AnathemA
 

Any Anathema fans out there...?
I stopped listening to metal four years ago, I was in to AC/DC, Metallica and Iron Maiden,and I was really ready to move on as I claimed to more "serious" stuff...
I was introduced to Anathema by my older brother two months ago and I can't stop listening to the especially Alternative 4(the album)
Anw, I was wondering, do u prefer their earlier doom stuff, their progressive metal stuff, or their newer progressive rock?

I myself like their stuff from 1998 and onwards

Class band: as a doom/death fan, I prefer their earlier material, but that certainly doesn't mean I don't enjoy all their later, spacier stuff like Eternity and Judgement. It's such a shame they still can't find a label after those bounders at Sony closed down Music For Nations, but I'm still looking forward to their new (2CD?) album.

I like all their stuff, but The Silent Enigma is my favorite. That said i am a doom fan so i mgiht be a little biased haha

I picked up Judgement about a month ago and love the way it bridges the emotional aspect of some Prog and the heaviness of their early influences. Riverside and latter day PT fans would dig for sure:

It is one of my favourite bands

Hehe so it's band exactly for me :D

I had one song from compilation (Wings of God) and now I finally have two albums of them - Judgement and Alternative 4. I really like it, good music.
So now I have a time of three new bands - Anathema, Orphaned Land and Katatonia. For now I like them in this order.
Katatonia is ok, something is nice, something little bit boring. But they will have a gig in Prague soon so I am thinking about going or not going.

So I really started to love Anathema. Especially album Judgement :)

On 31st May they will release new CD with name We're Here Because We're Here :D

http://www.anathema.ws/img/werehere_frontcover.jpg

News about this album...

Source - their web page anathema - official website

I got it... it's amazing :D

Yeah? Really? I will wait for official release date to buy it. Before that I have a lot of another new music.

Oh I'm still going to buy it day it comes out, I'm just impatient and love hearing things ahead of time.

OK :D I understand. But with my loved bands I rather wait for original album ;)

Do you have some favourite tracks on this album? Which?

my band got compared to them in a review in Classic Rock - best compliment ever!

New album's out. First listen? Not too shabby but heavy on the piano and even lighter on the riffs. If you have never heard this band and like the more mellow side of Porcupine Tree, then you should like them.

First track from the new album if anyone is remotely interested:

^ Dude I love that!
Is the rest of the album similar?

Yes it is although by their standards it is even more removed by their original sound but it's still a good album. Want a link?

Please?
:love:

After first day of listening very nice album... but really different than previous.
My favourite tracks are probably Thin Air and Angels walk among us.

Such a quality band. Felt the need to bump this.

Finally saw them live. It was such a lovely night :)
Well, some songs on new album aren't able to be the same on stage, singing isn't so clear as on album but they are so... emotive, powerful and natural.

Album "We're here because we're here" was voted by Classic Rock as best prog album of 2010 :)
So yes, if you like Thin Air, you will like all new album. And this year they plan to release again some new album.

Listening to Alternative 4... It seems pretty musically interesting, but, from what I've heard (WHBWH and AND) their most recent is by far the best vocal performance.

Yes, the most recent is really different because it was released after long seven years without new album.

Alternative 4 was (is) their first album with clean vocals. In past (1992-1997) they were doom metal band.

Been giving these guys a listen a lot and have been enjoying them very very much. Love the mixture of prog and doom with this band. Especially with the Alternative 4 album:



And if you're wondering, it's where my avatar is from. This is from their last.fm page. The bunny ears are from the easter themed avatars, I just kept it because I like it.

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/...athema+PNG.png

The vocalist actually reminds me of Steven Wilson a lot with the way he pronounces certain words in his singing.

Judgement (1999) is always going to be my favourite, but their 2003 album A Natural Disaster had a couple of really strong songs on it, "Pulled Under at 2000 Meters a Second" in particular. Their 2010 album We're Here Because We're Here wasn't as replayable as their '90's material but it still had a good sound to it, most notably for completely dropping any hint of their previous doom/ death sound. They have a new album coming out sometime this month as well which I'm looking forward to.

That is definitely something to look forward to, and something I will be looking into when it comes out.

Great band. Actually like all there music. But Eternity is my favourite album

You know when you listen to certain pieces of music and think to yourself ' that is the track I want to be played at my funeral' or 'that is the track that sums up how I feel right now' without really experiencing those things?

Well I was playing their album 'We're Here Because We're Here' on my headphones when I visited the cemetery recently to lay flowers at my wife's grave and I have never experienced anything quite like the power that the album produced within me.

Music really, really mattered that day and although it heightened my emotions to the point of being overly emotional, I was thankful for the experience and it proved (at least to myself) that listening to music really is a form of catharsis.

That's an incredible story jack, really shows how powerful music can be.

i've only just got "Judgement" and am loving it

i can understand the Porcupine Tree comparisons but i think Anathema is more proficient, and they evoke a larger spectrum of emotions

and i don't even like Porcupine Tree much

I think Judgement is a good album but probably don't hold it in as high esteem as a lot of people on here. I think it demonstrates how an extreme metal band, can convert themselves into a ambient metal one with clean and soft singing. I'd say the Porcupine Tree comparisons are even stronger on the albums after it.

And this song from Judgement sounds more like an A-ha song:yikes: In fact Morten Harkett's voice would've enchanced it even more.


Anathema - One Last Goodbye - YouTube

yes, and I love a-ha

your point being?

That too many people shun and dismiss A-ha for being just a poppy pop band (thats the fault of their big singles) without really ever knowing the depth and beauty of their real sound. Personally, their first five studio albums are wonderful and the first three real classics. Morten Harkett's voice, is a voice that few vocalists regardless of genre can really aspire to.

It feels strange talking about A-ha and Anathema on the same thread, but the reality of it is, is that some of the songs off Judgement could easily fit onto A-ha's East of the Sun West of the Moon and Memorial Beach albums.

Just recently got a hold of a copy of Weather Systems. One thing straight off the bat that is a little different than their other releases is that it seems much less doom influenced. That's not particularly a bad thing, it's just an observation. I do however really like how the album starts off in two parts instead of just one long song. Not sure if there are a lot of other artists out there that have done that.

With that in mind, I think both parts of Untouchable are pretty rad. Vincent Cavanagh is becoming one of my all time favorite vocalists.

I'm still working my way through the album, but I figured i'd give my thoughts on the start of it.

EDIT: Holy hell. I got through more than half of it, and nothing really picked up like the other albums do. It's very....boring. The album finally gets to the traditional Anathama sound around The Storm Before The Calm, even then it's still a little bit boring.

I'm giving Weather Systems a second listen. I realized it's better to listen to it without a biased opinion with knowing what they sound like prior to this album. If you listen to it as just a single album with no comparisons, it's really damn good. Untouchable 1 and Untouchable 2 are still the highlights of the album for me. It's a very calm album.

Weather Systems is an incredible album! Hopefully I have the vinyl coming in the mail in a few days.

I really love Weather Systems. It and Judgement are my two favorite Anathema albums. I will be really surprised if WS is not my AOTY.

I don't think it's one of their strongest albums, but it has it's moments to make it at least their 3rd or 4th great album, rating wise.

Yeah I still think WHBWH is their best, but Weather Systems is right up there with that and Alternative 4.

I think Alternative 4 is their finest release from what i've heard from them. The combination of Shroud of False and Fragile Dreams is beyond incredible. Gives me chills every time.