Anathema

[Zantera]

So this was just posted on the Anathema facebook:

We want to let you know that unfortunately life has been very tough on one of our band members, Dan, in the last two years, and He has attempted suicide.

He has has been under a chronic and profound depression for years.

He survived the suicide attempt and is getting better. It’s a miracle he survived the last two years at all. He never left the house for a year, and contrary to theories, he was never institutionalised in any way and has never in his life had contact from the police, or the psychiatric services.

Dan is a reasonably decent human being who seems to have become lost. Hasn’t been himself at all for years.

He did go voluntarily to hospital once for a few days, to avoid the ability to commit suicide, but apparently the NHS facility was even more depressing. The NHS need help and we are pledging 10% of our GoFundMe to the mind charity.

We are now working to bring something good to the world and Dan wants to improve as a human being and be a better man, and never do anything so stupid again. His doctor is also trying his best to prevent suicide happening again.

He is under professional mental health care and is very dedicated to 12 step of addiction recovery, of which he is very active. Dan has been diagnosed with profound depression, daily chronic horrific anxiety, complex post traumatic stress disorder for 25 - 30 years, and he has ADHD. He has not been himself at all for 4 years now, at least.

Many of you share this type of struggle. Maybe music is part of healing.

Hard lessons have been well learned. This was the hardest. Lessons were learned. Maybe that’s why we have hard times.

We wish Dan a good recovery. Obviously we were not sure if posting this was a good idea, but the truth is the truth, and perhaps it’s time you heard it.

Blessing and love and forgiveness ✨

We truly hope all of you , every single one of you without exception, live happy and blessed lives.

Yours in healing

Weather Systems band and management

And while suicide is no laughing matter and I fully sympathize with anyone with mental issues, this post reads really weird to me. Maybe it's all the rumors that have been circulating around about Dan's behavior and him being the reason the band split. But certain parts of this post reads really weird to me like "Dan is a reasonably decent human being" or towards the end "the truth is the truth and it's time you heard it". Maybe I'm reading too much into it but my first thought when reading the post was that it felt almost like something he wrote himself - possibly to rally some people behind him or deflect some of the negativity he has faced due to the rumors.

Either way I hope he's fine because I still love Anathema and it pains me that the band doesn't exist anymore, still the 'drama' that has followed their disbandment does leave a bit of a sour after taste and between this post, him begging for donations for the new Weather Systems project as well as selling off instruments used during the Anathema years something just feels off. Like we're in a M Night Shyamalan movie and I'm waiting for the twist.

[Ben_Jamin]

This is a big reason why I enjoy Weather Systems, the album, a lot. It has some uplifting, positive, messages, and the music behind it all uplifts the soul. It has helped me when I would have these depressing thoughts and emotional outbursts of sadness and contemplation of my entire world falling apart.

People who experience depression can end up dealing with it by exerting certain detrimental behaviors, including doing stupid things, consequences be damned.

I am glad that he is getting the help he needs, and has learned. Albeit he had to learn the hard way. Some people just have to end up in these hard times to fully see and pull themselves out. Sadly, some don't pull themselves out of that hole and end up burying themselves in the avalanche.

This helps explain certain band situations, and it's something I can understand, as musicians are also humans who can and do go through so much...

[Buddyhunter1]

And while suicide is no laughing matter and I fully sympathize with anyone with mental issues, this post reads really weird to me. Maybe it's all the rumors that have been circulating around about Dan's behavior and him being the reason the band split. But certain parts of this post reads really weird to me like "Dan is a reasonably decent human being" or towards the end "the truth is the truth and it's time you heard it". Maybe I'm reading too much into it but my first thought when reading the post was that it felt almost like something he wrote himself - possibly to rally some people behind him or deflect some of the negativity he has faced due to the rumors.

Either way I hope he's fine because I still love Anathema and it pains me that the band doesn't exist anymore, still the 'drama' that has followed their disbandment does leave a bit of a sour after taste and between this post, him begging for donations for the new Weather Systems project as well as selling off instruments used during the Anathema years something just feels off. Like we're in a M Night Shyamalan movie and I'm waiting for the twist.

Yeah, funnily enough I was trying to figure out more about the situation just yesterday, and still wasn't able to get a better understanding of things. I poked around on their Reddit for a bit and pretty much all the posts I could find were along the lines of "go dig deeper yourself" without actually explaining anything and most posts that looked like they had actual information in them were deleted. It definitely still feels like we don't know the whole picture yet, and who knows if we ever will.

Whatever, I just hope Dan gets the help he needs. I'm not expecting a reunion, and I'm not really expecting this "Weather Systems" project to be good, if it ever actually becomes anything. I listened to a couple of the soundcloud demos and they sounded pretty shit, if I'm being honest.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Ok, I'm a little confused.  Despite being a pretty big fan of the band, I haven't read enough notes from them to know which one goes by "Dan".  Daniel Cavanagh usually went by "Danny" from my recollection.  That would seem to imply it's Daniel Cardoso then, but I don't know for sure.  It was Cavanagh that there were rumors about as far as I know, not Cardoso.  I don't know if someone is more in the loop than me, or I may have to trawl the internet some.  Regardless, this really sucks.  Weather Systems and The Optimist (horribly inopportune title now) were my two favorite albums of theirs. 

[Lethean]

Is Daniel Cardoso even involved with Weather Systems the "band?"  I'm guessing it's Danny, but could of course be wrong.  And like Buddyhunter, I've tried to find out what went down with Anathema and haven't been able to find much.  And I've found the recent posts on the Anathema page to be kind of weird - varying from offputting to head scratching, like Zantera described.

If it is Danny (or anyone really), I certainly hope he's doing better. 

[RoeDent]

I mean, we all know which one's been acting weird over the last few years, so put two and two together...

[Zantera]

There's also the 'famous' FB message from John Douglas from a while ago that went into the situation a little bit without getting super specific: (This has been circulated around the reddit and I think it was sent to someone close to the band)


But then after this, John Douglas still joined Danny on the Weather Systems project so one would assume that no matter what the split is about, the chalice isn't poisoned between all of them. I believe Danny has all the rights to the Anathema name and brand, hence why the Anathema FB page has been used to promote/ask for money for the Weather Systems page, and also why we haven't really heard much from the others. But also the fact nobody else has really spoken out about the details makes you wonder how bad the situation really is. If there's lawyers involved or Danny did something so bad to make the others step away - that also makes you wonder why John Douglas came back.

Regarding the Weather Systems project, even though I love almost everything Anathema and rate them very highly, I've held off donating anything because it just feels a bit sketchy at this point. If we had a more 'standard' fundme campaign with an album cover and a more clear picture of "this is how the album will turn out" I might back it, but right now it feels like one of those things where I question Danny's mental state and I hope this doesn't turn out to be some sort of scam where the money donated just sinks into his pockets and nothing comes out of it.

[Sacul]

All of this just breaks my heart even more

[lonestar]

I saw the post as well, and while cryptic, I can only hope for a solid recover. Glad to hear he's attacking it from all angles, and is full in on the 12 step process, it does work wonders.

[T-ski]

Anathema is the one band my wife and I both have a deep love for.  We had a chance to see them in Chicago before Covid but my anxiety got the better of me and I couldn’t do it. My wife has not let me forget it. I really, really hope they find a way to get back together and we have another chance to see them live.

[PixelDream]

Good to read others are also feeling there’s something a little off on their Facebook page. I thought I was nuts, as almost every comment on a new track are heart emojis. Hope he gets the help he needs though.

[DoctorAction]

Hard to know what to make of the situation when you have rumours about one member (Danny) combined with complete silence from any other key members (Vincent, Lee).

The connection I've had with their music is huge. Wonderful to have been able to share it with my other half too. We went to one of the final shows at the Palladium in London just before lockdown. But I've barely listened to them since the split. The lack of proper explanation has really, really pissed me off, honestly. Like, not a single interview.

Regardless of all that, I hope Danny gets the help he needs.

[Elite]

I’m glad it wasn’t just me that thought that Facebook post was well weird. The whole tonw and wording of that post seems .. off. It doesn’t really read as empathetic either, some of it makes me wonder whether I’m supposed to know this at all (does ‘Dan’ want the world to read he’s attempted suicide?). Who is posting on the Anathema Facebook page anyway! It’s been weird stuff for a year or two now. Such a shame, they were a great band. I hope they’re all alright (but it doesn’t seem like it.)

[Zantera]

I’m glad it wasn’t just me that thought that Facebook post was well weird. The whole tonw and wording of that post seems .. off. It doesn’t really read as empathetic either, some of it makes me wonder whether I’m supposed to know this at all (does ‘Dan’ want the world to read he’s attempted suicide?). Who is posting on the Anathema Facebook page anyway! It’s been weird stuff for a year or two now. Such a shame, they were a great band. I hope they’re all alright (but it doesn’t seem like it.)

Danny is the one who runs the Anathema social media nowadays, you can kinda tell by the constant asking for donations for the Weather Systems but also how he's mentioning music personal to him with the covers they post. (250£ to request a cover doesn't really seem worth imo) That also makes this recent post feel even weirder because it does read like something he wrote about himself in third person but it's phrased in a way where you're meant to think someone else wrote it about him?

All we know about why they split is rumors ranging from Danny being inappropriate with minors to him being abusive/toxic towards fans and I guess what level of severity you choose to believe is fairly up to yourself, however the main reasons I give credit to something really bad being behind the split is 1. him selling off all Anathema instruments which makes me think he desperately needs money for something and the lawyer angle feels semi-logical, 2. the fact nobody else in the band has said anything makes me think it's bad enough that everyone went with silence because the truth is too disturbing and would cause too much drama.

If this was your normal "We didn't see eye to eye on certain things" I'm 100% sure you would have heard anything from Vinny about leaving the band or not being part of it anymore. Danny is his brother after all and they were in the same band for 30 years.

[Ben_Jamin]

Am I the only one that doesn't feel the need or desire to understand everything going on with the members of the band?

That amazes me, and it's a big reason I feel for musicians.

All I care about is the music that they have given us. It's unfortunate that the band is done. Life goes on, we live on, and we still have the music.

In the end, the band members are still human beings just like you and me. They have feelings, emotions, and are capable of doing good and bad. They also have good and bad emotions. Most musicians are not happy people in the inside, and it takes a lot just to go up on that stage every night and play the music for the people. You're taking a good chunk of your life to tour and that alone can be mentally challenging. Not everyone can handle that stress of touring. And it's not just touring, it's also dealing with the music industry and business that also plays a huge role in a musicians mental health. Some musicians have left touring or making music for the masses, because of the music industry killing that passion for them.

If Dan is that bad mentally. The others could have no idea at all about Dan being that mentally unstable. They could have a hunch, but there's not much you can do if the person does not want that help. That alone can be very frustrating to witness a loved one continue down that path. It is better to stay silent, but all you can do is be there for them when that time comes for support.

All these actions of Dan, such as being the one that caused the band to disband, selling merch, even those accusations if true can be reactions cause by that mental instability.

I truly feel for Dan, and I do wish the most beneficial outcome for his mental health. And I do hope for the best for his Weather Systems output if he is doing that all himself.

[DoctorAction]

Yeah, I'm sure a full time career in the music industry is very hard indeed.

You said you only care about the music but then talked about how you care about Dan and his mental health.

Personally, I'm fascinated by artistic creation. I can't imagine not being interested in the artists.

[Zantera]

If I'm a big fan of a band I do start to care more about the individuals as well. If I'm just a casual fan I don't really care so much. Then again with something like a break up, especially one that feels 'unclear', I still kinda seek information because it would help me understand and move on I suppose. I know the artists don't owe us an explanation or anything, but to me at least it helps knowing.

[Ben_Jamin]

Yeah, I'm sure a full time career in the music industry is very hard indeed.

You said you only care about the music but then talked about how you care about Dan and his mental health.

Personally, I'm fascinated by artistic creation. I can't imagine not being interested in the artists.

I am basing my perspective of the mental health on interviews, and documentaries from musicians that have spoken about the music industry and the toll it can have on a musician....Just look at Devin Townsend. His documentary for Puzzle is introspective as well for artistic creation.

I can care about a band member enough to give my blessings. But other than, I do not care as much about the intricate details as to why an artist chose to do what they did.

I have my limits on that and that is what I don't care about. I don't expect anything at all from the musicians, nor do I care about those. It's informative if they do decide to share it with us, but they do not have an obligation to let us know.

But, that's how powerful music is. It can make people feel a part of the music, it makes people feel inclusive to something. When that falls apart, it can become obsessive and fans begin demanding to understand. I think, it's a form of grief and a way to deal emotionally with that loss and that isn't wrong at all, it's just a part of being human. Which is how fans of sports also feel as well. A great example of that obsession is the song Stan by Eminem.

I am not going to be persistent and begin to assume anything that can be misconstrued about the why's. Such as dabbling in the speculation and accusations of a band member.

I do enjoy Anathema a lot, but even in the music, you can hear there was something there, and this was there in the albums, especially The Optimist.

[Lethean]

If I'm a big fan of a band I do start to care more about the individuals as well. If I'm just a casual fan I don't really care so much. Then again with something like a break up, especially one that feels 'unclear', I still kinda seek information because it would help me understand and move on I suppose. I know the artists don't owe us an explanation or anything, but to me at least it helps knowing.

I agree with this.  Plus, the weirdness of the Facebook posts makes it all the more understandable that there's going to be speculation among the fans.  He's putting this stuff out there for the public, so the public is going to talk about it and wonder about it. 

Also agree that it felt like he wrote that post himself in the 3rd person.

[DoctorAction]

I'm not assuming anything about Daniel from rumours or "his" posts. It all feels quite weird, though.

And while we aren't OWED anything as fans, in the way of explanation, it would help us and all parties involved to understand what went on.

Frankly, we're not owed any coherent explanation, sure, but I think it's completely reasonable to want one.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Am I the only one that doesn't feel the need or desire to understand everything going on with the members of the band?

That amazes me, and it's a big reason I feel for musicians.

All I care about is the music that they have given us. It's unfortunate that the band is done. Life goes on, we live on, and we still have the music.

In the end, the band members are still human beings just like you and me. They have feelings, emotions, and are capable of doing good and bad. They also have good and bad emotions. Most musicians are not happy people in the inside, and it takes a lot just to go up on that stage every night and play the music for the people. You're taking a good chunk of your life to tour and that alone can be mentally challenging. Not everyone can handle that stress of touring. And it's not just touring, it's also dealing with the music industry and business that also plays a huge role in a musicians mental health. Some musicians have left touring or making music for the masses, because of the music industry killing that passion for them.

We're increasingly living in a very complicated era.  There is unprecedented access in both directions, for musicians to interact with people, and for people to dig up all kinds of information on them.  I'm not sure this is always such a good thing.  Things are sometimes changing here as well, but we don't typically hold other fields up to quite this much scrutiny.  The people who make our clothes, our food, our vehicles, our houses, etc., all of them are also individual and potentially highly flawed people.  For the most part we don't dig in excessively deep to know every questionable decision they've made in their lives that we could view as influencing the product we've chosen to purchase from them. 

Any artist that has been in the public eye for some period of time is eventually going to have some kind of controversy.  Some very mild, some extreme, and for various agendas people may blow up the details of these incidents to be more than they really are.  Some of them may be legitimate, and everyone is going to have a different line for what bothers them.  Not everyone is built to be able to handle this microscopic level of analysis, and in ways it's surprising there aren't even more musicians who aren't able to cope with it.  I suspect it may grow worse for some time though. 

[KevShmev]

I don't know the first thing about any of the members of this band (I love Weather Systems, but really haven't dug into much else yet), but whoever wrote that FB post needs major lessons in sensitivity.   

[Mebert78]

I was very shocked at the post.  To me, it reads as if Danny Cavanagh wrote it in the third person about himself, perhaps in an effort to point the finger at his former bandmates for this suicide attempt and make them feel guilty while also winning the sympathy of fans?  When he said "it's a miracle he survived the past two years," which is a timeline that coincides with the breakup of the band, it made me feel like he was casting blame at his former bandmates.  But that's just me.  The whole post seems like a cry for help to me. 

Does anyone know if Cavanagh has any children?  I heard through a friend years ago who was a big fan of the band that "Ariel" is about a baby he had, although I've never seen anything mentioned about that online.  I hope he figures out his issues for the sake of his kid(s).

[RoeDent]

Man if it is real and all, then you lot should be completely ashamed of yourselves. Completely disgraceful reaction from all of you. We're supposed to be taking mental health seriously in 2022.

[Ben_Jamin]

Man if it is real and all, then you lot should be completely ashamed of yourselves. Completely disgraceful reaction from all of you. We're supposed to be taking mental health seriously in 2022.

Precisely.

[DoctorAction]

Man if it is real and all, then you lot should be completely ashamed of yourselves. Completely disgraceful reaction from all of you. We're supposed to be taking mental health seriously in 2022.

There's a range of comments here but I don't see anything disgraceful.

[senecadawg2]

I don't think concerns about Danny's mental health and curiosity about the circumstances surrounding the band's break-up and subsequent messages are mutually exclusive. Personally, I'm torn up for Danny, and I hope he gets all the help he can get -- I'm personally indebted to him for the impact his art has had on my life. I suspect we'll never know the full truth of what happened.

[Deathless]

This thread piqued my interest in the band. I listened to most of Weather Systems and so far I am really enjoying it. Should I start at the beginning of the discography and work my way though from there?

[DoctorAction]

If you start with We're Here Because We're Here (their "comeback" album) and go forwards, it's all mainly in the same vein, and I'd probably recommend that.

I've never got into their first few albums but Alternative 4 onwards has always worked for me wrt their earlier output. Judgement is probably my favourite of those but A Fine Day To Exit and A Natural Disaster are both great too.

[Buddyhunter1]

Weather Systems, WHBWH, and Judgement are their holy trinity, imo. Can't go wrong with any of those.

[nick_z]

The Eternity - Alternative 4 - Judgement run is my favorite era of the band. If I had to pick ONE favorite, it'd be Alternative 4.

They were initially part of what people called the "Peaceville three", with Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride - which I always found kinda funny, since their "death-doom" phase was such a brief part of their story. It really only includes the debut EP Crestfallen, their first full length Serenades and their subsequent EP Pentecost III - these were all with original vocalist Darren White. Even their following record, A Silent Enigma, while surely somewhat related to that genre, was already something different (some great songs in there, btw - check out Restless Oblivion and  A Dying Wish)

Then the Pink Floyd influences definitely took over, but within a sound that was very much their own. The three albums mentioned above are excellent. Gothic, doomy, gloomy and "dreamy" all at the same time ..although Judgement was already a bit different...more "positive", if you will (The original bass player Duncan Patterson had left after Alternative 4, and I believe a lot of the darker stuff left with him...)

Of their latter, "positive-minded prog" phase, my favorite is Weather Systems, although the quality is pretty consistently high. I just have a slight preference for their mid-career sound.

Very sad to hear about Danny's issues, whatever the cause is. From past interviews (a while ago, really...), I seem to remember he struggled with similar problems before...

[senecadawg2]

This thread piqued my interest in the band. I listened to most of Weather Systems and so far I am really enjoying it. Should I start at the beginning of the discography and work my way though from there?

You can't go wrong with any Anathema album, as far as I'm concerned, but if WS is what you're enjoying a lot, I'd go for WHBWH next, followed by Distant Satellites. After that, I'd go chronologically from the beginning.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

This thread piqued my interest in the band. I listened to most of Weather Systems and so far I am really enjoying it. Should I start at the beginning of the discography and work my way though from there?

You can't go wrong with any Anathema album, as far as I'm concerned, but if WS is what you're enjoying a lot, I'd go for WHBWH next, followed by Distant Satellites. After that, I'd go chronologically from the beginning.

Distant Satellites to their early material is a pretty big jump, especially if you're not a death doom fan.  They're kind of like Katatonia in that it's really better just to work an album at a time backwards or forwards.  More than a few albums in any direction is going to be a more drastic change in sound.  They're closer to Ulver than they are to AC/DC. 

[nick_z]

Distant Satellites to their early material is a pretty big jump, especially if you're not a death doom fan.  They're kind of like Katatonia in that it's really better just to work an album at a time backwards or forwards.  More than a few albums in any direction is going to be a more drastic change in sound.  They're closer to Ulver than they are to AC/DC.

Yep, agree with this. What's your favorite era/album in their discography?

[senecadawg2]

Oh yeah, no doubt—it would be a huge stylistic jump. But that's exactly why I would recommend it. It's kind of fun to experience that contrast first, and then to explore in a more gradual way how they transitioned over time. That's just how I generally like to explore a new band, though, I often jump around a lot. Ulver was the same, for me