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)

PRE-ORDERS AVAILABLE NOW: http://found.ee/The_Optimist

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

Pre-orders are available now via http://found.ee/The_Optimist in the following formats:

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

www.facebook.com/anathemamusic
www.instagram.com/anathemamusic.com
www.twitter.com/anathemamusic
www.anathema.ws

Anathema, “Springfield”

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

www.anathema.ws
www.facebook.com/weareanathema
www.twitter.com/anathemamusic
http://www.kscopemusic.com/artists/anathema/

Anathema, A Sort of Homecoming trailer

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.

Anathema, A Natural Disaster (2003)

Anathema at The End Records

Anathema on Thee Facebooks

Anathema’s website

As discussed before and after their set at Roadburn 2015, this is actually my favorite period of Anathema‘s work: the middle stage where the near-gothic death-doom dramas of their early days gave way to melodic Floydian spaciousness without letting go of its melancholic sensibility or emotional rawness that seemed all the more laid bare on songs like “One Last Goodbye,” “Temporary Peace” and “Flying” without waves of distortion to cover them up. Wider regard for their catalog before and after will be what it is — the ability to conjure opinions has always been a strong point for the Liverpool outfit — but this stuff is where my heart lies when it comes to Anathema.

As such, it’s with a somewhat wistful eye I look at the info below for 180g vinyl remasters and a box set compiling all of what I consider to be their best stuff, The End Records continuing to do well after having picked up the Music for Nations catalog however many years ago it was. Exclusive bundle, 3CD box, 180g vinyl, this one’s got all the keywords.

From the PR wire:

ANATHEMA REISSUES 3 TITLES ON VINYL WITH CD PLUS COLLECTOR’S BOXSET & EXCLUSIVE ALBUM BUNDLE

AVAILABLE NOW IN LIMITED EDITIONS VIA THE OMEGA ORDER

OUT 6/30 VIA THE END RECORDS/ADA

British rock group Anathema announces the remastered reissues of Judgement, A Fine Day To Exit, and A Natural Disaster on 180-gram vinyl and CD via The End Records/ADA. All three albums are also available as a 3-CD collector’s boxset, which includes the 38-song DVD mediabook, Were You There?.

This reissue makes available the first ever Anathema collector’s set, including an exclusive album bundle configuration of all three titles, boxset, and screenprinted slipmat.
All Titles Limited Edition

AVAILABLE NOW ON THE OMEGA ORDER!

Judgement
Remastered 180-gram LP + CD
01 Deep
02 Pitiless
03 Forgotten Hope
04 Destiny Is Dead
05 Make It Right (F.F.S)
06 One Last Goodbye
07 Parisienne Moonlight
08 Judgement
09 Don’t Look Too Far
10 Emotional Winter
11 Wings of God
12 Anyone, Anywhere
13 2000 & Gone

CLICK HERE To Order Judgment

A Fine Day To Exit
Remastered 180-gram LP + CD
01 Pressure
02 Release
03 Looking Outside Inside
04 Leave No Trace
05 Underworld
06 Barrier
07 Panic
08 Fine Day To Exit
09 Temporary Peace

CLICK HERE To Order A Fine Day To Exit

A Natural Disaster
Remastered 180-gram LP + CD
01 Harmonium
02 Balance
03 Closer
04 Are You There?
05 Childhood Dream
06 Pulled Under at 2000 Metres a Second
07 A Natural Disaster
08 Flying
09 Electricity
10 Violence

CLICK HERE To Order A Natural Disaster

Fine Days: 1999-2004
3 Remastered CDs & DVD Mediabook
Disc 1: Judgement (13 Songs)
Disc 2: A Fine Day to Exit (10 Songs)
Disc 3: A Natural Disaster (9 Songs)
Disc 4: Were you There? (38 Songs – DVD)

CLICK HERE To Order Fine Days: 1999-2004

Exclusive Reissue Bundle
Screenprinted slipmat
Judgement (LP + CD)
A Fine Day To Exit (LP + CD)
A Natural Disaster (LP + CD)
Fine Days 1999 – 2004 (3CD + DVD)

CLICK HERE To Order The Exclusive Reissue Bundle

http://www.anathema.ws/
https://www.facebook.com/anathemamusic
https://twitter.com/anathemamusic

Anathema, A Natural Disaster (2003)

04.13.15 — 00.21 — Sun. Night — Hotel

I did manage to get back to sleep this morning for a little bit after I finished writing the review and sorting pictures for last night, but first I went downstairs and took full advantage of the hotel breakfast. You get one free, and I wasn’t saving it or anything, I just hadn’t been up when it was served. Well, today I was. It opened at seven, I’d been up since four, so yeah. No problem. Some eggs, cheese, fruit, juice, bacon and sausage later, I was a new man. Who needed sleep. I got maybe half an hour before I needed to be up and out again to get to the 013 office and finalize the last issue of the Roadburn ‘zine, the Weirdo Canyon Dispatch, with Lee from The Sleeping Shaman.

We did it, put the issue out and everything. I folded paper like a champ and have the ink stain on my edge-flattening fingernail to prove it. Not the only mark Roadburn would leave on me today, but we’ll get there in a bit. In the meantime, check out the last Weirdo Canyon Dispatch of Roadburn 2015 here. Go on and give it a read.

Today was the Afterburner, which is Roadburn‘s traditional way of saying, “Sooner or later, you have to get back to real life.” It’s a transitional day. Less stages, fewer running back and forth, fewer people around, and so on. Band-wise, it’s usually a little more of Roadburn‘s roots: Heavy rock, psych, doom, though of course like the fest proper, the Afterburner has branched out stylistically as well.

One didn’t have to look much farther than Gnaw Their Tongues, Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin or headliners Anathema — who, since they were playing a special set spanning their career, both fit a doomed aesthetic and pushed beyond it — to see that. Still, it was underrated New York space/psychedelic outfit White Hills who started the afternoon off at 15.00 on the Main Stage. An East Coast equivalent in my mind for L.A.’s Farflung — who also did quite well at Roadburn once upon a 2012 — they remain a much more popular band in Europe than in their hometown. So be it. For me, a little space is almost always welcome, but I wanted even more to see Pennsylvania’s Argus open up in the Green Room.

Riding the line between doom and traditional metal, the Brian “Butch” Balich-fronted Argus launched their set with “By Endurance We Conquer,” “No Peace Beyond the Line,” and “The Hands of Time are Bleeding,” the first three songs from their third and latest full-length, 2013’s Beyond the Martyrs (review here). The crowd knew the songs and sang along to the hooks, particularly in “No Peace Beyond the Line,” the five-piece of Balich, guitarists Jason Mucio and Dave Watson, bassist Justin Campbell and drummer Kevin Latchaw making the best case I’ve yet heard for their songwriting. With the two guitars, driving, forward rhythms, roots doom and NWOBHM-precision, Balich‘s powerful voice in addition to that level of craftsmanship, it was no challenge to see the appeal of Argus, and the Green Room certainly got into it. Heavy metal might be a subculture, but it’s one that crosses an awful lot of national borders, and I doubt if there’s any fist-pumping headbanger types who couldn’t get down with Argus. They’re as classically-styled as classically-styled gets, and they delivered in force at Roadburn.

They were dug into the particularly Trouble-y “Pieces of Your Smile” when I made my way over to the main hall for Chicago instrumental four-piece Bongripper. Now, it would’ve been awfully nice to see those dudes kick the living crap out of their latest album, 2014’s Miserable (review here), way back on Thursday night, but they were going on late and, well, you know the story, with the typing and the clacky-clacky and whatnot. Fine. No way in gosh darn heck was I going to miss my second chance to see guitarists Nick Dellacroce and Dennis Pleckham, bassist Ron Petzke — with whom I shared a cab to Tilburg from Schiphol Airport on Wednesday — and drummer Daniel O’Connor bludgeon all in their path with volume and raw, plodding riffs. With a formidable stack of amps and cabinets behind them, Bongripper tore into a swath of material, a crowd having shown up early to get a good spot for the punishment they knew was in store.

Seeing Bongripper live is like being swallowed by sound. Like if sound had a mouth — maybe the mouth from the front cover of Miserable would suffice, if you need an image — and that mouth ate you. A beastly barrage of riffs and tonal thunder, all of this maddening heft pushed onto the audience in an unrelenting assault. They ended by wailing on their instruments in time to O’Connor‘s crashes, a kind of violent assault on their equipment that fed into the thick wall of noise built up, the packed Main Stage room nodding in unison. The band stopped short of taking a bow when they were done, but no one would’ve been able to say they didn’t deserve to do so. It’s a primal element of doom and sludge and stoner riffing that Bongripper feeds into, fattens, and then slaughters, but the grungus is mighty in what they do and spread out on the wide stage, it was as much an art project as a wanton beatdown. Even their feedback was a weapon.

I’d run into Ohio’s Lo-Pan earlier in the day. They’re on tour with Abrahma now, have been for a couple nights, and like a lot of US heavy bands who come to tour Europe for the first time, I think they’ve been impressed at the show culture. People show up, bands aren’t treated like crap, and it’s a generally cared-for situation, something precious done in a general public interest. The crew working at the 013 as a part of Roadburn are second to none in professionalism or hospitality, and so it seemed reasonable to me the band would be singularly impressed. All the better for the show, which is both the intent and precisely how it worked out when they went on in the Green Room at 18.30. They were clashing with Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin, but I’ve been itching for Lo-Pan to make a debut at Roadburn since they put out Salvador (review here) early in 2011. Let’s be clear: I wouldn’t miss them anyway. I’ll go see Lo-Pan just about any night of the week, but I knew this one was going to be special.

Of course, it was. “El Dorado” from Salvador opened and “Regulus” from last fall’s rager Colossus (review here) followed, the band immediately on fire. It was my first time seeing them with guitarist Adrian Zambrano, who came aboard in Nov. 2014 to fill the role formerly held down by Brian Fristoe. A new Lo-Pan, in a new place with new energy and even a new song in the set, there was nothing not to like. They were so tight it hurt With vocalist Jeff Martin set up in back behind drummer Jesse Bartz as per usual, Zambrano on stage left and bassist Scott Thompson on stage right, Lo-Pan were a heavy rock and roll force. Zambrano brought a little showmanship and style to the riffs and solos, and where Bartz and Thompson have always hit it hard on stage and the guitar was a more subdued presence (nothing against that whatsoever), having Zambrano headbanging away, tapping on the frets while throwing his pick-hand behind him, tossing a leg up on the monitor and so on both reinforced the energetic character of the band, as well as the material, and made it all the more exciting.

Speaking of headbanging, I did. It was among the best sets I’ve seen Lo-Pan play — lights, sound, performance, you name it — and yeah, I was getting into it a bit. I wound up banging my head into one of the monitors at the front of the stage early into the set. No blood, it wasn’t that bad, but I’ve got a bump sticking out of my forehead now and I expect by the time I get off the plane tomorrow in Boston it’ll be a good-size bruise. Easy enough to laugh it off and keep going, even if it’s a little sore when I raise my eyebrows, which I apparently do all the time. That’s how you find out that kind of thing.

Anyway, point is it was so, so, so, so good to see Lo-Pan. Not only because they’re one of American heavy rock’s best bands — I’ve called them the finest in US fuzz for pretty much the last four years — and not only because they killed it and put on a stellar show, but because they did it here, as a part of Roadburn 2015, looking across the stage at each other and challenging themselves to play better, harder than they have before. Their first European tour comes after countless US slogs and will hopefully lead to more, but it seems likely to me they’re going to remember this one, and I’m glad to have stayed through “Eastern Seas” and “The Duke” to watch them hammer down their victory. I’d been looking forward to it since they were announced, and it warmed my cold, dead heart to see them kick so much ass.

Their tourmates from Paris and Small Stone labelmates, Abrahma, were going on shortly down the block at Cul de Sac, which is right in the stretch of bars on Heuvelstraat adjacent to the 013 that for I don’t even remember how many years now I’ve been calling Weirdo Canyon (hence the Dispatch). The relatively small club is where the Hard Rock Hideout was held on Wednesday (review here), and I like the room a lot, so it seemed perfect to follow Lo-Pan with Abrahma and head over. Already they were on stage when I got there, dug into what turned out to be their soundcheck, but with the lights up, I snapped a few pictures just in case when they actually started they decided to play in the dark, as pretty much every band I’ve ever seen in that space has done. Abrahma, however, dared to be different.

In keeping, their upcoming second album, Reflections in the Bowels of a Bird (review/track stream here), does likewise, pushing into moodier, somewhat less psychedelic territory than their 2012 debut, Through the Dusty Paths of Our Lives (review here). Their set, which was actually just about split between the two records and leaned slightly toward the new one, was surprisingly heavy. Very riffy, very big in tone. Not quite to the level of Floor-syle bombdropping, but not far off either. As a frontman, Sebastien Bismuth was charismatic and engaging, banging his head harder than many and managing not to injure himself in the process unless you count an almost certain sore neck tomorrow, and joined by drummer Fred Quota for this tour along with bassist Guillaume Colin and guitarist Nicolas Heller, their sudden bursts of weighted groove hit with an impressive, genuine impact. As their songwriting continues to grow and become more complex, I’ll be interested to see how that impact evolves.

A prudent move would’ve been to stay longer, but even though it’s the Afterburner, Roadburn means time to move. Anathema would soon be on the Main Stage, playing a special set allotted 130 minutes that was being called “Resonance” and which started with the eponymous “Anathema” from last year’s Distant Satellites and working backwards through their discography. The Cavanagh brothers, Vincent (lead vocals, guitar), Danny (guitar, backing vocals) and Jamie (bass) were down front of the stage with drummer Daniel Cardoso and keyboardist/programmer John Douglas on risers behind, and over the course of their time, current vocalist Lee Douglas made intermittent appearances — a striking one for “A Natural Disaster” lit, at the band’s request, only by cellphone lights from the crowd, as seen on the cover of their 2013 DVD, Universal — and former bassist Duncan Patterson and former vocalist Darren White both showed up the farther along Anathema went, deeper and deeper still into their 25-year history.

They’re doing a short “Resonance” tour, are Anathema, but Roadburn 2015 was the first night, and the first time White had been on stage with the band in 20 years. Something special, no doubt. Here’s a fun fact, though: I love that band. Along with Amorphis, who were playing through the main hall P.A. just before Anathema went on, Anathema were one of the acts that led me into exploring underground metal, and ultimately — so the story goes — selling my soul to Tony Iommi at the expense of career, well-being and, this week, sleep. No complaints. But while Anathema are a pivotal band for me personally, a landmark act without whom I genuinely don’t believe I’d be the same person, I also fall into a rarer category of Anathema fan. It’s not their early stuff that I got into back when I was in high school. Not 1995’s Pentecost III, from which “Kingdom” and “Mine is Yours to Drown In (Ours is the New Tribe)” were aired at the start of what would be a third individual component set in the longer runtime, and not even the album The Silent Enigma, which followed it that same year, powerful though “Sunset of Age” and “A Dying Wish” were.

I have those records, and I dig those records a lot, but what got me into Anathema is their often-overlooked middle period: 1998’s Alternative 4, 1999’s Judgement, 2001’s A Fine Day to Exit and 2003’s A Natural Disaster. When I’m reaching for an Anathema album — as I invariably do in a depressive fit as I wallow in my own filth and worthlessness because I’m just the right kind of emotional cripple that music offers comfort I apparently can’t allow myself to feel otherwise; whoops — those are what I go for, and when Vincent led the way into “Pressure” from A Fine Day to Exit and “One Last Goodbye” from Judgement tonight, those were the songs that had me tearing up. No bullshit, bringing Darren White out was incredible. Clearly charged up to be on stage with the band in the context of headlining at Roadburn 2015, he settled in and nailed the dramatic chorus of “Kingdom” — shades of Fields of the Nephilim influence showing themselves — and led the band through the finish of their professionally polished but still emotionally potent set, “Sleepless” from Anathema‘s 1993 debut, Serenades, closing out.

This was the Anathema show I’ve been dreaming of, covering their whole career, but their mid-period, pre-prog, post-doom, was what hit me the hardest, the first four cuts from Alternative 4 played with Patterson on bass to morose and atmospheric effect. They could’ve done a third hour, easily, and I might have stayed for it if they did.

As it was, time was ticking away. One more stop to make, and it was back in the Green Room of the 013 for Brooklyn trio The Golden Grass, whose 2014 self-titled debut (review here) has only grown in my esteem since it was released. They’re a reminder of home for me, the East Coast, New York and all that, so they were perfect to close out my own little version of Roadburn. Guitarist/vocalist Michael Rafalowich, drummer/vocalist Adam Kriney and bassist Morgan McDaniel are on tour with Hypnos, who’d wrapped a bit earlier at the Cul de Sac, and though I knew I wouldn’t be there the whole time, I wanted to catch at least a bit of their sunshine boogie to help make the thought of walking out of Roadburn 2015, taking off my wristband and coming back to the hotel to put this last review together not quite such a bum-out. By the time they were through “Stuck on a Mountain” and “Please Man” and into a newer song I didn’t know, a bum-out was out of the question. Nothing but good vibes the whole way as I said a few quick goodbyes and walked down the stretch of Weirdo Canyon, a little quieter Sunday than Saturday, but by no means abandoned. I owe The Golden Grass one for that.

Strange to think that “tomorrow” (read: in three hours) when I get up to shower early and head out, it’ll be to the airport instead of the 013 office to bang out another issue of the Weirdo Canyon Dispatch. Roadburn develops its own culture so quickly each year, and the more and more I’m fortunate enough to come see Tilburg in the springtime, the more it feels like home.

I’ll have another post up to close out this series and say thanks and whatnot, so until then, I’ll just say the same thing I always say: More pics after the jump and thanks for reading.

Read more »

Excellent news today from the Roadburn camp for all fans of things melancholic and British in that Anathema will use the famed Tilburg festival’s 2015 edition as the launch point for a tour they’re calling “Resonance” on which they’ll play material spanning their entire career. To mark the occasion, they’re also bringing out founding vocalist Darren White and former bassist Duncan Patterson for a special reunion to take place headlining Roadburn‘s Sunday date, which may or may not still be the Afterburner (I’m not really sure). White and Patterson were last in the band together in the mid-’90s, and though Anathema have moved very, very, very far away from where they were at that point stylistically, they’ll look to tie it all together on stage at the 013 for those lucky enough to see it.

Announcement and comment from the band and fest follow:

Anathema To Play Special ‘Resonance’ Set At Roadburn 2015; To Be Joined By Former Members Duncan Patterson and Darren White

It is our honour to announce that Anathema will headline the Sunday date of the 20th edition of Roadburn Festival, at the 013 venue on April 12, 2015 in Tilburg, The Netherlands, with a special performance that will span the innovative British band’s 25-year career, and include special guest appearances by former bassist and songwriter Duncan Patterson and original singer Darren White. The Roadburn show will be one of just a few dates that will make up Anathema’s short 2015 ‘Resonance’ tour.

Anathema have steadily built a loyal following worldwide, and their career trajectory is unlike that of any other band in the last quarter century, and will be reflected and celebrated in reverse chronological order at Roadburn 2015. Starting with the anthemic progressive rock of their recent work (2012’s classic Weather Systems and 2010’s We’re Here Because We’re Here), the performance will gradually move back in time through the more gothic-oriented material of 1998’s Alternative 4 and 1996’s Eternity, all the way back to the pioneering work of 1995’s The Silent Enigma and the 1993 debut Serenades, with Patterson and White joining the band onstage for an historic reunion.

“Roadburn festival [is] a hugely respected institution and has to be the most fitting launch for the Anathema ‘Resonance’ tour, [It will be] a celebration of the band’s entire history, and to be joined by our old friends and comrades Duncan Patterson and Darren White for these exclusive shows will be a very special, potent and positive event for all of us. We hope you can join in this once in a lifetime celebration” – Danny Cavanagh.

This will be one of Roadburn 2015’s absolute highlights, and we can’t express how happy we are that the band has chosen Roadburn for such a once in a lifetime performance. Anathema’s early albums – the lineups with Duncan Patterson and Darren White – as well as the Judgement album have been a huge influence on many bands that have played Roadburn over the years, and they they are a blueprint for the festival itself as well. We’ve been in love with this band since the beginning, and their headlining performance on Sunday is Roadburn’s own tribute to Anathema, a unique opportunity for fans to see the band perform with two crucial early members.

The 20th edition of Roadburn Festival runs from April 9 to 12, 2015 in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Tickets are still available: http://www.ticketmaster.nl/artist/roadburn-festival-tickets/875833

Curated by Ivar Bjørnson (Enslaved) and Wardruna‘s Einar “Kvitrafn” Selvik, Roadburn Festival 2015 (including Fields of the Nephilim, Anathema, Skuggsjá, Enslaved, Wardruna, Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin performing Dawn of The Dead and Susperia in its entirety, Zombi, Sólstafir, White Hills, Bongipper, Floor, Eyehategod and The Heads as Artist In Residence among others) will run for four days from Thursday, April 9 to Sunday, April 12 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

http://www.roadburn.com/roadburn-2015/tickets/
https://www.facebook.com/roadburnfestival
https://twitter.com/roadburnfest
roadburn.com

Anathema, The Silent Enigma (1995)

I know that given the atmospheric nature of both these bands, an Anathema and Alcest co-headlining tour isn’t the kind of thing one would usually go “Fuck yes!” about, but still: Fuck yes! No word on whose brilliant idea it was to team up the French and British outfits for a run of US and Canadian shows, but to whoever, well played. Alcest were killer at Roadburn this year and even in the we’re-a-happy-prog-band mode Anathema showed off on last year’s Weather Systems LP (review here), they’ll make a good fit, and with Aaron Turner‘s Mamiffer opening, it’s going to be a gloriously gloomy night.

Dig it:

This September and October, PROPHECY PRODUCTIONS artists ALCEST will take a break from work on their upcoming fourth album to embark on a co-headlining tour across the United States and Canada with masters of atmospheric rock Anathema. Founding ALCEST visionary Neige had the following to say about the upcoming tour: “We feel honored to tour with Anathema and [openers] Mamiffer. For years, Anathema have been making this unique mix of prog and emotional rock. Mamiffer is the post-rock/experimental band of Faith Coloccia and Aaron Turner, talented Isis founding member and founder of Hydra Head Records. Sounds like a diverse and attractive billing! And this will also be the opportunity for us to play a few songs from our next album. See you in a few months!”

The confirmed dates + venues are as follows:
9/12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
9/13 – Springfield, VA @ Empire
9/14 – New York, NY @ Gramercy Theater
9/15 – Boston, MA @ Middle East
9/16 – Montreal, QC @ Foufounes Electriques
9/18 – Toronto, ON @ Opera House
9/19 – Flint, MI @ The Machine Shop
9/20 – Cleveland, OH @ Peabody’s
9/21 – Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s
9/22 – Minneapolis, MN @ Mill City Nights
9/24 – Denver, CO @ Summit City Music Hall
9/25 – Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
9/26 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory
9/27 – Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven
9/28 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theater
9/29 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
10/1 – Oakland, CA @ Oakland Opera House
10/3 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theater
10/4 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
10/5 – Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee Theater

Alcest, Les Voyages de L’Âme (2012)

Sorry, but there’s a blizzard on, and nothing says winter to me like Anathema‘s A Natural Disaster. I know anything to do with the long-running British genre-shirkers is an invite for contrasting opinions — this or that album is better, this or that era — and I don’t know if I’d say A Natural Disaster is my favorite of their records, but it’s certainly up there and it was the capping statement on their era of bleak atmospheric rock. By the time they got around to Hindsight in 2008, they were a different band entirely.

So for what it is, I dig it, and if you don’t, I hope you’ll indulge me anyway on account of the weather, which I’m told is quite severe. It’s dark here — darker than I expected from the awesomeness of hue that was twilight this evening — so I can’t see it, but I hear the heavier snowfall is still to come and that areas north of me, Connecticut, Massachusetts, are going to get even harder. I don’t envy anyone two feet of snow. I said it earlier on Thee Facebooks and it’s worth repeating: Please be safe. You guys in the south too. I hear there’s more than a bit of rain headed your way.

Speaking of south, if not of the South, my plan is still to point the car in that direction tomorrow morning and get down to New Castle, Delaware, in time for the start of The Eye of the Stoned Goat 2, which features Pale Divine, Iron Man, Beelzefuzz, Clamfight and others. I’d list them all, but what the hell, here’s the flyer:

A good bill is a good bill, so weather be damned. If I can get out of the valley tomorrow — for Sandy that big snowstorm in 2010, we had trees down, but I don’t think this is supposed to be that bad — I’ll be there. If not, well, there’s always YOB on Sunday in Brooklyn for a doomly fix. Actually, I’ll be at that gig one way or another, but wherever I end up, I’ll have reviews accordingly. Also look for an Archon disc review and maybe the new The Kings of Frog Island as well, and an interview with the dudes in Traveling Circle, and a special reveal from Blaak Heat Shujaa and much more.

For now though, I’m pretty much just waiting for the power to go out. Last I saw, the branches were hanging heavy on the wires, so if it’s to be sleeping around a bonfire in the living room this evening and eating everything out of the fridge before it goes bad, well, I think I can handle it. Again, if you’re in this area, I hope you’re safe and warm and that your lights stay on, and wherever you might be, I hope you have a great and safe weekend. See you on the forum and back here Monday.