Artist: Anathema
Label: Koch Records
Release Date: 2/24/04
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Title: A Natural Disaster Artist: Anathema Label: Koch Records Release Date: 2/24/04 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Abyss's Review:
You know, I consider myself a pretty open-minded guy. I've got a lot of CDs in my collection that would get me laughed right off of this site. No one seems to believe this, as the hate mail I received after my reviews of bands like Soilwork and In Flames can attest to ("You just don't like anything that isn't screamed and brutal!"). But come on, there's only so much of this shit I can take.This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, these guys went in this direction a long time ago. Namely, atmospheric mood music far removed from their metal roots and now too devolved to even be referred to as hard rock. It's not that I don't like this genre, recent works by Katatonia and Green Carnation have been brilliant. And while those bands aren't exactly the same sound as Anathema, the bands are easily compared when one looks at their careers as a whole.
"One word review: Zzzzz." Anathema's latest is an effort in endurance, an album so tepid that I get sleepy just listening to the first 5 minutes. There is absolutely no pulse in this music until at least half of its running time is over. It is then that the electric guitars hit and act somewhat like a defibulator, jerking one out of their daze, but only for so long. And while most albums in this genre play off of different textures or contrasting emotions, this record seems static, monotonous. It's not that the band is worthless, there is the random interesting melody that pops up every once in awhile, that is if you're still awake to appreciate it.
I guess what really irritates me about a record like this is the band's (and die-hard fans') attitudes about how this is the only way in which they can grow as musicians. Whenever a heavy band opts for 'growth' they always seem to copy shit that's been done a thousand times. It's like they never realized the 70s were chock full of this type of stuff. Anyone who thinks that this is groundbreaking has a very limited CD collection. Bands like this also usually put down the metal fans from their early days and say that they're stubborn and have a one-track mind for all things heavy. For bands that feel that way I have a surprise for you: Metal fans are not one-dimensional, even though you've purged all of the metal from your sound, your fan base is still entirely composed by metalheads. One word review: Zzzzz.
Death's Review:
Anathema are definitely not “metal” in the conventional sense of the term. For some time now, Anathema has sounded a lot more like Pink Floyd than death metal. Dismissing their music on that ground alone would be a mistake. The music really is excellent, well thought out, artistic, adventurous, and, yes, mature. But that’s not to say it is without aggression, such as the guitars in “Balance” – a relative aggression similar to Pink Floyd stuff like “Run Like Hell.” In fact, back in the late 70’s and early 80’s, some people called Pink Floyd a heavy metal band. Heck, albums like Animals and The Wall are some of the most depressed, dark, misanthropic, rebellious and pissed-off records ever made. In my book a comparison to Pink Floyd is a compliment, and in the case of Anathema, such a comparison is apt, even though Anathema never fully approach the genius level of Floyd, and even though Roger Waters’ whiny and unusual voice was much more expressive and angry than Anathema vocalist Vincent Cavanagh.
"The music really is excellent, well thought out, artistic, adventurous, and, yes, mature." The simple bottom line is that Anathema would rather explore the musical realm of Pink Floyd, Radiohead and Coldplay than Suffocation, Morbid Angel and Napalm Death. I accept that. The problem for Anathema is that now they must try to stand up to a comparison to those more “artistic” bands. And that is some stiff competition. Pink Floyd, for example, is an all-time great, and in the end, Anathema is simply “pretty good” by comparison. The really kicker about Anathema’s A Natural Disaster is that Floyd’s Animals record for example is actually the heavier and more “metal” album of the two. That’s how far afield Anathema has drifted. But you knew that, right? That’s no surprise to the discerning fan, as A Natural Disaster is just a continuation of the progression heard on 2001’s A Fine Day to Exit. I think the new Anathema sound is summed up nicely in the label press sheet: “[l]aunching from the band’s bedrock foundation of hard progressive rock, predominantly mellow numbers such as ‘Balance,’ ‘Closer,’ ‘Are You There?’ and ‘Flying’ use sparse arrangements and hypnotic nuances to first seduce and then enthrall the listener.” That is a pretty good description. What does this mean for the average metaljudgment.com reader? This is some mellow shit. You’re either into it or you aren’t.
I’m into it. I wasn’t sure at first, but when I drove home one night late on some quiet streets with “Balance,” “Closer,” and “Are You There” as my soundtrack I realized the subtle power the album holds. The album’s minimalist beauty fully enveloped me, and I’ve been hooked on it ever since. No, it is not as good as classic Pink Floyd, but then again, what is? You can only listen to those albums so much, and life nevertheless sometimes calls for a mellower mood. No, this isn’t my first choice to listen to all of the time, and unlike the last Katatonia album, Viva Emptiness, in the end there just isn’t enough here to bang your head to. But I still like it, and if you keep an open mind, you will too.
Hel's Review:
The clear complaint metal heads are going to have with this album is that it is just not heavy. Whole songs go by without a single distorted guitar riff. Clean vocals predominate the entire record. It is a very pretty album. Do I wish that it were more metal? Of course I do! But by no means will I say that this is less than an absolutely excellent album. It is, in fact, a brilliantly written and performed record.
"Heavy, it may not be, but utterly addictive – it is." During my top ten recap, I waxed philosophical about Katatonia’s Viva Emptiness album, discussing the emotional essence of metal and how it is possible for even a mellow album to encompass the metal state of mind. Few things are more metal than the bleak subject matter of an Anathema record, and the music, though it has been growing more and more mellow as time goes on, still has that metal spirit, despite its obvious beauty.
A Natural Disaster may be a metal record in disguise, but I contend that it is a metal album nonetheless, for it is filled to overflowing with extremely metal emotions: pain, anger, despair. In the future, I do hope for a heavier bent to their songwriting, but even so, this record returns to my player again and again. I’ve listened to it least once a week since it arrived, and I have found it an invaluable aide while coding html. For all of these reasons, I will override my instinctual desire to dock the record a skull for not being heavy enough, and instead give Anathema the full five skulls. Heavy, it may not be, but utterly addictive – it is.
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