Anathema

[ColdFireYYZ]

Its easily my AOTY. I've listened to it over 30 times and I'm still not sick of it.

[Phoenix87x]

WS is definitely my album of the year and the funniest thing is that I didn't even like it on the first listen.

[SeRoX]

Yes, top 5 album of the year.

[ariich]

Yeah I really cannot get enough of this album, definite contender for AOTY! Such beautiful music!

[LCArenas]

SHIT.

I can't listen to "The Beginning and the End" without listening simultaneously Riverside's "Left Out" in my head, and vice-versa. I think the two songs intros are quite similar, and I love both songs to death. Just wanted to say that.

[pkj]

I really like 'Dreaming Light'.  How does that song measure up to the other stuff on the last two albums?

[jag66]

I really like 'Dreaming Light'.  How does that song measure up to the other stuff on the last two albums?

Dreaming Light is great, as is a lot of their other new (and old) stuff. Listen and find out!

[MondayMorningLunatic]

Two months of heavy Anathema listening later and Eternity has actually shaped up to be my favorite album. You have the one two punch of Sentient and Angelica, the addictive cover of Hope, and the rest of the album's just so cool, and spacey, and experimental. Suicide Veil is also an outstanding fusion of their doom metal and Pink Floydian sounds. Anyone else love Eternity?

[pkj]

Two months of heavy Anathema listening later and Eternity has actually shaped up to be my favorite album. You have the one two punch of Sentient and Angelica, the addictive cover of Hope, and the rest of the album's just so cool, and spacey, and experimental. Suicide Veil is also an outstanding fusion of their doom metal and Pink Floydian sounds. Anyone else love Eternity?

Yes, absolutely.  'Angelica' is probably one of my favorite songs.  It's also interesting from the perspective of the band's evolution -- at this point Vincent decided to really sing in a conventional manner, and although his performance is technically unpolished, there's so much raw talent there waiting to be cultivated.  And he did in fact take a big step on 'Alternative 4'.

[MondayMorningLunatic]

Yes, absolutely.  'Angelica' is probably one of my favorite songs.  It's also interesting from the perspective of the band's evolution -- at this point Vincent decided to really sing in a conventional manner, and although his performance is technically unpolished, there's so much raw talent there waiting to be cultivated.  And he did in fact take a big step on 'Alternative 4'.

  Angelica, especially the guitar melody. And that chorus-y bass sound underneath… perfection. The only iffy vocal part on the album for me is the bridge of Hope, but it's not a big deal.

[Perpetual Change]

Weather Systems is easily my #1 album this year so far. I love everything about it. And I didn't even like WHBWH that much. Weather Systems just resonates with me so much more. It will be very difficult for something else coming out this year to displace it.

[John94]

Listening to something like Angelica and then listening to Weather Systems shows how much Vinny has improved as a vocalist over time.

[HarlequinForest]

I definitely like Weather Systems much more than WHBWH, although that album is still great.

[Phoenix87x]

Not only is WS my favorite album of the year, but Internal Landscapes is my favorite song of the year.

[Scorpion]

I got Eternity recently, and HOLY FUCK. These guys are good.

What should I get next?

[Elite]

I got Eternity recently, and HOLY FUCK. These guys are good.

What should I get next?

Judg(e)ment, We're Here Because We're Here and Weather Systems. Enjoy.
Basically, everything that comes after Eternity is good though.

[?]

I got Eternity recently, and HOLY FUCK. These guys are good.

What should I get next?

I highly recommend Alternative 4, Judgement and the latest 2 albums.

EDIT: Just saw the Eternity discussion... We were talking about that album earlier in this thread and my opinion hasn't changed since: it's a good album but in the bottom half of Anathema discography for me. I find it pretty inconsistent, the muddy production brings the album down a bit and Vinnie has improved a lot as a singer since then. I prefer A4 and The Silent Enigma, the albums that came before and after Eternity.

[?]

I bought The Brink by Alternative 4, Duncan's new band, yesterday and I'm liking it besides the overlong closing track. My favorite song so far is Still Waters. The style of the album is like a mixture of the Anathema album, Roger Waters-led era Pink Floyd and some of the more minimalistic and hypnotic Antimatter stuff.

[Pockets17red]

Don't know if anyone here has been keeping up with any recent interviews but it looks like they will be filming a new DVD this year and with an orchestra!

[MondayMorningLunatic]

Now this is interesting... the copy of Serenades I bought a couple years ago replaces "Dreaming: The Romance" with four songs from The Crestfallen EP. Now that I found Dreaming The Romance on YouTube, I can safely say it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. Reminds me of the game Myst for some reason.

[?]

While the songs on the EP may not be the peak of Anathema's career, they're 100 times better than Dreaming... IMO. But then again I'm not an ambient fan, I want something to actually happen in the songs!

On the topic of the DVD, I'm looking forward to it, I've heard they'll play some Falling Deeper stuff too and that would be great, especially since they have an orchestra with them.

[Pockets17red]

While the songs on the EP may not be the peak of Anathema's career, they're 100 times better than Dreaming... IMO. But then again I'm not an ambient fan, I want something to actually happen in the songs!

On the topic of the DVD, I'm looking forward to it, I've heard they'll play some Falling Deeper stuff too and that would be great, especially since they have an orchestra with them.

It's kind of weird actually on the topic of Falling Deeper because in one interview Danny says they will play it and then in another he says they won't. Both interviews links are below.

https://tikwid.com/news/music/interviews/question-and-answers-with-anathema/
(do you have a plan to release a live performance with orchestral band on DVD?
DC: Yes actually, we do! But it won’t be old songs such as songs in “Falling Deeper”. It would songs from you know, from “Judgment”, “Alternative4”, “A Natural Disaster”, “Weather Systems” and “We’re Here Because We’re Here”.)

https://translate.google.ru/translate?hl=ru&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.metalnews.de%2Finterviews%2FDaniel%2BCavanagh%2Bvon%2BAnathema.1193.html
(In September we will answer even a DVD with the National Orchestra of Bulgaria, where we songs from "Weather Systems", "Falling Deeper", "We're Here Because We're Here" and a few older songs.)

Second interview is in German.

[MondayMorningLunatic]

While the songs on the EP may not be the peak of Anathema's career, they're 100 times better than Dreaming... IMO. But then again I'm not an ambient fan, I want something to actually happen in the songs!

After a year of heavy DT listening, I've been detoxing by listening to things that are super minimalistic. By the way, Dreaming syncs up nicely with J'ai Fait Une Promesse because both are in the key of D.

[?]

It's kind of weird actually on the topic of Falling Deeper because in one interview Danny says they will play it and then in another he says they won't. Both interviews links are below.

https://tikwid.com/news/music/interviews/question-and-answers-with-anathema/
(do you have a plan to release a live performance with orchestral band on DVD?
DC: Yes actually, we do! But it won’t be old songs such as songs in “Falling Deeper”. It would songs from you know, from “Judgment”, “Alternative4”, “A Natural Disaster”, “Weather Systems” and “We’re Here Because We’re Here”.)

https://translate.google.ru/translate?hl=ru&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.metalnews.de%2Finterviews%2FDaniel%2BCavanagh%2Bvon%2BAnathema.1193.html
(In September we will answer even a DVD with the National Orchestra of Bulgaria, where we songs from "Weather Systems", "Falling Deeper", "We're Here Because We're Here" and a few older songs.)

Second interview is in German.

Interesting... Which one is newer? I bet he has (or they have) changed his mind between those 2 inties and if the latter one is new, there'll probably be FD stuff. Anyway, this makes me even more anxious to see the setlist when they play that gig!

EDIT: The first interview is from late June while the German one is from early July so I assume what he's said later is what we should believe.

[pkj]

Check out this clip of Danny and Vincent (and Lee) performing 'Dreaming Light' on a BBC radio show: 

https://youtu.be/KraSqBrv39c

Can Vince sing, or what? 

[Nekov]

Check out this clip of Danny and Vincent (and Lee) performing 'Dreaming Light' on a BBC radio show: 

https://youtu.be/KraSqBrv39c

Can Vince sing, or what?

[?]

Instead of the obligatory album ranking, let's list our favorite songs from each album:

Serenades: They (Will Always) Die
The Silent Enigma: Restless Oblivion
Eternity: Eternity Pt. 3
Alternative 4: Lost Control (my #1 song from any Anathema album)
Judgement: One Last Goodbye
A Fine Day to Exit: title-track
A Natural Disaster: Balance
WHBWH: A Simple Mistake
Weather Systems: Untouchable (both parts or the first one if only one is allowed)

[Zantera]

Cool idea, ?.. something like this:

Serenades - Sleepless
The Silent Enigma - Sunset of Age
Eternity - Far Away
Alternative 4 - Regret
Judgement - Emotional Winter
A Fine Day to Exit - A Fine Day to Exit
A Natural Disaster - Flying
We're Here Because We're Here - Universal
Weather Systems - Untouchable (both parts)

[HarlequinForest]

Only listened to the last two albums so far.

WHBWH: Angels Walk Among Us
WS: Untouchable

[MondayMorningLunatic]

Serenades- Sleepless
The Silent Enigma- A Dying Wish
Eternity- Angelica
Alternative 4- Fragile Dreams
Judgement- One Last Goodbye
A Fine Day To Exit- Temporary Peace
A Natural Disaster- Balance
We're Here Because We're Here- Summer Night Horizon
Weather Systems- Internal Landscapes

[pkj]

Serenades (Lovelorn Rhapsody)
Eternity (Angelica)
Alternative 4 (Feel)
Judgment (One Last Goodbye)
A Fine Day to Exit (Leave No Trace)
A Natural Disaster (Flying)

[?]

Serenades (Lovelorn Rhapsody)

for picking some other song than Sleepless! I mean, it's not bad but definitely the most overrated song on the album. I prefer at least They Die, Sleep in Sanity and Lovelorn Rhapsody to it. However, the '96 remake is pretty good as I find Darren's attempts at melodic harsh singing on the original pretty terrible (his growls aren't that bad, though) and obviously it's the only song from the album that fits their setlist nowadays, save maybe for the Falling Deeper versions, which haven't been played live.

[Zantera]

I don't really like Darren's singing that much. And it's not about the harsh vocals because I listen to (and love) lots of harsh vocals, but I just don't particularly care for his singing in Anathema. I agree that the Sleepless-version of Vinny is better, but the original still has some charm to it.

[Cyclopssss]

[] Headspace / I am anonymous.

[Xanthul]

Check out this clip of Danny and Vincent (and Lee) performing 'Dreaming Light' on a BBC radio show: 

https://youtu.be/KraSqBrv39c

Can Vince sing, or what?

I didn't really find it that good, I think he was struggling to keep his voice somewhat quiet and that hurt his vibrato and sustain, it sounded kinda off. Maybe it's just me though.