Weekly Review: Anathema – Judgement
this week for the weekly review, i’m checking out British rock and metal band Anathema’s 1999 release, Judgement! let’s see what we got.
Deep kicks off the record – this is a fun track, got some neat musical movement, and that chorus is v nice. i dig this one, its some good angsty music. Pitiless is nice too – rocking a little harder for a rougher track, and i enjoyed thr vocals and lyrics here too. oooh that transition into Forgotten Hopes is real nice, and it def leads you to read the songs thematically together, where Forgotten Hopes is the more reflective half of Pitiless’s disdain, but both are about the same person and the same relationship turned sour. i like the use of that here, plus it sounds real nice. this track is some more nice rock. Destiny Is Dead is a nice instrumental, and a good transition out of that denser section. Make It Right brings energy back up for a very pleading emotional track – i really enjoy that repeated musical bit after the vocals, and its cool how they start to overlay another vocalist over as the track goes on. One Last Goodbye is an extremely stirring track, and in looking it up it was written in memory of two of the band members’ mother, which makes a lot of sense. Parisienne Moonlight kinda rolls off me. the vocalist here is really good, and the song’s nice to listen to, it just doesnt quite connect with me. Judgement, the title track, gets its lyrics out in the first half and then goes into some really excellent instrumentation – love what the drums are putting out here and there’s a real great movement to the melody and rhythm here. damn. real good. the hard record scratch out is an extremely interesting way to dramatically shift the tone quickly, and i dunno it kinda works. Don’t Look Too Far still spends the first 30 seconds resetting the mood, but there are definitely worse ways to handle that kind of change up of mood. i REALLY like how this one builds up to the chorus, and the strange, otherworldly sense it gets. Emotional Winter brings the vibes way mellower, at least to start, and the shift up to some of its more emotional high points is an interesting journey for sure. i like that they kinda repeat the shift out of the track to, but with less a scratch and more just like a huge swell. which makes a lot of sense moving into how strong Wings of God starts. its an extremely swelling and stirring track, v neat. Anyone, Anywhere is a mellower refrain leading up to the end of the record. 2000 & Gone continues that refrain, feeling a lot more acoustic (at least on the guitar, lol), and serves as a really tender outro to the record.
faves – Deep, Judgement, Don’t Look Too Far
dislikes –
yknow i had a good time with this one. the record’s got a very good energy to it. the vocals throughout are passionate and emotional, and the lyrics are kinda emo but frequently affective. instrumentally, it shifts over the runtime between some heavier sounds, a bit of atmospheric dream-like stuff, and some very theatrical or gothic bits. as a whole package, it’s a very pleasant listen and a enjoyed my time with it, but i think it doesn’t go too much past a “like” from me.
that being said, i’d definitely recommend giving it a try!
Judgement – 6/10
the winner of this week’s suggestion pool is Tim Heidecker’s 2020 release, Fear of Death. i’ll be back next Friday, June 17th for a review, and in the meantime, let me know what album you’d like me to review! (i pool all suggestions in one place, and draw a person, then a pick from that person, so feel free to drop as many as you’d like! if you leave an email or username i’ll contact you when i’ve gotten through all your suggestions.)
Discussion ¬