a review from the dutch metal magazine "aardschok"
i did my best translating it, you'll understand allright i guess
"Once I wrote in an Anathema-review that I could hardly imagine a life without this band.You can find albums like "Eternity", "Judgement" or "Alternative 4" in my cd-player regularly. Hearing A Natural Disaster, a fearful feeling came over me that my love for this band could be well coming to an end.
Where were the emotional outbursts of Danny Cavanagh? Yet I could not and did not want to believe that one of my favorite bands had delivered a mediocre album. And what's the case, after listening more than ten times, the record is fabulous, although the incubation period is very long. The first three songs are very worked up(?)and rather experimental. "Are you there?", "Flying" and "Electricity" make my flesh creep just as much as "One last goodbye" (one of the most beautiful Anathema songs ever). The title track, surprisingly enough, reminds me very strongly of Antimatter, the new band of former Anathema bass player Duncan Patterson. Both bands have AD 2003 more incommon than they probably want to themselves. The only violence to be found on "A Natural Disaster, is the song "Pulled under..." and that is too little in my opinion . A little more spirit would have been nice.That does not alter the fact that those who have a little patience with A Natural Disaster, have a divinely beautiful album in their hands "
written by Anita BOEL
quotation:81/100