ANATHEMA - DISCOGRAPHY (118 VIDEOS)
Anathema
Profile:
Liverpool's Anathema, started out in the early '90s as strictly a doom metal outfit, with the requisite growled vocals and the trademark muddy sound, but when original singer Darren White left the band in 1995, with guitarist Vincent Cavanagh taking the reins, Anathema started their slow journey into completely uncharted (and unexpected) territory. In fact, Anathema's metamorphosis over the past decade is one of the most remarkable band transformations in recent memory, as album after album has sounded more and more progressive and melodic, in no small part fueled by Cavanagh's superb singing voice. 2001's A Fine Day to Exit, aided by excellent songs like Release and Pressure, was an artistic breakthrough, as the band completely shed themselves of their goth roots, while still putting out powerful, brooding hard rock.Less
Sites:
anathemamusic.com, Facebook, Last.fm, metal-archives.com, Twitter, Wikipedia,Bookogs, Posterogs, SoundCloud, instagram.com
Members:
Variations:
Viewing All | Anathema
Marketplace4,421 For Sale
41Credits
- 1Vocals
- 1Instruments & Performance
- 19Writing & Arrangement
- 10Production
- 2Technical
- 6Visual
- 2Acting, Literary & Spoken
Reviews Show All 10 Reviews
Catcher10
September 29, 2019
There are 1,000's of doom metal bands to chose from, ana_thema made the right choice..........
MTC47
October 25, 2012
I couldn't agree with shanecotee more; eofor's review is so bad it should be removed, or at least ignored by all readers. This is a band that played death/doom metal brilliantly for several albums, then "grew up" and started a gradual evolution to a new sound. Their musicianship, songwriting skills, variety of sounds/moods evoked by their songs, and the melodic subtlety and beauty of their music increased with each release. Their first few albums are like a history lesson about a great young death metal band - rough around the edges but mastering the genre quickly, and outgrowing it just as quickly. Their mid-career sound, never devolving as described in the first review but reaching new heights with a heavy sound and clean vocals, reached its pinnacle with the brilliant "Alternative 4" - another great album and guidepost in the evolution of their sound. Their latest albums show some signs of the original Anathema to the careful listener, but because of their lineup changes and conscious decision to develop a more melodic, mature, progressive sound, they seem almost the work of a different band - and in this reviewer's opinion a better one. While I love death metal, I applaud Anathema's ability to produce music that reaches the height of skill and intensity in each of the three genres or phases they've progressed through - but nothing they've done matches the sheer beauty, lyrical brilliance, and emotional intensity of their latest albums. "We're Here Because We're Here," and "Weather Systems" are masterpieces - more progressive than metal, and most intense at a deep emotional level, this is one of the most brilliant progressive bands making music today. A visit to any stop along their discography offers the listener great rewards, and some may prefer other phases more than their latest, but for this reviewer, (and in the band's own opinion), they are currently writing and recording the best music they've ever played.
eofor
March 15, 2005
edited over 15 years ago
The band profile above is the story as the band likes to present it now. A more critical version goes something like this:
Anathema started out as a young and innovative doom band, part of the "big three" Yorkshire bands along with Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride, who took the metal world by storm first with their demos and after signing with the renowned Peaceville label, with the 1992 "The Crestfallen" EP, which through its monumental, depressive dirges helped define the genre for a generation of doom bands. Three more successful releases followed, but after the uneven "Eternity", the band departed with its edgier sound and degenerated towards a bland alternative rock sound, combining the overblown pathos of Nickelback with the pretentious noodling of Pink Floyd.
Anathema started out as a young and innovative doom band, part of the "big three" Yorkshire bands along with Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride, who took the metal world by storm first with their demos and after signing with the renowned Peaceville label, with the 1992 "The Crestfallen" EP, which through its monumental, depressive dirges helped define the genre for a generation of doom bands. Three more successful releases followed, but after the uneven "Eternity", the band departed with its edgier sound and degenerated towards a bland alternative rock sound, combining the overblown pathos of Nickelback with the pretentious noodling of Pink Floyd.
Comments