Falconspirit
I Died A Little
seniordude said:found on www.shedrock.com
Anathema - A Natural Disaster (2003)
A Natural Disaster is such a fitting title for this newest release from Anathema, because quite frankly it is a disaster from start to finish. ANATHEMA is just another band in a long line of Euro metallers that have gone so soft that to call them Heavy Metal would be stretching the definition so thin as to be almost transparent. This was a pretty cool band back in the mid 90s, but now they come across as some kind of PINK FLOYD wannabes almost. Every song so slow and moody and that none of them manage to grab your interest and hold it. I found I spent most of my time waiting for them to break loose, but it just never happens.
Guitarist Vincent Cavanaugh has now assumed the role of lead vocals, taking over for the departed Danny White. He has a decent voice, but not one that lends any power to the songs, it just sort of floats through each with a kind of detachment that I find annoying. He never attempts to use his voice to take a song to another level, instead just letting the song dictate his performance. Plus they use voice effects on Closer which is really annoying. Elsewhere a song like Are You There seems to contain no guitar work at all, just layers of bass, drums and keyboards. That is followed by o totally unnecessary instrumental called Childhood Dream which sounds like something off a movie soundtrack. The hardest song on the album is Pulled Under and it again spends more time exploring the astral side of the band, and again some voice effects, but at least it occasionally lets the guitars show up. The title track is a six and a half minute tear jerker with a female vocalist, another trend that is getting old and needs to be laid to rest. Really folks there isnt a song on here that interests me more than marginally.
When I think about how good albums like Eternity and Silent Enigma were when I first heard them it makes me sad. I am sure this will sell like hot cakes overseas where this kind of pomp metal still seems relevant, but it is completely lost on me. I could buy CDs of whale songs and be just as happy. In retrospect this makes the KATATONIA album I trashed earlier this year look like a lot better now. I may have to give that album another spin.
Added: October 23rd 2003
Reviewer: Shawn Gould
Score: 1/10
Related Link: Band Homepage
Hits: 35
Language: english
beuh..blibliblib..."Danny White" eh??? pff..errrff