Anathema
Pentecost III

After the first reviews in the Brutal/Death field, I would like to praise what I consider to be one of the best bands that the rock/metal scene has produced in the last 15 years, I'm talking about Anathema, a band that debuted in the early '90s in the English underground, becoming one of the most important Doom/Death bands on the scene alongside groups such as My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, and the Norwegian Katatonia.

After the release of their first albums, Anathema evolved their sound, reaching various compositional peaks. Naturally, I consider "The Silent Enigma" to be their masterpiece. Now the group offers a sort of psychedelic rock (which greatly echoes Pink Floyd) with strong dark shades. What I am about to review is one of the band's first works, so do not expect the beautiful arpeggios of "The Silent Enigma" or "Eternity", in this album the group presents a suffering Doom tainted by Death influences. We are still far from the sound of the subsequent masterpieces, but this EP is a very important step for the band as they begin to add more progressive and dark hues to their sound, creating something both melancholic and violent at the same time.

It is almost unnecessary to dwell on the musicians' technique, truly extraordinary. Although we do not find ourselves in a genre that is too technically complicated, the guitarists manage to play more complex passages and perform acoustic arpeggios, creating a true trademark of the band. The bassist also significantly contributes to a remarkable work, although he will still have the opportunity to improve in subsequent albums. The excellent work of the guitarists and the bassist is enhanced by an exceptional drumming; the drummer indeed manages to adapt perfectly to the band's music, alternating double bass attacks in the more ferocious parts with more elaborated drumming in the slower and more painful parts.
The vocals are truly sublime, a suffering voice that recites real poems and which in "Memento Mori" becomes a deep and desperate growl. The production is really good and manages to highlight all the instruments; the lyrics are truly wonderful, desperate songs, songs of a dying swan wanting to forever leave this cancerous existence due to the despair and suffering perfectly represented by the band's music.

The EP opens with "Kingdom", a stunning song among the various acoustic arpeggios that has an ever-increasing emotional crescendo, reaching the height of suffering and despair. As you may have understood, it is the EP's best piece along with the final "Memento Mori", a very slow and agonizing song that most connects us to the band's early productions.
In short, as you might have gathered, this EP is stunning, and like every Anathema production, it is a work of art to be meticulously preserved.

When music grabs you and involves you to the point of bringing you to another "dimension"...