Anathema, *heart* Options

[Dr Strum]

Alright, bitches, you knew this was coming.
Well, maybe not, but whether you do or don't, I feel bad for any of you who do not know them. :(

Anyways, I don't know what to say about them without sounding like a rabid fangirl, which I suppose I am. At least for Anathema. So, instead, I'll give a little information on them, and then a bunch of links from where you can sample much of their music.

History
Anathema formed at the beginning of the nineties under the name Pagan Angel, but eventually ditched that name and released a few demos, and then signed to Peaceville records. They released three albums, pioneering the Doom/Death sound alongside biggies such as My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost before their first major change-up; their original vocalist, Darren White, left the band (rumoured to have been kicked out of the band, but he went on to form The Blood Divine, then, most recently, Seretonal). Instead of finding a new one, Vincent Cavanagh took on vocal duties alongside guitar. They released some new albums on Peaceville, each one straying further and further from their orginial sound, swapping members in and out, switching labels twice, getting fucked out of a contract by MTVUK, and then being dropped by their most recent label. They remain unsigned with their current lineup of Vincent, Daniel and Jamie Cavanagh, Les Smith and John Douglas. They continue to make music, posting it on their website, as they continue to try and find a new label.

Discograpy
I'm not including demos and singles and compilations and DVDs and shit like most lists do. (Except Hindsight in which all the songs are remade and thus DIFFERENT.)

• 1992 - Crestfallen EP
• 1993 - Serenades
• 1995 - Pentecost III EP
• 1995 - The Silent Enigma
• 1996 - Eternity
• 1998 - Alternative 4
• 1999 - Judgement
• 2001 - A Fine Day to Exit
• 2003 - A Natural Disaster
• 2008 - Hindsight
• 2010 - We're Here Because We're Here

Except the last four, all of these have been re-released, most with bonus tracks and videos, so they're not hard to find if you were to want them.

Links
Where you can find your info and free downloads.
http://www.anathema.ws - Official Site
http://www.myspace.com/weareanathema - Official MySpace
http://anathemaniacs.net/ - Fan Site
http://www.drsturm.net/msc/Anathema/ - My Own Online Repository of Anathema Music
The last one's not completely legal, but I'm trying to get more people into Anathema, and few are willing if they have to go search and download.

Anyways, best band ever, check them out. <3

[Irysa]

Took you long enough. xp

Fantastic band though, but I miss Darren's vocals somewhat. Vincent's good, but he just isn't the same.

[Dr Strum]

My only real problem with Darren leaving is that Ruth seemed to follow him. :/
Not that Lee Douglas is bad or anything.

I do wonder, however, what Anathema's post-Pentecost III albums would have sounded like had Darren not left. Would songs like "One Last Goodbye" and "Lost Control" even exist...?

But, then again, after checking out some Seretonal, I don't really like Darren's clean vocals too much.

[Irysa]

Well, yeah, his clean were awful compared to Vincents, but Vince can't really growl that well at all. It balances I guess.


I have started liking their more recent stuff a lot more as of late though, I was primarily into the pre Eternity stuff before.

This post has been edited by Chaos Seraph: Oct 11 2006, 03:51 PM

[Dr Strum]

Same here, really. Although, I would have said everything prior to Judgement I loved, everything including and beyond I just liked, but "A Simple Mistake" made me reexamine their later albums, and I'm actually thinking A Fine Day to Exit is probably my favourite. :X

It does have one of the three songs that introduced me to Anathema...

[Irysa]

Pulled Under at 2000 Metres a Second is awesome. =p

Though it was A Fine Day To Exit and Pressure ( The music video is surprisingly good ) that got me into the later stuff.

This post has been edited by Chaos Seraph: Oct 11 2006, 04:26 PM

[Dr Strum]

Yes, it is awesome. And the music video for "Pressure" is surprisingly good. It's definitely far superior to their other music videos. <_<

"Leave No Trace," "Wings of God" and "One Last Goodbye" were the songs that first got me into Anathema. Then, a few months later... (*cough*) I checked out a few more. "Angelica" and "The Silent Enigma (Orchestral)" made me download a torrent of their discography. I found more than enough songs off each album to make me start buying them.

[Shadow]

HERE are some albums.
I've downloaded A Fine Day to Exit, Alternative 4, Judgement, Eternity (and Serenades, but was horrible).

[Rhiannon]

Aw... I liked Serenades. Mostly because of Lovelorn Rhapsody, but still!

My favourite album from them is The Silent Enigma, I think it would be accurate to say the stuff around that time would be my favourite. But I still like the older and newer stuff, just generally not as much. There are execptions, of course.

I'M CONVINCED THAT IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO HATE ANATHEMA. Because of how their music has changed, there's something for everyone. I have never seen someone who said they hated Anathema, except for one guy who only listened to one song. How lame.

But yeah, Anathema is my favourite band and they are great.

[Dr Strum]

Serenades is not horrible, it's just not your thing. Trust me, I really love the album (most particularly, "Sleepless," "Lovelorn Rhapsody" and "They (will always) Die." [not sure which version of that last song I like more though]), but it's not for everyone.
It's a harsh album; sharp yet sleek, and that's not for everyone.
But, you may really start to like Serenades/The Crestfallen (think of Serenades as a sharp sword, The Crestfallen as a knotted baseball bat) if you keep listinening to Anathema's work in general. I know I was quick to dismiss that kind of music long ago, but, as I worked my way back through their catalog, it became much easier to find greatness in it.
Anathema is what got me into Doom, and Metal in general.

[Irysa]

Seranades only problem was Darren trying to do clean vocals...
:S

Sleepless is awesome though. Especially the end. The Silent Enigma and Eternity are probably still my favourites in general, although as I said, I've started enjoying their newer material a lot more.

[Rhiannon]

Eh... while I do think Sleepless was good, Sleepless 96 was better. :( It just sounds better to have cleaner vocals on that kind of song.

[Irysa]

Gah. Sleepless 96 was just awkward for me. :<

The song almost felt half hearted attempt at it.

This post has been edited by Chaos Seraph: Oct 11 2006, 09:41 PM

[Rhiannon]

Half-hearted?! :(

I don't know, it sounded to me like just as much effort was put into it as the original.

[Irysa]

It felt too fast, like, Last minute fast, as if it was stuffed in there unplanned.

I dunno.