Artist: Anathema
Label: Peaceville Records
Release Date: 1993
Rating: 5 Skulls
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Title: Serenades Artist: Anathema Label: Peaceville Records Release Date: 1993
Rating: 5 Skulls |
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Reviewed by Equinox (9/24/02):
In the early Nineties, the United Kingdom was the undisputed capital of doom metal, home to the legendary "Big Four," namely Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Cathedral and Anathema. In the early Nineties, these four bands produced what were arguably the finest doom metal albums ever produced. From Gothic to As the Flower Withers to Forest of Equilibrium, these would be the benchmarks that would stand the test of time and become sources of inspiration for a generation of doomsters to come. Standing right alongside all of these classic releases was (and still is) Anathema's stunning debut album Serenades."Lovelorn Rhapsody" is the opening track, and it is for good reason, as this is certainly the crown jewel of this release. You can be sure that if there were ever a CD compilation called Doom Metal's Greatest Hits, you'd find this amazing song on it. The eerie opening keyboard fade-in leads into an incredibly slow, depressed chug backed by an equally sparse drum beat. The woeful vocals of Darren are gruff, yet with a sad overtone that is more than slightly obvious. The song then begins to build, and build some more, not in tempo but rather in texture. Layer upon layer, harmony upon harmony, "Lovelorn Rhapsody" blooms before the listener's ear into an amazingly lush, euphonious and beautiful flower, as maudlin and sentimental as a composition can be, thoughtful but uplifting at the same time.
The end of "Lovelorn Rhapsody" picks up slightly at the end, delving into the realm of traditional metal for a moment, then it's onto the next segment. "Sweet Tears" follows the powerful opener with just as much heaviness, melody and dolor. Darren's lyrics are dark and pale, illustrating the fact that these songs are as heavy in subject as they are in sound. Anathema experiment with some clever ideas here to get their message across; there is a passage consisting of Darren's soft singing/speaking voice accompanied by just a lone, distant drum beat. This lack of instrumentation goes even further to push one of the album's themes, the theme of emptiness, to the forefront.
Sung in both French and English, the utterly enchanting acoustic ditty "J'ai Fait Une Promesse" (which my friend tells me translates to "I Make a Promise"), is next up. This is another gem, a non-traditional tune with wonderfully written and played acoustic guitar and beautiful, soaring female vocals, not in the overused operatic style, but more of an innocent, almost adolescent, whimsical tone. The lyrics are simple and pretty, and the harmonies are heartwarming. Another amazing song, not traditional "metal" in any sense but certainly fitting in with another theme here, that of love.
After "J'ai Fait Une Promesse" it's back aboard the snail-led doom metal wagon. "They (Will Always) Die" is slower than absolute zero, you can watch your fingernails grow between drum beats. This is yet another triumph of song structure, with a nice two-part overlapping guitar harmony, more anguished vocals, a heavy, chunky main riff and some chilling, more ethereal parts. The keyboards and drums soon take over the spotlight, then the drums fade out into a majestic keys-only ending.
Another good example of that Anathema "experimentation" I spoke of earlier is the semi-oddball track "Sleepless". This one is a strangely fitting blend of doom metal and new wave; the beginning of the song sounds like a slightly twisted Depeche Mode interspersed with heavy guitar and vocal growls, then the song darts between dancy and doomy. Then the doom metal comes back in full-force (and don't think I'd forget to mention that cowbell four-count)!! This is one of the shorter tracks on the album, but it adds a lot as far as the listenability and diversity of the album is concerned.
The bittersweet "Sleep In Sanity" follows, with it's wailing guitar harmonies and tortoise-like riffs, mellifluously constructed and extremely easy on the ears. This opus is followed by the short, minute-long spoken word "Scars of the Old Stream" a misty, distorted piece and an enchanting segue into the next song, "Under a Veil (of Black Lace)". "Under a Veil (of Black Lace)" is a masterpiece. Here you will find more incredibly crafty and pretty riffs and great harmonies as well as the heavy chug and slow double bass. Then it is back to the pretty stuff, a brief, well-placed acoustic respite, then, one of the saddest riffs and most agonized vocals I have ever heard chime in simultaneously. This builds up to another slow chug, then the song is done. The doubled vocal track is splendid throughout the song, the gruff moans underlying the distant spoken tone. Yes, this is some highly emotional stuff, in my mind, the runner up to "Lovelorn Rhapsody" for best track. Lastly, "Where Shadows Dance" a sub-two minute outro provides the other bookend to close the album out.
As the decade progressed, and the Nineties flowed into the Two Thousands, Anathema found themselves changing their style to one less "doomy", just like Paradise Lost and Cathedral had done before them. Though they would never produce another album such as this, Serenades remains one of the most important and influential doom metal releases of all-time. It is very fitting that the inside of the CD features a picture of a softly flowing woodland waterfall at dusk, framed by the silhouettes of bare-limbed trees and a deep blue/grey sky; this photograph perfectly illustrates the overall sound of this album, somewhat dark and somber yet still very beautiful. Serenades is a true classic, not only of the doom metal world but of all of metaldom.
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