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Krigloch the Furious
Pants full of poo
KafkaX
Mr. Self Destruct
I'm currently listening to it for the third time, and it's okay, but it's definitely not as good as Weather Systems. It kind of seems more like a compilation of B-side tracks off the last few albums, more so than an actual album. It also has this weird electronic drum beat which is kind of annoying. I'm not a professional music critic or anything like that, so it's hard to truly put my feelings about the album into words, but something just seems a little off. In the end, it's still Anathema so I like it, but it's definitely not their best.
I'd like to hear your opinion about the album once you give it a spin.
KafkaX
Mr. Self Destruct
Hmmm...That sounds a bit off putting, but yeah ill let you know. Being that they are one of my favorite bands, with a near perfect discography, Im walking in with high hopes.
zerostatic
Damned in Flames
They're also one of my favorites too, and I love pretty much every album outside of maybe Serenades (which is still okay). I still like it, as it's still Anathema (I don't think I could actually dislike anything they do), but it's just not as good as some of their other stuff. I'm still going to buy it.
ProphetofHatred
We boogie on the floor
- Dec 17, 2013
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Psychonaut
God Of Emptiness
KafkaX
Mr. Self Destruct
In short, the one word to describe Distant Satellites is underwhelming.
By my standards for this band, which admittedly are quite high, I can honestly say this album was garbage. They can, and have done, way better than this. There was only one song that really resonated with me which was The Lost Song Part 2. Lee fucking killed it. Absolutely beautiful.
The rest of the album was a complete lackluster and disappointment. The production focused on everything other than the guitar work. Which made the repetitive drum beats sound really redundant, the bass was there but it felt kinda muddled in the mix of it all, and the keys were too loud. However, the vocal work was clear and precise BUT HAD NOTHING memorable to back it...I mean, I love Vince and Lee's voices. Separately and together. Their harmonies were also spot on. But musically, nothing grabbed me and left everything feeling completely dull, uninspired and incomplete.
With all the Anathema albums, they had a good mix of slow, mid and fast paced songs with mild filler in between. Theyve always had a good ratioo, imo. But, on this album, its like the *whole* album was leading up to a climax that NEVER happened. Every song, except for TLSP2, left me wanting them to reach a moment where it took off, but instead the whole album coasted with very little variation.
Towards the end I started to hear the electronic drum beat you were talking about. By this point it was an actual chore to sit through the last few songs for the utter disappointment I had, and the embarrassment at their failure at sounding like a cheap Radiohead knockoff band.
Before I continue to spout off any further Ill sum up and say Im extremely let down. I did not read anything about this album before listening to it because I wanted it to be a surprise, and surprised I was, but for all the wrong reasons. To call these songs even B sides of Weather Systems or Were Here Cause Were Here would be a compliment for this atrocity.
Westsiyeed
Member
I agree with you for the most part, especially with your comment about how it seemed like it was building towards a climax that never came.
The only songs I actually liked were "The Lost Song Part 2" and "Ariel", even though "Ariel" was basically filler. I thought Lee and Vince sounded real well together, but I did have a problem with the placement of that song. It sounded like it would work much better as an outro, but instead it was right in the middle of the album, and that was one of the biggest problems with the album - the lack of "flow". I tend to think a good album has a bit of a flow to it, but this sounded like a bunch of random singles put together in a totally random order, and that's why I called it a "B-side compilation". Every other song was either mediocre, or flat out bad. The electronic shit really ruined any potential that some of the last few songs had.
So yeah, it was underwhelming like you said, but I don't think I hated it quite as much as you did, although I did dislike it quite a bit (and I'd definitely say it's my least favorite Anathema album). I don't think I could ever totally hate anything they do, but this is definitely the closest I have ever come to hating something with the name Anathema on it. If I had to give it a letter grade, I'd probably give it a D+.
For some weird reason though, it seems to be getting lots of good reviews... And what the fuck is the album cover supposed to be?
ProphetofHatred
We boogie on the floor
- Dec 17, 2013
- 3,586
- 267
- 83
ProphetofHatred
We boogie on the floor
- Dec 17, 2013
- 3,586
- 267
- 83
