•
Rating: Talking, telling, and reviewing an Anathema piece is always a pleasure because they are one of those bands that certainly do not lack personality paired with great quality in writing lyrics and perfect productions, and every time they deliver pearls of absolute value.
Their Death/Doom/Metal beginnings are now just a splendid memory; already with "Alternative 4" they significantly toned down their musical "power," then continued with the masterpiece "Judgement" and the beautiful "A Fine Day To Exit," the latter work with slight post-rock influences.
This "A Natural Disaster" presents itself with a cover that is nothing short of beautiful (depicting a little boat in the sea illuminated by the sunset's light and a lone man who seems to be sad and hurt, abandoned to his fate) and you can immediately tell it will be a journey filled with melodies, melancholies, and dreamy, at times suffering, voices.
The start of the album is soft with "Harmonium," a slow and at times repetitive song with the voice accompanying the melody in an odyssey of suffering; it intensifies (and especially in quality) with "Balance," which has an urgent, enveloping start, made of guitars and drums that seem to explode at any moment, all surrounded by Vincent Cavanagh's splendid voice that almost plays at being Thom Yorke from Radiohead but always with great class and elegance.
The third passage of this journey is called "Closer," a track that combines the usual sad melody with a penetrating voice influenced by a slight electronic vein; a pleasant track that prepares us for the next gem of the album "Are you there." In hearing it, they vaguely remind me of the (best) Sigur Ros; what can I say, beautiful, sounds that transport you to another dimension, penetrating melodies that grab and cradle you from the very first listen for all almost 5:00 minutes of its duration.
The journey continues with "Childhood Dream," very slow, sounds caressed by the verses of a dreaming child and a very light guitar; ending with a voice perhaps from the Afterlife closes the track and seems to warn us that the next song, "Pulled Under At 2000 Metres A Second," will give us quite a jolt. Here, we return (vaguely, of course) to the times of "Judgment," with very heavy guitars enriched in the middle of the track by inhuman screams, but it is only a "homage" to times that were because it soon returns to the new path undertaken by the English brothers.
The title track "A Natural Disaster" is a very good ballad sung by Lee Douglas's beautiful female voice. It doesn't drive me crazy, although almost all the critics see it as the album's pinnacle.
The highest expression of this beautiful album, in my opinion, is the enchanting "Flying." Every time I listen to it, I get chills, close my eyes, and imagine myself just like the man on the boat on the cover, alone with myself contemplating the sunset lights penetrating and illuminating the crystal clear sea. It starts very slowly with the singer's voice being ethereal and penetrating at first impact, then progressively grows.
It is followed by "Electricity," with beautiful lyrics about love, composed of very sweet guitars and soothing pianos. This "journey of love" is closed by the track "Violence," an instrumental experiment that, despite its long duration, manages to relax even the most agitated minds and bring them to absolute peace.
Almost an hour has passed, but it seems to have flown by...
This is another masterpiece by Anathema and making comparisons with their previous albums is absolutely impossible because every time they discover musical horizons never seen before.
I often hear that they've copied Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Muse, or even that they take inspiration from Air; surely they can remind you of them, I don't doubt it, but for me, they have been, are, and will be simply Anathema, unique in their way of delivering dreams and emotions...
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Balance (03:58)
glad to see your wide awake
this is the great escape
from a life that tried to mould you
and the lie it sold you
what would you do?
what wouldn't you do?
what would you do?
what wouldn't you do?
what would you do?
what wouldn't you do?
did you try to reason why
look yourself in the eye
what you are is all you have been
what will be is all you do now
what would you do?
what wouldn't you do?
what would you do?
what wouldn't you do?
what would you do?
what wouldn't you do?
spill a tear as your sense of self slowly
melts away
melts away
melts away
until death's mirror reflects
the meaning of our lives
we wander aimless and mesmerised
as the fear starts to rise.
03 Closer (06:20)
your dream world is a very scary place
your dream world is a very scary place
your dream world is a very scary place
to be trapped in
your dream world is a very scary place
your dream world is a very scary place
your dream world is a very scary place
to be trapped inside
to be trapped inside
to be trapped inside
all your life
shine in time
shine in time
shine in time
until you find
you're closer
you're closer
to the truth
within you
within you
within you
is the truth
that your dream world is a very scary place
that your dream world is a very scary place
that your dream world is a very scary place
to be trapped inside
to be trapped inside
to be trapped inside
all your life
you're closer
you're closer
you're closer
to the truth
within you
within you
within you
is the truth
07 A Natural Disaster (06:27)
It's been a long cold winter without you
I've been crying on the inside over you
You just slipped through my fingers as life turned away
It's been a long cold winter since that day
And it's hard to find
Hard to find
Hard to find the strength now, but I try
And I don't wanna
I don't wanna
I don't wanna go on and speak now
Of what's gone by
'Cause no matter what I say
No matter what I do
I can't change what happened
I can't change what happened
No matter what I say
No matter what I do
I can't change what happened
I can't change what happened
No, no, I can't change
You just slipped through my fingers
And I feel so ashamed
You just slipped through my fingers
And I've failed
'Cause no matter what I say
No matter what I do
I can't change what happened
I can't change what happened
No matter what I say
No matter what I do
I can't change what happened
I can't change what happened
No, no, I can't change
Just slipped through my fingers
And I feel so ashamed
You just slipped through my fingers
And I've failed.
08 Flying (05:57)
Started a search to no avail
a light that shines behind the veil
trying to find it
and all around us everywhere
is all that we could ever share
if only we could see it
feel there's truth that's beyond me
life ever changing weaving destiny
and it feels like i'm flying above you
dream that i'm dying to find the truth
seems that your trying to bring me down
back down to earth back down to earth
layers of dust and yesterdays
shadows fading in the haze
of what I couldn't say
and though I said my hands were tied
times have changed and now I find
I'm free for the first time
feel so close to everything now
strange how life makes sense in time now
and it feels like i'm flying above you
dream that i'm dying to find the truth
seems that your trying to bring me down
back down to earth back down to earth
back down to earth back down to earth x2
09 Electricity (03:51)
Seems like you never really knew me
Seems like you never understood me
Seems like you never really knew how to feel
But electricity it drew you near to me
What you needed was to be rid of me
There were times you really made me smile
And there were times you really made me cry
And there were times i never really knew how to feel
But electricity it drew you near to me
What you needed was to be rid of me
And the fear made you so unsure of me
What you needed was to be rid of me.
But electricity it drew you near to me
What you needed was to be rid of me
And the fear made you so unsure of me
What you needed was to be rid of me.
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By serestoppone
Nothing here is ever banal because nothing is left to chance, everything brushes perfection.
Psychedelic rock has a new face. A face stained with electronics, melancholy, anger, and resignation, but also lots of beautiful melody composed of independent schemes.
By ZiOn
"'A Natural Disaster' is indeed an excellent work, well-structured and rich in atmospheric and intense tracks."
‘‘There is always the risk of losing credibility and long-time fans, but if you do it without fear and with an excellent album like this, you can also turn a blind eye.'
