Beautiful and Original - Well, I am one of those people who just stumbled across Anathema, and the album that I discovered and listened to was Judgement. I actually heard their song Forgotten Hopes on the radio. It was amazing! I didn t know who it was, and when I did get their name, well I bought the album and listened to it constantly. I am not familiar with Anathema s previous music, but if this is anything to go by, then I would say they are one of the most original bands around. It is so ethereal and yet so lively and heart-felt. My personal fav s are deep, forgotten hopes, one last good-bye and emotional winter. The vocals for each song is so fantastic, one of the best voices I have ever heard! Listen to it, I beg of you. It will be such a change...a good change.
Sadness Defined . . . - I have a difficult time imagining that one, despite his or her musical preference, could listen to Anathema s latest release Judgement, and deny the transcendent beauty of its solid melodies, lingering harmonies and touching lyrics. The strength of Judgement lies most in its ability to strike a cord with the human emotions stemming from failure and loss that all of us, sadly, have had to face.As has come to be expected from Anathema--and similar to the style of one of their favorites, Pink Floyd--this album is best experienced from start to finish as numerous tracks flow seamlessly from one to another. The heavily delayed guitars found in the intro of Emotional Winter also clearly reveal the deeply influential role that Pink Floyd has played in Anathema s music. Though the quality of all tracks remains high, some personal favorites include Deep, Anyone, Anywhere, and One Last Goodbye. The dynamics, instrumentation and harmonies throughout these tracks are especially beautiful. For those who enjoy watching bands evolve and refine their sound, Judgement is an excellent example of the end result of such a process. The quality of production achieved by the band on this release is simply their best yet. The well-placed eruptions of emotion in their otherwise beautifully tragic compositions perfectly illustrate the occasional periods of schizophrenic despair that every human experiences throughout life. Any fan of Anathema will find Judgement to be very satisfying from start to finish-especially considering the length of the album in comparison to that of Alternative 4. And anyone discovering this band for the first time will undoubtedly feel that they have discovered a jewel among so many dull stones found within this genre of music.