Anathema

Anathema was a rock band founded in Liverpool in 1990 active until September 22, 2020, together with Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride, they collaborated with the development of Death/Doom. Since their third album, Eternity, Anathema has gradually moved away from the doom scene and even metal. This was confirmed on their fourth album Alternative 4, almost completely abandoning those sounds, where a strong shift towards progressive rock and alternative rock with influences from atmospheric progressive rock is noted.

History

The beginnings: 1990-1992

Formed in the summer of 1990 in Liverpool (UK) by Daniel Cavanagh, the band started out as Pagan Angel, with Darren White (vocals), Daniel Cavanagh (guitar), Vincent Cavanagh (guitar), Duncan Patterson (bass) and John Douglas (drums). In November 1990 they released their first demo An Illiad Of Woes recorded at MA Studios which cultivated a style closely linked to doom metal with very guttural voices and highly distorted guitars. Later the name of the band changed to Anathema, and they began to gain greater acceptance and publicity in part thanks to appearances with bands such as Bolt Thrower and Paradise Lost.

Poland 2004.

Parallel to the attention they were receiving, they began the creative process for their second demo All Faith Is Lost which was recorded in July 1991 also at MA Studios. This demo consisted of four songs, which were much slower than the songs on their first demo, taking elements of the then popular doom metal, but using them in a much more introspective and nostalgic facet. Once the demo was released, it received very positive reviews from the media, and even attracted the attention of the Swiss label Witch Hunt Records who released the single They Die which consisted of two well-known songs, Crestfallen and They Die. The only 1000 copies produced were sold quickly. Before the release of this demo, Jamie left the band determined to pursue his studies. To fill the gap left by Jamie, Daniel offered the position to Duncan Patterson, who after a trial run was officially accepted.

The growing popularity also attracted the attention of Peaceville Records, who offered the band to participate in a future compilation album to be released by the label. The song included on the album was Lovelorn Rhapsody, recorded at Academy Studios. The compilation album was called Peaceville's Compilation "Volume 4" and was released in October 1992. The compilation was well received as well as the Anathema song, which resulted in in a contract with Peaceville Records for four more records.

First albums: 1992-1995

In the summer of 1992 the band entered Academy Studios determined to record their first album. However, some of the material recorded in these sessions was part of their first release, the EP titled The Crestfallen released in November 1992. The rest of the material became their debut album Serenades released in February 1993, whose style was quite different from their first demos by introducing much slower rhythms and cleaner guitars in their distortion that provided a much more negative, depressive, and even poetic atmosphere. The inclusion of female vocals also brought a certain melodic beauty to the dark sadness that surrounded the record. Serenades was received with great praise, being declared "Record of the Month" by Metal Hammer magazine, and even on MTV, largely thanks to the promotional video for Sweet Tears.

Vincent Cavanagh.

After the release of Serenades, Anathema spent a good time playing concerts: first in England, and then for the first time abroad in countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Germany (along with Cradle of Filth and At The Gates), Austria, Switzerland, Romania, and Brazil.

In May 1994, the EP Pentecost III was recorded at Academy Studios. Unfortunately problems with the label (which at the time had been taken over by Music For Nations) resulted in a delay in the release of the demo which finally saw the light of day in May 1995. Just before the release of Pentecost III, vocalist Darren White left the band due to creative differences, as the band felt that Darren's voice would not fit the new style the band was cultivating. Darren first founded his own band, The Blood Divine, and then his current band Serotonal. Faced with this new scenario, the band decided that guitarist Vincent Cavanagh should take over the vocals. This new formation would debut on a tour of the United Kingdom accompanying Cathedral.

Musical evolution: 1995-present

A year later the band releases The Silent Enigma, an album that represents a crucial moment in their career. The album incorporates changes in vocal style and introduces various elements of the gothic environment. Many fans of the original style of the band consider this album as the beginning of the fall of Anathema, while many others consider that the best time of the band begins with this album.

In 1996 is the release of Eternity, which includes a more atmospheric sound and continues the transition to clean voices, which will later be consolidated in Judgment.

The second member to retire from the band would be drummer John Douglas (due to his drug problems and consequent rehabilitation) in the summer of 1997, who would be replaced by ex-Solstice drummer Shaun Taylor-Steels - who later would participate in My Dying Bride.

Daniel Cavanagh.

The album Alternative 4, released in 1998, marks the group's full entry into the sound of progressive rock and alternative rock, influenced mainly by the great development of this genre in England; Paradoxically, this occurred at the end of the 90's, when the rise of that genre began to decline. During this time, the band underwent many line-up changes. Bassist Duncan Patterson was replaced by Dreambreed's Dave Pybus due to musical differences. Martin Powell (who was in charge of keyboards and violin in My Dying Bride some time before) also joined the band. Finally, John Douglas assumes the role of drummer for the second time.

In June 1999, the album Judgement was released. This album marks Anathema's complete withdrawal from the doom metal scene, emphasizing slow and experimental tracks. This new sound has been compared to bands like Pink Floyd and Jeff Buckley.

During the same year, Martin Powell switched positions with Cradle of Filth keyboardist Les Smith, who became an integral member of Anathema.

Some time before the release of A Fine Day to Exit, Dave Pybus announced his departure from the band and later joined Cradle of Filth, being temporarily replaced by George Roberts, and later by Jamie Cavanagh.

In March 2002, Daniel Cavanagh announced his departure from Anathema, joining Duncan Patterson's band, Antimatter. However, he rejoined Anathema in 2003 for the release of A Natural Disaster . Since then, Anathema's sound has taken on more atmospheric and progressive characteristics, as showcased on tracks from the last album such as Flying and Violence.

Due to the closure of the Music for Nations record label after its purchase by Sony BMG, Anathema loses its record label. During their search for a new record label, the band releases three new songs online: Everything, A Simple Mistake and Angels walk among us, which can be downloaded by making a voluntary donation. Despite the absence of a label to support them, the band made its first Latin American tour in 2006, which would be repeated in 2009, as well as multiple performances in various European countries.

Hindsight was released on February 25, 2008, a semi-acoustic album with re-recorded classic songs and a new song: "Unchained (Tales of the Unexpected)". During the same period, the band receives technical support from Steven Wilson for the release of their next studio album, later signing with the progressive rock label Kscope, which is responsible for its publication. Finally, on May 31, 2010, We're Here Because We're Here is released.

On July 6, 2011, Anathema announced on their official website their album of reinterpretations titled Falling Deeper, which was released on September 5 of that year. This album follows the same formula as Hindsight, since several of the band's early songs, in their doom metal era, were re-recorded in orchestral versions. After the release of the compilation album, Les Smith announces his departure from the band due to creative differences.

On April 16, 2012, after several months of recording periods, Anathema finally released Weather Systems.

In 2014, specifically on June 4, they released their twelfth studio album titled Distant Satellites.

On June 9, 2017 they released their latest album to date entitled The Optimist under the Kscope label.

Members

Timeline

Discography

Albums

• Serenades 1993
• The Silent Enigma 1995
• Eternity 1996
• Alternative 4 1998
• Judgement - 1999
• A Fine Day to Exit 2001
• A Natural Disaster - 2003
• Hindsight - 2008
• We're Here Because We're Here - 2010
• Falling Deeper - 2011
• Weather Systems - 2012
• Distant Satellites - 2014
• The Optimist - 2017

EP, Singles and Demos

• An Iliad Of Woes 1990 (Demo)
• All Faith Is Lost 1991 (Demo)
• Crestfallen 1992 (Ep)
• They Die 1992 (Sencillo)
• We are Bible 1994 (Sencillo)
• Pentecost 1995 (Ep)
• Future 1998 (Sencillo)
• Deep 1999 (Sencillo)
• Make It Right 1999 (Sencillo)
• Pressure 2001 (Sencillo)

VHS/DVD

• A Vision of A Dying Embrace - 1997 (VHS) " 2002 (DVD)
• Were you there? - 2004 (DVD)
• A moment in time - 2006 (DVD)
• Universal - 2013 (DVD)
• A Sort of Homecoming - 2015 (DVD)

Others

• Resonance 2001
• Resonance 2 - 2002
• Everything - 2006 (Official song 2006, launched on its website for free fans)
• Simple Mistake - 2006 (Official song 2006, launched on its website for free fans)
• Angels walk among us - 2007 (Official Song 2007, launched on your website for free fans)