Anathema, like the etymology may imply, is a bit of a divisive group, mostly because of their past as doom metal legends and subsequently “Pink Floyd worshippers”. Now, any review of any of their albums will discuss their development and all the usual, but the only focus forced upon the seasoned listener is an intuitive flair for fervor. Yes, they’ve changed a lot over the years, but what’s become clear ever since the rebirthing Hindsight, the pinnacle We’re Here Because We’re Here, and now the reflective synthesis Falling Deeper, is how no matter the style of music, Anathema is about the darkness of the light, the light of the light; they are their own brand of providence.
In Falling Deeper, a lyric taken from the original 10-minute Crestfallen, Anathema revisits a past not many bands could tie in with their future, but they did it, mostly with great effect, which should speak about, primarily, the proliferation most bands lack, and secondly, an astonishing lack of integrity upon today’s music scenes. This is not to say Anathema is the greatest band ever, but even in their worst moments, and there’s a few, you can’t take away their emotive honesty. We have nine tracks from their heaviest, bleakest musical period, rewritten for a 26 piece orchestra, and we have many parts from the original songs cut out, which may draw complaints but, as Danny Cavanagh said, “it’s an orchestral album”, and taking more time to find ways to arrange the heavy parts for the strings or even as ambient sections would be rather costly for an independent band.
Some may be surprised by how well the old material adapts to the band’s new sound, as all the material comes from purely their doom albums and EPs. Sleep In Sanity is the first cue that the dirge-like guitars which originally casted gloomy light could be altered to a string ensemble that plays the same parts but rearranged sounds like a most uplifting and powerful piece. Even the old acoustic pieces, like Everwake or J’ai Fait Une Promesse, have been transcended with extra harmonies, and vocally Vincent shares these duties with Anneke van Giersbergen, adding that extra pinch of allure. Whether they acknowledged it purposely or not, the group’s strength lies in minimalism, past or present, and it plays high prominence here.
The main problems with the album is that songs like They Die, We The Gods, and Kingdom, all of which were originally extremely powerful tracks, seem to have been cut a bit short. I personally miss the beat poetry of We The Gods and Kingdom over the emotive doom crashes, but the reworked versions aren’t bad by any means, just simply could have been expanded. The old songs still exist however. Other than that, it’s a great connection between past and present, and showcases a bright future for the band who finally aligned with the direction they’ve been looking for their whole career.
Fun fact for anyone who didn’t notice: the middle bit of the new version of Alone is the outro of Suicide Veil.
