ANATHEMA — Weather Systems (review)

ANATHEMA — Weather Systems album cover Album · 2012 · Non-Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
Kingcrimsonprog
Anathema are a British modern Progressive Rock band, who started their career as a Death-Doom band in the early nineties. Their 2012 album Weather Systems was my entry point to the band, and since its release I have constantly listened to it, over and over, absorbing more and more of its obvious entertainment factor and its hidden depths. It got me hooked on the band and started me off getting more of their albums.

The record starts off with the fantastic ‘Untouchable’ which is an incredibly powerful and interesting track that constantly builds up, its got brilliant evocative lyrics and an emotionally charged mixture of male and female vocals. This is followed by the bittersweet piano driven ‘Untouchable Prt 2.’ From then on the album goes through a range of different moods and atmospheres, from light to dark, happy to sad. There’s strings, spoken word sections, acoustic sounds, electronicy glitching and more, and its all topped off with deep intriguing lyrics and a crystal clear production job.

Highlights include the aforementioned Untouchables as well as the ‘Sunlight’ and ‘The Beginning And The End’ although to be fair there is absolutely no filler, the record is a strong journey from beginning to end. There are some naysayers to the album out there, most of whom are either caught out by an album they expected to be heavy but wasn’t, or are fans of the band’s early days and don’t like the new direction. I can see how very different this is to anything the band did at the start of their career, and if you came in expecting something that sounds like early My Dying Bride or Paradise Lost then it may be disappointing, as there is nothing in the way of Death or Doom on offer here at all, but this is an extremely enjoyable, masterfully crafted modern Progressive Rock album, full of interesting, inventive tracks that flows really well as an album and that just grows and grows with every listen.

If you are a fan of bands like Porcupine Tree, Riverside, Tool, Rishloo, Amplifier or even The Mars Volta, Coheed & Cambria or Dream Theater, you may at least want to check this album out. Overall; Since I first heard it, I’ve grown extremely fond of this record, its got some of my favourite ever songs on it and I highly, highly recommend it, if you think you might like it.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Deviance Deathcore
ASHES INTO BLOOD
Buy this album from MMA partners
Equilibrium Atmospheric Sludge Metal
BESRA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tension Between Rot And Genesis Sludge Metal
ANTHESIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Recycle Brain Crust Punk
C.P.G
Buy this album from MMA partners
Cartography Of The Mind Deathcore
TETHERED
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Besra – Unsullied (Music Video)
BESRA
Bosh66· 8 hours ago
Tethered - Breathe (Official Video)
TETHERED
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Saltwound - Walking The Blade (OFFICIAL VISUALIZER)
SALTWOUND
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Saltwound - The Negative (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)
SALTWOUND
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Saltwound - Drowning feat. Taylor Barber (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)
SALTWOUND
Bosh66· 1 day ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed