Anathema

[Zantera]

One version of Fragile Dreams is enough really.

[senecadawg2]

I agree. And that frees up space for something else from Judgement or Are You There?

[Ben_Jamin]

Haha they probably wouldve added another WHBWH song.

[Heretic]

I'm one of those guys who wouldn't be disappointed if they considered WHBWH to be their "first" album like PC was saying. I like the older stuff a lot, but the newer direction they've gone in is just more for me.

[?]

I've never seen Anathema live, so hopefully the pre-WHBWH era will be represented with more songs than just Fragile Dreams, Deep and a couple of tunes from AND on the next tour.

[senecadawg2]

The best pre-WHBWH song for me, to hear live, would be One Last Goodbye. Didn't get to hear it this first time, but they seem to play it a lot so hopefully next time. So long as they come tour the US again after their next album...

Then again, with the next album, on top of WHBWH and WS, they may start playing even fewer of the old songs live. Apart from Closer and Fragile Dreams, I wouldn't be surprised if they left the rest alone.

[Zantera]

There's plenty of magic stuff from the older albums to pick from. I think a problem might be that the band didn't get any studio album out between 2003 and 2010, so when they finally got WHBWH out, the old stuff felt really dull to play, after years and years of playing it, or something like that.

[ColdFireYYZ]

The band has posted a couple of studio updates on Facebook. This one has about a minute worth of music (piano and drums).
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152028656363629&set=vb.125049763628&type=2&theater

Sounds really nice! Looking forward to hearing the completed version.

[senecadawg2]

They really do sound nice!

and Danny liked a comment I left on the most recent one 

[?]

I finally bought Universal (DVD+CD) and watched it today. The lack of extras is mildly disappointing, but the show itself is really great. I think the setlist would've been more balanced if they had scattered the old songs throughout the set instead of saving them for the end, and not playing any Falling Deeper stuff with the orchestra was a missed opportunity, but the performance is amazing and watching the show truly makes you wish you'd been there. Also, when it comes to the mix, this release puts Live at Luna Park to shame - the balance between the instruments is perfect AND you can hear the audience well.

[?]

(sorry for double post)

I watched the DVD again yesterday and realized that you can see one violinist's sheets between Closer and A Natural Disaster, and one of them says Kingdom. WHY COULDN'T THEY PLAY IT?

[CharlieDominietzsche]

Fuuuuuuuuucccccccckkkkkkk

Turns out Anathema was in town a few months ago and I didn't even know about it. Someone at Guitar Center started talking to me about it because I was wearing my Anathema shirt, and I just had no clue. I really need to start paying attention to/going to more concerts.

[senecadawg2]

Where do you live? And nice username, btw.

[CharlieDominietzsche]

Where do you live? And nice username, btw.

Thanks. I live in the Twin Cities area.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Got Weather Systems, loving it so far. Untouchable Part 1 and The Storm Before The Calm are my favorites so far.

[SoundscapeMN]

Where do you live? And nice username, btw.

Thanks. I live in the Twin Cities area.

yeah I was there. It was a sweet show. Alcest were quite good too.

JRundquist even interviewed Danny before the show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2_n4rGVH2Y

I hope they come back, although I wouldn't assume anything. They mentioned how they did better financially than they expected on that US tour. Their merch had been dwindled down when they were in town, from so much of the stock being bought at previous shows.

[Nekov]

Got Weather Systems, loving it so far. Untouchable Part 1 and The Storm Before The Calm are my favorites so far.

 

[Sacul]

Got Weather Systems, loving it so far. Untouchable Part 1 and The Storm Before The Calm are my favorites so far.

I fucking love that last song. Are you new on Anathema?

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Yep, first album.

[Sacul]

Yep, first album.

Awesome. I'm almost a new fan too and besides WS, I've just listened to Alternative 4. Give it a try, it's amazing.

[Zantera]

Recently, Anathema's singer/multi-instrumentalist Daniel Cavanagh announced that the band has been working on its 10th studio album, and that it is scheduled for release in May of this year.

Cavanagh stated that he was influenced by Radiohead and Atoms for Peace, and that some tracks will have a slightly more electronic feel. He also talked about a possible short acapella song. He says the next album will follow the same path than the previous two, but he stated that, on those past releases, the band has played it a bit safe, and that Anathema plans to gradually shift away from that on the next few albums.

Radiohead sounds interesting, but Atoms For Peace was one of the most mediocre releases of last year, so I don't know. It feels like it will either be a pretty cool album or a pretty underwhelming one. It's Anathema though, so I expect a pretty good album, but nothing that will be on my top lists for 2014. There's 3 or 4 releases in May alone that I am more excited about.

[PixelDream]

Most of the times, if any given band/artist is influenced by other music, usually it'll come out not sounding anywhere close to that. I also thought Atoms for Peace's record wasn't that good. Radiohead influences sound interesting though. Not playing it safe sounds even better. WHBWH was a highlight, WS was a bit too much in the 'heavenly' sound department IMHO. Time for some more balls I hope.

[?]

I thought A Fine Day to Exit was quite Radiohead-influenced already... Well, my sister likes Radiohead and Atoms for Peace, so I should force her to listen to the new album when it comes out

[LCArenas]

Here's a random appreciation for Barriers. Great song. I might as well give an appreciation for A Fine Day To Exit.

[ariich]

Recently, Anathema's singer/multi-instrumentalist Daniel Cavanagh announced that the band has been working on its 10th studio album, and that it is scheduled for release in May of this year.

Cavanagh stated that he was influenced by Radiohead and Atoms for Peace, and that some tracks will have a slightly more electronic feel. He also talked about a possible short acapella song. He says the next album will follow the same path than the previous two, but he stated that, on those past releases, the band has played it a bit safe, and that Anathema plans to gradually shift away from that on the next few albums.

Radiohead sounds interesting, but Atoms For Peace was one of the most mediocre releases of last year, so I don't know. It feels like it will either be a pretty cool album or a pretty underwhelming one. It's Anathema though, so I expect a pretty good album, but nothing that will be on my top lists for 2014. There's 3 or 4 releases in May alone that I am more excited about.

I'm not sure I follow the logic here. The influence will be a stylistic one, incorporated into Anathema's own style, and has nothing to do with quality.

Either way, new music from them excites me immensely!

[Jamesman42]

Amok was a good album, though I thought the drums were shitty and too loud.

I loved Weather Systems so much. A step in that direction with some changes...yes please.

[senecadawg2]

Most of the times, if any given band/artist is influenced by other music, usually it'll come out not sounding anywhere close to that. I also thought Atoms for Peace's record wasn't that good. Radiohead influences sound interesting though. Not playing it safe sounds even better. WHBWH was a highlight, WS was a bit too much in the 'heavenly' sound department IMHO. Time for some more balls I hope.

Agree on all your comments except for your issues with WS. 'Heavenly' is Anathema at their best, I think. May promises to be a strong month for releases!

[Heretic]

Recently, Anathema's singer/multi-instrumentalist Daniel Cavanagh announced that the band has been working on its 10th studio album, and that it is scheduled for release in May of this year.

Cavanagh stated that he was influenced by Radiohead and Atoms for Peace, and that some tracks will have a slightly more electronic feel. He also talked about a possible short acapella song. He says the next album will follow the same path than the previous two, but he stated that, on those past releases, the band has played it a bit safe, and that Anathema plans to gradually shift away from that on the next few albums.

Radiohead sounds interesting, but Atoms For Peace was one of the most mediocre releases of last year, so I don't know. It feels like it will either be a pretty cool album or a pretty underwhelming one. It's Anathema though, so I expect a pretty good album, but nothing that will be on my top lists for 2014. There's 3 or 4 releases in May alone that I am more excited about.

I'm not sure I follow the logic here. The influence will be a stylistic one, incorporated into Anathema's own style, and has nothing to do with quality.

Either way, new music from them excites me immensely!

Agree with this all the way.

Also-- I've learned to stop having expectations for albums, really. When you go into an album thinking "man, this probably won't be that good" or "no way this will make my top albums list this year" then you're going it pessimistically, and what good is that?

[seasonsinthesky]

the Radiohead influence is what makes A Natural Disaster poke out in their discography, so i'm expecting that the new album will be related to its sound. i'm about 50/50 on AND myself, but i know a lot of people find it a highlight overall, so i'd be surprised if it landed particularly differently.

someone mentioned A Fine Day to Exit — agreed that the Radiohead influence is all over it as well, but it's more like the OK Computer sound, whereas AND has the bleeps-and-bloops RH (and thus Atoms For Peace) influence on its sleeve. AFDTE is my favourite of their albums. it's a bit unfortunate they only explored its textures the one time.

[Zantera]

I think going on with a completely clean mind and no expectations is almost impossible to do. It's similar with movies you are looking forward to. There's teasers/trailers/info you get before the actual thing, and they do give you some hint to what's coming. Now, a band saying that band X influenced the new album doesn't give everything away, and it's not like that tiny piece of information crushed my expectations, it's just more of a "eh really?" kind of reaction. Anathema is a great band, and I'm sure they will do a great album. To turn it around, I'm actually very happy about the new direction. The WHBWH/WS sound has gotten pretty stale IMO, and it's nice to see the band move on, instead of putting out another "safe" bet. If by electronic we get songs similar to Closer, then I am all in.

[ariich]

Now, a band saying that band X influenced the new album doesn't give everything away, and it's not like that tiny piece of information crushed my expectations, it's just more of a "eh really?" kind of reaction.

I just don't understand the link between a stylistic influence and the quality of something. As far as I'm concerned, those two are entirely unrelated.

[abydos]

They could be related if you don't like the thing that has applied the influence. I guess.

[Zantera]

They could be related if you don't like the thing that has applied the influence. I guess.

Yeah I think so too. Even if it's just an influence (that might not even be very noticeable in the end), it comes from something that just wasn't good. (IMO ofc)

[ariich]

Was it the style/genre of the Atoms for Peace album that you didn't like, or was it a style that you normally like but you just didn't think it was very good?

When a band is influenced by another, it's not like they say "well that album had a pretty average reception, so let's aim for that sort of quality". I'm assuming Danny was talking about stylistic elements that have influenced him from Radiohead and from AFP, which for me personally has absolutely no bearing on the quality of something. Obviously if you have certain styles that you don't like, then that will, but it wasn't clear from your posts whether that's the case. That's all I'm trying to understand.

[Zantera]

Electronic music in general is something I like, but Atoms For Peace and some of the most recent Radiohead (who both share similarities) has just felt pretty boring to me. That particular sound. They could take influences and make it better ofc, and they probably will. To me, reading that part on Atoms For Peace being an influence, I had the same reaction I would probably have if JJ Abrams went out and said that the new Star Wars movie would be influenced by the prequels. Sure, influence and quality might be different, but the sound of Atoms For Peace was very flat and dull, and wasn't very creative or special, so it's hard for me to identify anything good they could take from it. But whatever, it's Anathema. They can do a rap album if they want, I'd buy it.