Anathema
A Sort of Homecoming

"A once in a lifetime experience that words can barely do justice"

So reads a line commenting on this immense, unique, and unrepeatable concert.

And it is entirely true because it is indeed a challenging task for me to describe in words the total emotion in which I found myself, from the very first listen, knowing by heart the entire artistic arc of Anathema. From their far-off and lost Gothic-Doom beginnings in the early nineties, to the masterful transformation and artistic metamorphosis that saw them land, with their latest works, on a Post-Rock tinged with infinite and successful Progressive shades.

A change of direction, a constant desire to experiment, to add new elements; an artistic growth that has always convinced and excited me. Putting themselves out there every time, without any fear of receiving heavy criticism (as indeed happened) from their old fans, those attached to the period when metallic sounds abounded.

"A Sort of Homecoming" is the title of the double CD. They played, in fact, on March 7th, 2015, inside the imposing neo-Gothic cathedral of their Liverpool. A sacred "profanation" seeing the Cavanagh brothers' band performing amid minimal lights and arrangements in a semi-acoustic concert. Almost two hours rich with pathos, melancholic nuances, huge emotional charge; leaving many spectators who flocked in awe.

They set aside, and rightly so, their past and indulge in long and soft instrumental digressions accentuated by the environment and the particular atmosphere of the chosen venue, so imposing, severe, and mystical. Lee Douglas' angelic voice (which lacks nothing compared to Anneke from The Gathering) accompanies Vincent in many tracks; while Danny embroiders and weaves with his guitar, mainly acoustic, soft and enveloping chords. Assisted in this important and fundamental task by a violin and a cello capable of making the flow of the expansive compositions even more celestial.

It's tough to speak, to recount the development of any track; it's a work that must be listened to "all in one breath", keeping well in mind the location where it was recorded. In silence, with eyes closed.

Standing as the highest, ever-changing pinnacle is the concluding "Fragile Dreams" (from their masterpiece "Alternative 4") where the almost whispered voices of Vincent and Lee unite, complementing each other..."Maybe I always knew, My fragile dreams would be broken for you"... coming sadly to the final farewell with those guitar strings delicately plucked; and the track fades, evaporates among endless applause.

Spectacular and wonderful.

Ad Maiora.