Posted in Whathaveyou on June 29th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
If you too were bummed when Anathema called it a day after three decades late last year, you might find some consolation in the fact that the family tree remains quite active. To wit, guitarist/vocalist Daniel Cavanagh recently announced he’d be putting out a solo record, and seemingly in addition to that, he’s also got the new project Weather Systems, which will make its debut in 2022.
The name — if you’re still reading this you probably already know — comes from Anathema‘s 2012 album, Weather Systems (review here), and the intention behind the band seems to be to pick up in some ways where Anathema left off. That, specifically, was 2017’s The Optimist (review here), a record that, even for a band not shy about engaging with their past — having reworked old material and so on — took on their prior output in a new and fascinating way while continuing to move inextricably forward in its own sound.
I don’t know what Weather Systems will hold when Ocean Without a Shore — the upcoming LP — shows up next year, but I know enough to know that one song never represents the entirety, so I listen to the newly posted demo (he calls it ‘low quality,’ inviting contradiction) “Still Lake” not expecting to hear a summation of the total aesthetic so much as a teaser of a fraction thereof. Still, you’ll pardon me if I take what I can get. Curious to see who else is involved in Weather Systems, how it relates to Cavanagh‘s solo record, and who might be releasing the album when we get there. I hope I get to hear it.
From Anathema’s social media:
A low quality demo of the first song from the album ‘ocean without a shore’ to be released next year. This song is not complete, and neither is the album cover, just showing you a work in progress. You deserve it after lockdown. Dedicated to all who lost someone during the pandemic.
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 1st, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Anathema hit 30 years of existence in 2020, and apparently they’ve seen enough. And while there’s a part of me that definitely began the first draft of this post by asking “what’s the point of anything anymore?,” I get it. Over the course of their decades together after being founded in 1990 by brothers Vincent and Danny Cavanagh, the band evolved from death-doom to moody post-goth dark heaviness and came out the other side with an increasingly progressive and melodic reach. They never put out the same record twice — all the more of a feat because their last album, 2017’s The Optimist (review here), was a sequel to 2001’s A Fine Day to Exit — and they never lost their commitment to genuine expression of where they were at the time.
I can only speak as a fan. They were among the first truly underground bands that resonated with me. First exposure was 1998’s Alternative 4 (discussed here), and that, along with 1999’s Judgement, A Fine Day to Exit and 2003’s A Natural Disaster (reissues reviewed here), remain essential works to which I return with fair regularity. Long years between A Fine Day to Exit and 2010’s We’re Here Because We’re Here (discussed here) brought stark changes in perspective — they “got happy,” to put it as simply as possible — but their identity as a group was still intact.
And the decade that followed with releases on Peaceville Records imprint Kscope, whether it was 2012’s Weather Systems (review here), 2014’s Distant Satellites, The Optimist or various live outings, compilations and redux works like 2011’s Falling Deeper (review here) — a follow-up to 2008’s Hindsight — offered riches of its own for those with minds willing to make the journey with the band. Fans had their favorite eras. I know a few who swear by their first three records — 1993’s Serenades, 1995’s The Silent Enigma and 1996’s Eternity — and nothing else. As one looks back on the arc of their now-apparently-ended career, I’m not sure it matters.
For what it’s worth, Vincent Cavanagh appears on the new Crippled Black Phoenix record, and this is an “indefinite hiatus,” so if they’re able to tour again, they might pick up a few years down the line, but if they’re taking the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on the creative world as a whole and on them as people as a cue to make their own exit, well, they do so with no less grace than one would have to expect.
When I was 18 years old and working at KB Toys store number #1051 at the intersection of Rt. 10 and 202 in Morris Plains, NJ, about a minute from where I’ll be living from now on, a coworker turned me onto Anathema‘s Alternative 4. I bought the CD on his say-so, put it on, heard the piano intro to “Shroud of False” and absolutely didn’t get it. Made no sense to my brain. I tossed the disc into the back of my 1988 Ford Bronco II and it stayed there probably for a few weeks until I finally decided to give it a real shot, and when I did, it was one of my first and most pivotal engagements with underground music, and something that helped set me listening-wise on the course I’m still on today. That coworker kind of turned out to be an asshole, but didn’t we all.
Alternative 4 was indeed Anathema‘s fourth album and the last they’d issue during their original run on Peaceville Records, which had nursed them through their death-doom beginnings from 1992’s The Crestfallen EP across their 1993 debut, Serenades, 1995’s The Silent Enigma and Pentecost III EP and 1996’s Eternity. The band, who will mark their 30th anniversary in 2020 no doubt with form of some celebration or other, already seemed to be in transition by their third album, but it was the 10-song/44-minute Alternative 4 that would push that over the top. Guitarist Vincent Cavanagh had taken over the vocalist role from Darren White following Pentecost III, and that change would prove crucial to their direction on the whole, incorporating elements of goth emotionalist drama and a heavy hand of Floydian progressivism to go with their depressive themes and bouts of still-metal intensity.
But they weren’t just metal anymore, and their use of space in the recording, their arrangements of keys, and most of all their patience, demonstrated that. “Shroud of False” was the outset of one of the most powerful salvos I’ve ever heard on a record, with “Fragile Dreams,” “Empty” and “Lost Control” behind it varying in intensity but united in their depressive expression. Themes of loss, betrayal, disillusionment came to a head in the third track: “Nothing left but to kill myself again ‘cos I’m so empty,” but the build to that moment across “Fragile Dreams” and “Empty” itself was gorgeous and troubling in kind, the hook of “Fragile Dreams” serving as a downer clarion as the then-four-piece of Vincent Cavanagh, his brother Danny Cavanagh (lead guitar, keys), Duncan Patterson (bass, keys) and Shaun Taylor-Steels (drums) pushed some of Alternative 4‘s most fervent delivery to the front in order to branch out from there. The violin on “Lost Control” seemed a nod to their own death-hued past as well as to compatriots My Dying Bride, and the thrust in “Re-Connect” was more chaotic than that of “Fragile Dreams,” and purposefully so, but frenetic in a way that evoked the chaos of mania it seemed intended to convey.
Piano returned to introduce “Inner Silence” at the outset of side B as Vincent proved in a single track the vocalist he would ultimately become on subsequent outings, and Danny answered right back with a winding and meditative guitar lead. No verses or choruses or such, but an arrangement that bordered on the orchestral in its wash — particularly given the production of the era — and a perfect lead-in for the darker and brooding low of the title-track, with its multi-movement immersion and play toward minimalism. It and “Regret,” which follows, were the two longest tracks on Alternative 4 at 6:18 and 7:58, respectively, and their pairing was no coincidence, and though “Regret” would pick up from “Alternative 4” with a memorable chorus and a more structured feel on the whole, there’s no question the change in atmosphere brought the listener even deeper into the record’s bleak emotional landscape — “Visions of love and hate/A collage behind my eyes/Remnants of dying laughter/Echoes of silent cries,” the hook. Organ added to the melody as the band traded between loud and quiet parts in the second half and came around to what for me always seemed like the apex of the album, though “Feel” both continued the thread of organ and had more of a crashing end, a kind of anti-doom doom, riding out on fading progression that seemed foreboding even though it was followed by the brief “Destiny,” with its guitar and toy piano and vocal harmonies, a kind of epilogue that ended the record with a sincere-feeling moment of contemplation, underscoring that the point of the whole thing all along was the emotion, and that the moments of bombast were there to serve that as much as the songs themselves.
Some music just hits you at the right time. This is one of those records for me, and A Fine Day to Exit (reissue review here), which they’d release in 2001 after 1999’s Judgement, is among my favorite albums of any era. I wasn’t ready for Judgement on such a quick turnaround, but A Fine Day to Exit and 2003’s A Natural Disaster, which would be their final album until 2010’s We’re Here Because We’re Here (discussed here), remain essential in my view. Alternative 4 may be somewhat dated in its production, but the songs themselves hold up more than 20 years later, and the emotion behind them still resonates though it’s a direction Anathema have long since left behind in favor of flirtations with more modern prog and a brighter perspective on the whole. Fair enough, I guess. That change would come about on We’re Here Because We’re Here and continue on 2012’s Weather Systems (review here) and 2014’s Distant Satellites before 2017’s The Optimist (review here) picked up the story of A Fine Day to Exit and added fresh perspective at the same time it allowed itself to engage more of a range of styles of craft.
Anathema have never stopped progression. Each record is something different from the one before it, the one after — and don’t get me started on Hindsight or Falling Deeper — but their vision always charts a path forward from where they’ve, and Alternative 4, from as troubled a place as it seems to come, was a special moment for them that only happened once. As a listener, it was for me as well.
As always, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading.
—
I don’t break out Anathema all the time. Especially not this record. Especially not in summer. This week though, coming down H-A-R-D as I have been from Maryland Doom Fest, we got there. That change, where you go back to real life after the thing, I just haven’t been able to get there. A lot of processing. A lot of sort of distant daydreaming. A lot of trying to distract myself and failing pretty hard at it. I don’t know. I’m just not there. I haven’t been sleeping. Was up at 2:30 this morning, 12:30 the other night, 1AM another night. Yesterday I slept I think. Hard to remember outside of the overall pattern of fucking self-loathing and wishing I was someone else.
When people say nice things to me, a voice in my head immediately contradicts. They don’t know me. They have some idea of me that’s not true. I’d like to be that. But that’s not who I am. I know who I am. Fucking wretched. I am not a good person. I do not appreciate or deserve the things and people I have in my life. It goes on and on. I take pills for it. I’ve been microdosing psilocybin mushrooms every other day for the last couple weeks and that’s made those days easier. But still. I look at my son and know I’ll fail him. Every time someone says he looks like me, I want to die. I look at my wife and know I let her down. I don’t deserve what I have. At all.
So.
We’re in Connecticut this weekend, going back to Jersey on Sunday. I might go to the studio with Solace that day, as they were kind enough to invite me as they did nine years ago when they were finishing A.D., but it depends largely on timing. We’re also starting the Quarterly Review next week. I’ve slated it for six days, but there’s a bit of finagling to do, so whatever. I also need to do Postwax liner notes, send out interview questions to Tony Reed and The Mad Doctors (who are breaking up) and update a visa recommendation letter for Kadavar, so there’s some shit going on either way. Obviously this week I’ve been super-motivated to do anything other than bash my brain in with a fucking hammer.
Baggage claim. That’s mine. Least I can do is be honest about it.
Seriously, at Doom Fest, people said like the nicest shit to me. “Thanks for all you do,” and “How do you do it” and all that. You know how I do it? I’m fucking crazy, is how I do it. I’m compulsive in EVERYTHING. The same drive that used to have me getting drunk by myself at two in the morning? The same drive that punishes myself for, I don’t know, eating a meal? It’s the same fucking thing. It’s all part of my disgusting fucking brain. I’m 37 years old. I can’t even function. I can’t even chew gum like a human being. I’m supposed to raise a kid? I can feel myself poisoning everything around me.
Next week will be better. Will it? Yeah, it will. I’ll do the Quarterly Review and that’ll get me out of my head for a little bit, give me something to focus on. It’s just exhausting in the meantime.
I’m gonna pour myself another coffee and go watch the sunrise. Great, safe. Forum, radio, merch.
A significant reason Anathema‘s The Optimist succeeds as it does is because it doesn’t attempt to recapture a moment that’s long since gone. The album, which is released by proggy Peaceville offshoot Kscope Music as the follow-up to 2014’s Distant Satellites and is upwards of the UK-based melodic progressive rockers’ 13th full-length, depending on what you count — they’ve had a couple offerings reworking prior material — is intended as a sequel to 2001’s A Fine Day to Exit (reissue review here). Accordingly, one almost looks at the title The Optimist as ironic at first, as that turn-of-the-century outing had depression and near-suicidal mania so much at its core, but optimism is something the previously-grim Anathema seem to have discovered within their own sound circa 2010’s We’re Here Because We’re Here, and they don’t necessarily cast it off for The Optimist for the sake of pretending to be something they’re not aesthetically.
From the quick electronic pulses that rhythmically transition from intro “32.63N 117.14W” to the ocean waves that start closer “Back to the Start” — that being a direct reference to “Temporary Peace” from A Fine Day to Exit — the six-piece are free to nod at the work they’ve done before, but their songwriting in no way feels beholden to it, even if they’re picking up a story where they left it some 16 years ago. This has been a consistency throughout their career, as Anathema have always embraced change and development within their style and generally managed to bring their fanbase — of which I’d consider myself a part — with them for the ride, and just because they’re looking back in theme doesn’t necessarily mean they’re giving up that approach. Vocalist Lee Douglas might be taking on the voice of our main character’s consciousness in lead-single “Springfield” when she asks, “How did I get here?,” but the arrangement behind her is by no means playing to a darkness that is no longer there.
Crucially, as melancholy as they get, particularly in the back half of the record, the band — led, as ever, by vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Vincent Cavanagh and guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Danny Cavanagh, with Douglas sharing intermittent lead and backing vocal roles, bassist Jamie Cavanagh, keyboardist Daniel Cardoso and drummer John Douglas — don’t try to remake or directly reinterpret “Panic,” the frenetic emotional and sonic apex of A Fine Day to Exit. After “32.63N 117.14W” starts the journey — if one plugs in the coordinates, it’s a beach off the coast of San Diego; presumably intended to be where the cover art of A Fine Day to Exit takes place and where this take begins — with our character getting in his car and hearing on the radio, among other things, an Anathema song, “Leaving it Behind” picks up with a fervent energy and burst-forth hook the tempo of which will inform even quieter moments like “San Francisco” before finding more direct complement in the later track “Can’t Let Go,” but the bulk of The Optimist‘s 11-song/hour-long runtime is given to lush, patient and deeply resonant emotional fare.
Vincent and Lee bolster an abiding instrumental flow throughout by switching lead-singer duties. He soars in “Leaving it Behind,” she answers back on the subsequent “Endless Ways” over a hair-stand-on-end instrumental wash, and after a ringing phone leads directly into the title-track from there, the two come together over an orchestral swell and rhythmic push held together by John‘s drums and a crescendo of lead guitar. Piano plays a large role throughout, including in “San Francisco,” on which more pulsations are met with crashing cymbal sounds in a five-minute instrumental push that ends in traffic giving way fluidly to “Springfield” as the centerpiece of The Optimist‘s linear presentation. Slower and patient in its build, “Springfield” rolls forward but maintains an airy feel thanks to the echo on Lee‘s vocals, the piano line that remains at its core and the light tone of the lead guitar, but the questions it asks as it moves into its voluminous peak would seem to be the essence of what the album is looking to express and a moment of direct relation to the character of The Optimist himself; a crucial moment on the record given its due in melody and flourish.
Gentle ride cymbal and keyboard string sounds back Lee‘s vocal highlight performance in “Ghosts,” and a sense of stillness pervades that the quicker, more active rhythm guitar and drum progression — not to mention the far back keyboard swirl — of “Can’t Let Go” immediately contrast, Vincent taking over on vocals as if to emphasize the dynamic that has been at play all throughout The Optimist to one degree or another, and the meticulousness with which Anathema at this stage in their career present their material. A swell of guitar near the halfway point of “Can’t Let Go” arises and brings another melodic wash, but never gets louder than it needs to be, with Danny adding backing harmonies before a long fadeout brings the sound of a door opening and our main character sitting down to watch television/listen to the radio comes on quietly, giving us a sampled line of A Fine Day to Exit opener “Pressure” before the piano-led minimalism of “Close Your Eyes” quickly takes hold, drums and horns sound arriving in the second half behind Lee‘s voice to draw out a jazzy, lounge-style vibe.
The shortest non-intro track at 3:43, “Close Your Eyes” nonetheless distinguishes itself from its surroundings with this semi-experimental feel, and a voice whispers, “It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s just a dream. Go back to sleep,” before piano begins the penultimate “Wildfires.” The title-line is delivered in drawling, effected fashion, as is the verse that follows, but an electronic urgency rises in the mix gradually, and at the 3:19 mark, the guitars and drums explode to prominence and a fullness of impact that lets the listener know they’re arriving at the conclusion of the narrative. Vincent‘s voice informs in repetitions, “It’s too late,” over his own lead guitar, and the song cuts to toy piano and guitar to transition into the aforementioned wave sounds that drift into “Back to the Start,” a six-plus-minute grand finale that works on a linear energy as a payoff for the entire course of the album preceding. In its melody and arrangement, it is among the most memorable stretches of The Optimist despite coming at the end of a long and varied trip, and when it’s over, our character walks up, knocks on a door and a voice says, “How are you?” And then it’s over.
One last thing The Optimist shares in common with A Fine Day to Exit is a tossoff, silly, home-recorded-sounding hidden track, but instead of the John Douglas goofing around, this time it’s primarily a child’s voice we hear. That last-minute acknowledgement of time gone by is subtle but evocative of the spirit of The Optimist as a whole, which though it revives a narrative thread the band clearly felt was unfinished, reshapes the story into one that sounds fresh in perspective and execution coming from them as they are today. Anathema‘s creative growth as songwriters has never stopped, and as a result, no two of their albums have found them in the same place in terms of sound. That remains true here, and even as they look to their past, they push brazenly ahead into their future, as ever.
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 18th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Earlier this month, when long-running UK melodic progressive rockers Anathemaannounced the June 9 release of their new album, The Optimist, that word came already with tour dates across multiple continents. Well, after they wrap up in South and Central America this August, the band will continue to make their way north for shows in the US and Canada, hitting major markets in Baltimore, New York, Chicago, Quebec, and so on in support of the new record. As the PR wire notes below, it’s their first North American run since 2014, and it precedes a much lengthier UK/European tour alongside Alcest that will consume much of their autumn.
Any way you look at it, it’s a lot, a lot, a lot of touring. Of course, Anathema are no strangers to time on the road, and a steady stream of live records, DVDs and offerings of the like keeps their loyal fanbase sated even when they’re not actually playing out, so all the better. Maybe they’ll record a few of these shows too. One never knows.
Here’s the latest:
ANATHEMA ANNOUNCE FIRST NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES IN SUPPORT OF THE OPTIMIST (JUNE 9, KSCOPE)
TICKETS AVAILABLE THIS FRIDAY, APRIL 21
Anathema, who recently revealed the new song “Springfield” from the band’s forthcoming album, The Optimist (June 9, Kscope), are now thrilled to announce their first North American dates since 2014.
The nine dates, which kick off on Aug. 16 in Baltimore, include stops in New York, Chicago and a trio of Canadian dates.
“Touring the U.S. and Canada is always a fantastic privilege,” said guitar player Daniel Cavanagh. “These countries have been the birthplace of some of the most revered recording artists of all time. We are delighted to visit the east coast and we promise to visit the west coast, following up soon. Our new album, The Optimist, is set in America. It will be a blast! “
North American Tour dates: August 16 Baltimore, MD Soundstage August 17 New York, NY Gramercy Theater August 18 Boston, MA Brighton Music Hall August 19 Quebec, QC Saile Multi August 20 Montreal, QC Astral August 21 Toronto, ON Opera House August 23 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge August 24 Cleveland, OH House of Blues August 25 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts
ANATHEMA TOUR DATES: Jun 08 Yotaspace Moscow, Russia Jun 09 Clubzal St. Petersburg, Russian Federation Jun 11 Download Festival Derby, United Kingdom Jun 18 Graspop Metal Meeting Dessel, Belgium Jun 23 Doornroosje Nijmegen, Netherlands Jun 24 Midsummer Prog Festival Valkenburg, Netherlands Jul 01 Be Prog! My Friend Barcelona, Spain Jul 02 Rockwave Festival Athens, Greece Aug 03 Café Iguana Monterrey, Mexico Aug 04 C3 Stage Guadalajara, Mexico Aug 05 El Plaza Condesa Mexico City, Mexico Aug 07 Teatro Ecci Bogota, Colombia Aug 09 Teatro Capriola Santiago, Chile Aug 11 Groove Buenos Aires, Argentina Aug 12 Carioca Club Sao Paulo, Brazil Aug 13 Granfinos Belo Horizonte, Brazil
ANATHEMA with Alcest: Sep 23 Limelight 2 Belfast, United Kingdom Sep 24 Academy Dublin, Ireland Oct 02 La Cartonnerie Reims, France Oct 03 L’Étage Rennes, France Oct 04 Le Bataclan Paris, France Oct 05 Aeronef Lille, France Oct 06 013 Tilburg, Netherlands Oct 07 La Laiterie Strasbourg, France Oct 08 La Sirene La Rochelle, France Oct 10 Rock School Barbey Bordeaux, France Oct 11 Le Metronum Toulouse, France Oct 14 Paloma Nimes, France Oct 15 Le Radiant Caluire Et Cuire, France Oct 16 Alcatraz Milan, Italy Oct 18 Z7 Konzertfabrik Pratteln, Switzerland Oct 19 LKA Longhorn Stuttgart, Germany Oct 20 Backstage Werk Munchen, Germany Oct 21 Simm City Vienna, Austria Oct 22 Kino Šiška Ljubljana, Slovenia Oct 24 Arenele Romane Bucharest, Romania Oct 25 Orpheus Studio Sofia, Bulgaria Oct 27 Dürer Kert Budapest, Hungary Oct 28 Lucerna Music Bar Prague, Czech Republic Oct 29 Batschkapp Frankfurt Am Main, Germany Oct 31 Astra Berlin, Germany Nov 01 Uebel & Gefährlich Hamburg, Germany Nov 02 Amager Bio Copenhagen, Denmark Nov 03 Kulturbolaget Malmö, Sweden Nov 05 Rockefeller Music Hall Oslo, Norway Nov 06 Kägelbanan Södermalm, Sweden Nov 08 Klubi Tampere, Finland Nov 09 THE CIRCUS Helsinki, Finland Nov 10 Rock Café Tallinn, Estonia Nov 12 Progresja Music Zone Warsaw, Poland Nov 13 Stary Mane? Gdansk, Poland Nov 14 MTP2 Poznan, Poland Nov 15 HSD Erfurt, Germany Nov 16 Live Music Hall Cologne, Germany Nov 18 Kulturfabrik Esch Sur Alzette, Luxembourg
Anathema, led by brothers Daniel and Vincent Cavanagh, along with drummer John Douglas, singer Lee Douglas, bassist Jamie Cavanagh and drummer/keyboardist Daniel Cardoso began recording The Optimist in the winter of 2016 at Attica Audio in Donegal, Ireland and then finished at Castle Of Doom studios in Glasgow with producer Tony Doogan (Mogwai, Belle & Sebastian, Super Furry Animals) at the helm and was mastered at the legendary Abbey Road Studios.
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 6th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
If you know anything about my ongoing nerddom for Anathema, you’ll already know that when Danny Cavanagh says below that the narrative of their forthcoming The Optimist full-length — out June 9 on Kscope — picks up where 2001’s A Fine Day to Exit (reissue review here) left off, well, that’s just about the bee’s knees as far as I’m concerned. The ever-evolving band has unveiled the new track “Springfield” that bears that vibe out to some degree while still remaining loyal to 2014’s Distant Satellites, which I actually only recently picked up after being left largely cold over the longer term by 2012’s Weather Systems (review here) — a stupid move for which I’ve been kicking myself since, because actually Distant Satellites was pretty solid, moving somewhat in the direction that “Springfield” would seem to be continuing here in bringing some of the melancholy back into their sound.
As Anathema prepare to unleash the new record I’ll prepare my completely biased longterm-fan hyperbole about how excellent it is. They’ve got tour dates booked in Europe, Central and South America, and Europe again already, but a US run is said to follow at some point, which I very much wouldn’t mind seeing, particularly after their set at Roadburn 2015 quite literally brought me to tears.
The PR wire has those tour dates, the song, and more pressing info for The Optimist than I know what to do with. I want the CD one that comes with the fancy Bluray that I wouldn’t even know how to listen to.
Pick your poison:
Anathema Stream “Springfield” from Forthcoming Album, The Optimist (June 9, Kscope)
Anathema’s eleventh full-length The Optimist is due for release on 9th June through Kscope, where the ambient rockers will reveal some of the darkest, most challenging and unexpected music the sextet have put their name to.
Anathema, led by brothers Daniel and Vincent Cavanagh, along with drummer John Douglas, singer Lee Douglas, bassist Jamie Cavanagh and drummer/keyboardist Daniel Cardoso began recording The Optimist in the winter of 2016 at Attica Audio in Donegal, Ireland and then finished at Castle Of Doom studios in Glasgow with producer Tony Doogan [Mogwai, Belle & Sebastian, Super Furry Animals] at the helm and was mastered at the legendary Abbey Road Studios.
“Here we present the song ‘Springfield’, it’s actually the song that closed our unforgettable Wembley gig with Opeth and it seemed to be a track that just fell into place without much effort. It seemed to do itself. The song forms part of a narrative that runs through The Optimist album, it’s a narrative that begins where A Fine Day To Exit left off. The album is a journey. The songs are ambiguous. There is no right or wrong way to take them. Make of them what you will.” – Daniel Cavanagh
The Optimist track list: 1. 32.63N 117.14W 2. Leaving It Behind 3. Endless Ways 4. The Optimist 5. San Francisco 6. Springfield 7. Ghosts 8. Can’t Let Go 9. Close Your Eyes 10. Wildfires 11. Back To the Start
Deluxe 12″ hardbook featuring: * 40-page artwork book, with artwork from Travis Smith * CD The Optimist with 11 original album tracks * CD featuring 6 bonus tracks – 3 demo versions and 3 live demo recordings from the band’s November 2016 dates * DVD-V The Optimist with 11 original album tracks, 24/96 LPCM Stereo & 24/96 DTS 5.1 surround mix * Blu-Ray disc The Optimist 11 original album tracks, 24/96 LPCM Stereo, 24/96 LPCM 5.1 lossless surround mix & 24/96 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless 5.1 surround mix
2-Disc CD & DVD Mediabook: * 24 page booklet * CD The Optimist with 11 original album tracks * DVD-V The Optimist with 11 original album tracks, 24/96 LPCM Stereo & 24/96 DTS 5.1 surround mix
Blu-Ray featuring: * The Optimist 11 original album tracks, 24/96 LPCM Stereo, 24/96 LPCM 5.1 lossless surround mix & 24/96 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless 5.1 surround mix
CD featuring: * The Optimist with 11 original album tracks
Double gatefold 180g heavyweight LP featuring: * The Optimist 11 original album tracks (with MP3 download code) * Limited edition red vinyl LP version (with MPD download code) available exclusively through the band’s webstore
Digital download featuring: * The Optimist 11 original album tracks with pre-orders receiving an instant download of “Springfield”
A European tour has been announced, with Alcest opening. Tickets are available on April 3 at 10 am local time. North American tour dates will be announced soon.
ANATHEMA TOUR DATES: Jun 08 Yotaspace Moscow, Russia Jun 09 Clubzal St. Petersburg, Russian Federation Jun 11 Download Festival Derby, United Kingdom Jun 18 Graspop Metal Meeting Dessel, Belgium Jun 23 Doornroosje Nijmegen, Netherlands Jun 24 Midsummer Prog Festival Valkenburg, Netherlands Jul 01 Be Prog! My Friend Barcelona, Spain Jul 02 Rockwave Festival Athens, Greece Aug 03 Café Iguana Monterrey, Mexico Aug 04 C3 Stage Guadalajara, Mexico Aug 05 El Plaza Condesa Mexico City, Mexico Aug 07 Teatro Ecci Bogota, Colombia Aug 09 Teatro Capriola Santiago, Chile Aug 11 Groove Buenos Aires, Argentina Aug 12 Carioca Club Sao Paulo, Brazil Aug 13 Granfinos Belo Horizonte, Brazil
ANATHEMA with Alcest: Sep 23 Limelight 2 Belfast, United Kingdom Sep 24 Academy Dublin, Ireland Oct 02 La Cartonnerie Reims, France Oct 03 L’Étage Rennes, France Oct 04 Le Bataclan Paris, France Oct 05 Aeronef Lille, France Oct 06 013 Tilburg, Netherlands Oct 07 La Laiterie Strasbourg, France Oct 08 La Sirene La Rochelle, France Oct 10 Rock School Barbey Bordeaux, France Oct 11 Le Metronum Toulouse, France Oct 14 Paloma Nimes, France Oct 15 Le Radiant Caluire Et Cuire, France Oct 16 Alcatraz Milan, Italy Oct 18 Z7 Konzertfabrik Pratteln, Switzerland Oct 19 LKA Longhorn Stuttgart, Germany Oct 20 Backstage Werk Munchen, Germany Oct 21 Simm City Vienna, Austria Oct 22 Kino Šiška Ljubljana, Slovenia Oct 24 Arenele Romane Bucharest, Romania Oct 25 Orpheus Studio Sofia, Bulgaria Oct 27 Dürer Kert Budapest, Hungary Oct 28 Lucerna Music Bar Prague, Czech Republic Oct 29 Batschkapp Frankfurt Am Main, Germany Oct 31 Astra Berlin, Germany Nov 01 Uebel & Gefährlich Hamburg, Germany Nov 02 Amager Bio Copenhagen, Denmark Nov 03 Kulturbolaget Malmö, Sweden Nov 05 Rockefeller Music Hall Oslo, Norway Nov 06 Kägelbanan Södermalm, Sweden Nov 08 Klubi Tampere, Finland Nov 09 THE CIRCUS Helsinki, Finland Nov 10 Rock Café Tallinn, Estonia Nov 12 Progresja Music Zone Warsaw, Poland Nov 13 Stary Mane? Gdansk, Poland Nov 14 MTP2 Poznan, Poland Nov 15 HSD Erfurt, Germany Nov 16 Live Music Hall Cologne, Germany Nov 18 Kulturfabrik Esch Sur Alzette, Luxembourg
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 28th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Hey, you know who saw Anathema earlier this year? Me. I did. It was frickin’ great. It wasn’t at a cathedral, but it was at Roadburn, which is about as close as I come to a house of religious worship, so there. The long-running, long-progressing UK outfit had played Liverpool Cathedral only about a month before, however, and it’s that show that will be released as A Sort of Homecoming on Oct. 30 via Kscope. The material is mostly recent, but they manage to sneak a couple older cuts in there too, and if the cover is anything to go by, it looks like the setting is half the point. Look at that ceiling. I’d record a live album too if presented the opportunity.
And the title? Well, they’re from Liverpool, so there you go. Also, I love that Vincent Cavanagh compares it to Erebor. Fantastic.
The PR wire brings copious info and a trailer for the release:
KSCOPE PRESENTS: ANATHEMA’S “A SORT OF HOMECOMING,” A CONCERT FILM BY LASSE HOILE FROM ANATHEMA’S LIVERPOOL CATHEDRAL SHOW
“A Sort of Homecoming” to be released on Blu-ray, 2CD + DVD-V, LP and digital download on October 30
Anathema, one of the U.K.’s most cherished and critically acclaimed rock bands, will release a live Blu-ray/audio collection entitled A Sort of Homecoming on October 30 via Kscope. Directed by Lasse Hoile (Steven Wilson, Katatonia, Opeth), A Sort of Homecoming is a stunning concert film of Anathema’s homecoming show on March 7, 2015 in the spectacular setting of the Liverpool Cathedral. The concert was described by Prog Magazine as “a once in a lifetime experience that words can barely do justice.”
“I’m really happy that this night in particular has been preserved,” commented Anathema guitarist/vocalist, Vincent Cavanagh. “As anyone from Liverpool will tell you, to be given the chance to play the Anglican Cathedral is monumental and a huge honor. The place is absolutely huge. Just look at the cover, it was like doing a gig in Erebor!”
Having previously worked with Anathema on the acclaimed Universal concert film, Lasse Hoile captured the 100 minute acoustic set in high definition against the sensational backdrop of Liverpool Cathedral. Featuring 15 songs selected from the albums Distant Satellites, Weather Systems, We’re Here Because We’re Here, A Natural Disaster and Alternative 4, the ‘Anathema Acoustic’ trio of Daniel Cavanagh, Vincent Cavanagh and Lee Douglas were joined by rhythm section John Douglas and Jamie Cavanagh, alongside their very talented close friend David Wesling on cello who also played on Hindsight (2009) and A Moment In Time (2006). For this exclusive performance the band was also joined by the renowned violinist, Anna Phoebe, on a haunting rendition of “Anathema.” The audio has been produced and mixed by Christer-André Cederberg who worked on Distant Satellites, Universal and Weather Systems, with the cover and booklet artwork featuring the stunning photography from the show and behind the scenes by long time collaborator Caroline Traitler. This is the first Anathema live release to feature a 5.1 audio mix, engineered by Bruce Soord.
Kscope will release A Sort of Homecoming as:
– 4 disc box set: 2 CD concert audio (100 mins), DVD with full concert plus an additional behind the scenes film “A Temporary Peace” and concert on Blu-ray disc. In a deluxe rigid media book with 36 page booklet, presented in a slipcase
– 2CD + DVD-V: The set features the full 100 minute audio and DVD-V of the concert with 5.1 audio mixed by The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord
– Blu-ray disc: The full 100 minute concert plus an additional behind the scenes film “A Temporary Peace” with 5.1 audio mixed by The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord
LP: A gatefold triple 180g black vinyl LP including MP3 download code
Digital: Concert audio only
All formats, excluding digital download, are available to pre-order via the Kscope web-store at: www.kscopemusic.com/store.
1. The Lost Song Part 2 2. Untouchable Part 1 3. Untouchable Part 2 4. Thin Air 5. Dreaming Light 6. Anathema 7. Ariel 8. Electricity 9. Temporary Peace 10. The Beginning And The End 11. Distant Satellites 12. Take Shelter 13. Internal Landscapes 14. A Natural Disaster 15. Fragile Dreams
Anathema will continue to tour throughout the remainder of 2015. A full list of dates can be seen below.
Anathema live… 8/31 – Tokyo, Japan @ Liquid Room 9/01 – Tokyo, Japan @ Liquid Room 9/05 – Sao Paulo, Brazil @ Overload Music Festival 9/07 – Porto Alegre, Brazil @ Opiniao (w/ Paradise Lost) 9/08 – Rio, Brazil @ Circo Voador (w/ Paradise Lost) 9/11 – Atlanta, GA, USA @ Prog Power Festival 10/01 – Moscow, Russia @ Volta 10/02 – Minsk, Russia @ Re:Public 10/03 – St Petersburg, Russia @ Avrora 10/23 – Christchurch, NZ @ Dux Live 10/24 – Auckland, NZ @ Kings Arms 10/27 – Adelaide, AUS @ The Gov 10/29 – Brisbane, AUS @ Triffid 10/30 – Sydney, AUS @ Metro Theatre 10/31 – Melbourne, AUS @ Corner Hotel 11/01 – Perth, AUS @ Rosemount Hotel 11/04 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Cathedral 11/05 – Paris, France @ Église Saint-Eustache (acoustic) 11/06 – Bochum, Germany (acoustic) 11/07 – Leipzig, Germany @ Täubchenthal (acoustic) 11/09 – Utrecht, Netherlands @ TivoliVredenburg 11/10 – Mannheim, Germany @ Capitol (acoustic) 11/11 – Sofia, Bulgaria @ Royal Bulgaria Hall (acoustic) 11/15 – 11/19 – Miami, FL, USA @ Cruise To The Edge
British label Music for Nations went under in 2004 after 21 years of releasing landmark metal in Europe from everyone from Entombed and Candlemass and Opeth to Tygers of Pan Tang, Savatage and Legs Diamond. Now owned by Sony via BMG, it has been reactivated and a series of reissues is underway highlighting Music for Nations‘ rather formidable catalog, which includes three records by Liverpool’s Anathema, who signed to the label in 1999 after the release of their fourth album, 1998’s Alternative 4, which would be their last — for a time — on Peaceville Records.
Remastered and issued as deluxe 180g LPs (plus CDs) with liner notes by the band and distributed in the US by The End Records, the three albums Anathema released with Music for Nations are what I usually consider from the middle era of the band. “Mid-period Anathema,” is the phrase I use. Ever-progressing, always changing, one can look at the career of Anathema in three stages: Their early days of doomed extremity that made them contemporaries of Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride, the middle era of melancholy influenced heavily by Pink Floyd, and the increasingly progressive work of the last half-decade plus, which has seen them return to Peaceville via its prog-minded offshoot Kscope and found them sounding happier to be alive than they’ve ever been.
Of course, that’s one way of thinking about it. Another would be breaking Anathema‘s discography into two stages — essentially “Then” and “Now” — which leaves their three Music for Nations offerings somewhat lost in the transition, and still another would be to simply say that each of their 10-to-date albums is its own era. Probably the most accurate in terms of the actual processes involved, but hardly useful in understanding the progression either of their lineup around brothers Vincent, Danny and Jamie Cavanagh or of their songwriting, which has retained a vivid core no matter how dark the material actually got. And it got pretty dark there for a while. Gloriously so.
Though 1999’s fifth album, Judgement, 2001’s A Fine Day to Exit and 2003’s A Natural Disaster weren’t close to being Anathema‘s angriest or most outwardly metallic work — for which one would have to go back to their 1993 debut, Serenades, or 1992’s The Crestfallen and 1995’s Pentecost III EPs; their rawness still eviscerating what since have become the conventions of modern theatrical doom — the three albums retain an emotional and atmospheric heft that continues to resonate even more than a decade after the fact. Each presents its own vision of the band, and each has its own sound, but over the course of the three — which The End has bundled together in special edition packages that include extras like a turntable slip mat and as the Fine Days 1999-2004 3CD/DVD mediabook — one can trace a line of vigilant creative progress, and that has always been what draws Anathema‘s discography together.
On a personal note, I’ll say that these three records particularly — I might take Alternative 4 over Judgement, but it’s close and that’s splitting hairs anyway — mark out my favorite era of Anathema‘s work. These are albums I’ve held sacred for years now, and a chance to revisit them is welcome long past the point of impartiality. I’ve been a nerd on this stuff for way too long not to call myself out on it.
Still, we dive in:
Judgement (1999)
One of the most striking things about the new version of Judgement is how clear it sounds. Not that the original was muddy by any stretch — Anathema had some lackluster productions in their early going, but had gotten it out of their system by the time they came around to their fifth album — but still, the backgrounds of songs like “Deep” and “Forgotten Hope” and “Parisienne Moonlight” seem to stand out more. It’s true of the other two records as well. Vinyl compression suits the atmosphere of Judgement, which retains a lonely, brooding sensibility despite a pretty broad range of songwriting, and the flow of “Forgotten Hope” into the tense repetitions of “Destiny is Dead” is as vital as ever. In the context of these reissues, the penultimate “Anyone, Anywhere,” with its piano and acoustic blend, seems to directly presage A Fine Day to Exit, though the emergent surge of slow distortion could just as easily be traced to the preceding Alternative 4. In any case, there’s no question as to what band you’re hearing, and though its mood is as blue and deep-running as its cover art, Judgement boasts enough space for more than a fair share of breadth, Vincent Cavanagh coming into his own as the lead vocalist and carrying “One Last Goodbye” across with a flair for drama that does nothing to undercut the emotionalism of the song itself. It was the height of the CD era, and accordingly, Judgement runs long for a standard single LP at 13 tracks and nearly 57 minutes — the side split coming between “Judgement” and “Don’t Look too Far,” the latter every bit worthy of the highlight position opening the second side — but it’s time well spent or re-spent depending on your experience in the band, and in addition to being their debut on Music for Nations, Judgement was pivotal in expanding the reach of Anathema‘s songcraft. Cavanagh mentions in the liner notes that it was also vocalist Lee Douglas‘ intro to the band — she’s on “Parisienne Moonlight” and “Don’t Look too Far” — and as she became more established in the lineup, that reach would only continue to grow.
A Fine Day to Exit (2001)
As with anything, opinions among the converted vary, and mine is by no means the prevailing one on this issue. However, from where I sit, 2001’s A Fine Day to Exit is Anathema‘s best record. It has all the weight and depressive vibing of their early work but presents itself with an absolute clarity of purpose in memorable songs that stay with the listener — provided the listener lets them and isn’t too busy expecting the album to be something it isn’t or resenting it for not being that thing — long after play has stopped. Its rich melodies and textures foreshadow the progressive mindset that would come when the band resurfaced with 2010’s We’re Here Because We’re Here (discussed here), but as a band, they were still more about atmosphere than pinpoint execution, and A Fine Day to Exit continues to benefit greatly from the specificity of the moment in Anathema‘s development it captures. Of the three reissues, it’s also the most different from its original version. What was the album opener with its distinctive piano stokes, “Pressure” has moved to the end of side A, and now arrives after the tense pulsations of “Underworld” and before the side flip, which brings the suicidal manic chaos of “Panic” — a song whose existential torture remains writ in its confusing lyrical turns, “Air bubbles in your veins turning my hands black,” and so on — and A Fine Day to Exit‘s heaviest thrust, still beautiful for its poetic bleakness and the stark contrast that its rush maintains with the slower flows surrounding. “Panic” as the starter for side B makes even more sense with the inclusion of new opener, the previously unreleased “A Fine Day,” which provides side A with a jump at the beginning of the record, an acoustic strum giving way to a cacophony (though if you listen, that acoustic line never leaves) of crashes and jagged guitar that cuts short with about a minute to go and ends with a sweet acoustic line that feeds into “Release.” In addition to shifting “Pressure,” side A’s “Looking Outside Inside” has been moved to the second half, where it follows “Breaking down the Barriers,” which used to just be called “Barriers” and used to lead into “Panic” instead of following it as it does here. To fit the format, closer “Temporary Peace” is also a truncated seven minutes on the vinyl, down from 18 on the original version (what with the “What about dogs, what about cats, what about chickens?” and all that silliness at the end) and down from 15 on this one’s accompanying CD. Do all these changes make A Fine Day to Exit a better album? I don’t know. Talk to me in 14 years. What they do is dramatically change the listening experience, and I think it says something that with what’s really some comparatively little minor tooling, Anathema‘s sixth offering can sound as fresh as it does here. It remains one of the best records I’ve ever heard. Ever? Ever.
A Natural Disaster (2003)
After Anathema released A Natural Disaster in 2003, it would be five years before they managed to put out another long-player, and that was Hindsight, a revisit/reworking of older material. I remember wondering if they were done for some time. And in a way, they were, because when We’re Here Because We’re Here came out in 2010, they were a different band. A Natural Disaster found bassist Jamie Cavanagh back in the band alongside Vincent, Danny, drummer John Douglas (who’d played on the prior two albums as well, having come aboard for Judgement), Lee Douglas (still listed as a guest vocalist), additional vocalist Anna Livingstone who added lines to “Are You There?,” and keyboardist/programmer/recording engineer Les Smith, who makes a more significant impact on the material than one might initially think to hear the songs, but more than the lineup it established — the three Cavanaghs and the two Douglases being in the current incarnation of Anathema with drummer Daniel Cardoso — this was the record where Anathema pushed that sense of inward-looking darkness as far as it could go. A winter hasn’t passed in the last 12 that I haven’t at some point put it on to hear the kick-in of opener “Harmonium” and the sort of wandering ethereal melody of “Balance,” which follows, both songs drawing the listener into a programmed but organic-seeming world the tracks create. If one considers A Fine Day to Exit the trauma, then A Natural Disaster is the post-trauma, that moment of aftershock where damage is assessed. Of the three Music for Nations outings, it is also the most masterful, the steps that Judgement seemed to take as bold moves forward now refined to a point where Anathema could bend their own methods to suit purposes like the build-into-payoff-into-minimalism of “Closer,” or the meandering impressionism of “Childhood Dream,” the soft wistfulness of the aforementioned “Are You There?” and the bass-driven tension of the intro to “Pulled Under at 2,000 Metres,” which here makes a finish to side A no less driving than how “Panic” started side B of the album preceding — the two songs have always been linked in my mind, the outward heaviness of the other making it a spiritual successor to the one. Perhaps most terrifying of all is how comfortable Anathema seem inhabiting this emotional space, the longing that pervades “A Natural Disaster” and “Flying” at the start of side B emblematic of the range that has taken shape by this point in the band’s methods and the variety of forms their expression could, by this point, take. Backed by wisps of guitar, the piano and acoustic strum of “Electricity” provide a last human landmark before 10-minute instrumental closer “Violence” begins its movement forward and through a well-charted build and quiet finish. Far closer to being the same as it was to start with than was A Fine Day to Exit, if listening to the LP of A Natural Disaster has done anything, it’s forced me to really take on those last two cuts, where with the CD of the album that I’ve had since it was released I always tended to zone out after “Flying” and lose myself in the wash of “Violence.” Can’t say I regret paying closer attention.
Like I said, it would be five years before Anathema put out any new studio material — a couple demos surfaced on their website circa 2007 (unless my timeline is way off) for tracks that would show up on the next album; “Angels Walk Among Us” and one or two others — and by the time they did, this moment, the progression of Judgement, A Fine Day to Exit and A Natural Disaster would have taken another turn that set in motion the current stage of Anathema‘s development. They plunged deep into a sonic bleakness, maybe too deep for their own liking, ultimately, but what they were able to bring out of that depressive morass remain some of the richest and most honest looks at it a band could hope to give.
track: “Nothing left but to kill myself again ‘cos I’m so empty,” but the build to that moment across “Fragile Dreams” and “Empty” itself was gorgeous and troubling in kind, the hook of “Fragile Dreams” serving as a downer clarion as the then-four-piece of Vincent Cavanagh, his brother Danny Cavanagh (lead guitar, keys), Duncan Patterson (bass, keys) and Shaun Taylor-Steels (drums) pushed some of Alternative 4‘s most fervent delivery to the front in order to branch out from there. The violin on “Lost Control” seemed a nod to their own death-hued past as well as to compatriots My Dying Bride, and the thrust in “Re-Connect” was more chaotic than that of “Fragile Dreams,” and purposefully so, but frenetic in a way that evoked the chaos of mania it seemed intended to convey.
