the ringleader and his departure coincided with me being friends with the guys again. Well, that was no coincidence. Anyway, neither of these people had anything to do with our music or the band. But they managed to force their way in. There were many of those kinds of people around us like vultures. We were young though, and still learning about all this. And the important thing is that we sorted it out long ago and we get along better than ever.
There were also musical differences, as Duncan "wanted to write more piano-based stuff and bring in a female vocalist, use more ambient sounds etc. While they wanted to be more guitar based and heavy, as they famously said during the Judgement interviews. Its funny the way things turn out." In a 1998 interview he said they'd like to make an acoustic album, but doubted their label would approve of the idea.
Anyway, into the music:
Alternative 4 included some new elements, such as the violin on "Fragile Dreams" and "Lost Control", and the drum loops on "Empty". According to Duncan, the latter song was born after the record label requested the band to write a single, but I can't say it's a very radio-friendly tune!
Vincent had also taken singing lessons and the band now tuned to standard E instead of B.
The sound of the album is much more minimalistic and depressive compared to
Eternity. Duncan would take the minimalism to extremes with his later projects, which had little to do with rock, let alone metal. However, in 1998 Vincent argued that Anathema's music was still doom metal, although its scope had become wider and more diverse. The Pink Floyd influence was still strong, but
according to Duncan people had compared the album to a variety of bands ranging from U2 to The Sisters of Mercy.
The album title was inspired by Leslie Watkins' book
Alternative 3, which deals with conspiracy theories. Regarding Vincent's accent at the end of the title-track, Duncan said:
We were laughing too, it was intentionally humorous for us and Vinny is a great impersonator. We wanted to make it sound like 1930s style or something. As for the use of the word holocaust, it has nothing to do with Germany or the 2nd World War. I was actually referring to Armageddon. I really don't see how people could connect that song to the nazi atrocities. It wouldn't make sense at all.
As an interesting fun fact, the clicking noise in "Destiny" after the 1-minute mark is the buttons on Duncan's combat pants hitting the acoustic guitar:
https://www.facebook.com/duncanpatterson.music/posts/10153011922333722Vincent has said the thought-provoking album cover is "a picture of the virgin Mary -- with an astronaut face, the reflexion of an astronaut." However, like the original cover concept for
Eternity, the album cover wasn't first met with approval:
I remember that Music For Nations didn't like the cover, and originally removed the wings and tried to change the 'alternative 4' font, because they thought it didn't fit. I was stubborn though and made sure that they fixed it. They also changed some of the lyrics and punctuation which I had originally typed into their computer in their office. Crazy stuff!
Due to the split with Dunc, Dave Pybus was brought in to play the bass for the tour in support of the album, eventually becoming a full-time member. Martin Powell (ex-My Dying Bride) was also hired to play live keyboards, and the band toured with Portuguese gothic metallers Moonspell in the fall of 1998.
Alternative 4 is a brutally honest album, both musically and lyrically. 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. Anathema prove that there are probably even more shades of gray than 50! While I don't agree with the Cavanagh brothers' view that it's the beginning of the "real" Anathema, I do consider
Alternative 4 the band's greatest achievement and the first of their two bullseyes. (full review:
https://echotester.blogspot.com/2015/07/anathema-discography-6-alternative-4.html)
Poll
Topic: Anathema Discography v. So let it take me away... (Read 22188 times)