Anathema
Alternative IV

There's something indescribable in this album that makes it ethereal, unattainable. It puts you in that state of well-being that's difficult to describe. To be cliché, it takes you to seventh heaven. It's also true that in some passages it brings you back down to earth, but it never stops making you dream. Ladies and gentlemen, this is art. Ladies and gentlemen, these are Anathema.
Remembering that this is the zenith the group has reached to date, in this album lies the most poetic expression of their music and beyond. Their drastic change from a rough doom metal band to minstrels with a vague metal scent has precisely hit the target.

Warm notes introduce "Shroud of false", which after some whispers about our existence opens into a riff that breaks and fades into an echo. "Fragile Dreams" has a melodic start that grows and culminates in a powerful guitar riff, returning slow during the verses and violent in the chorus. A song that closely resembles the Finnish Sentenced in their best album "Crimson". An adjective for "Empty" would be hypnotic with its desperate message expressed incredibly in the most human way possible. Vincent Cavanagh's voice is very warm and can be molded in a thousand ways.
It moves from despair to comfort, from dismay to tranquility. "Lost control" forces us to listen to the tormented epilogue of a man who has reached the end, in a melody that greatly resembles Pink Floyd's "The final cut". And that's precisely the sensation that lingers in the air. It seems like an entirely independent work, yet continuously inspired by the aforementioned Floyd album. Not surprisingly, as one of the bonus tracks of the 2003 version, there's also a cover of "Your possible past", which does not look bad compared to the original except for an underwhelming vocal performance. Other tracks include the restless "Re-connect", the pulsating melody of "Inner Silence" (complete with a simulated heartbeat at the end), the sinister "Alternative 4", the composed "Regret", the beautiful and poetic "Feel" that encourages a return to life, and last but not least, the magical "Destiny" that concludes the work calmly...in the best way.

In the edition I own dated 2003, remembering that the album was recorded in 1998, there are 4 (alternative?) bonus tracks among which I would like to highlight the wonderful "Better off dead" that benefits from the help of a female voice (unknown to me...if anyone knows who it is, please write it to me in the comments, thank you) and that closes with the natural epilogue of "Goodbye cruel world": a name, a plan.
I would say that the four ex-metalheads from Liverpool have really hit the mark thanks to the talent of the Cavanagh brothers and Duncan Patterson's beautiful lyrics, supported by the aforementioned two. The booklet is beautiful and simple, emitting pure white light, with a strange and unsettling angel on the cover.

Absolutely a must-have. An eternal album.