ANATHEMA — Judgement (review)

ANATHEMA — Judgement album cover Album · 1999 · Non-Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
Peacock Feather
True, as for me, is the idea that the greatest works of art are created on the basis of a personal tragedy of a creator. In this case, creators are the Cavanagh brothers, who had a great tragedy – their own mother died. Plus, Patterson, as already mentioned, left the band (his place on 2 albums will be taken by Dave Pybus, known for playing in Cradle of Filth), so the only right decision that was made by brothers, along with the returning John Douglas, was to start working on a new album, which was called Judgement.

The strongest impulse received from such a cruel combination of circumstances served as the birth of a truly great album, and, perhaps, number 1 in my personal top albums of Anathema. Yes, I love Judgment. I love it for the perfect combination of all the elements that make up the sound of Anathema of those years, I love it for the most excellent compositions, for the softness, sensuality and sentimentality, for the light psychedelicness, for the fact that painful metal arrangements have finally been replaced by strict and elegant rock forms. To be honest, I can't single out any song that falls out of the general canvas, which would be a pass-through, but I can single out the most favorite songs for me: this is the opening album triptych (hit Deep, nervous and hard Pitiless and gentle Forgotten Hopes with outro Destiny is Dead), gothic Make It Right, beautiful male and female duet in Parisienne Moonlight (in which for the first time as a vocalist appears Lee Douglas, sister of John Douglas), Emotional Winter with an intro, as if written for Shine On You Crazy Diamond and hard rock Wings of God.

Wait, did I miss something? Of course, because One Last Goodbye is a special thing, as it is dedicated to the deceased mother of the Cavanagh brothers. And hell, if I'm asked to name the saddest and grieving song of all time, I won't hesitate to name that song. One Last Goodbye is an example of how to turn a personal tragedy into music. Simple in form, in lyrics, but pressing on you as much as you can do in the whole wide world. And you understand everything even without Danny's lyrics and Vinnie's vocals, because the progressive movement of the music leads you to a crescendo and a guitar solo that will make you cry if you are a true emo girl, and make you shrink into a sentimental ball if you are a bearded man. One Last Goodbye, like the whole Judgement, is like a cleansing waterfall, in which you will want to splash for more than one or 2 hours, and each time you again experience a feeling of relief and euphoria when the final and warm notes of the instrumental 2000 & Gone make you turn on the Play icon again on the opening Deep…
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