ALTERNATIVE 4

On Alternative 4, Anathema's fourth full-length album, the band continued to push the boundaries of their sound, moving further away from their doom/death origins and more into dark atmospheric rock territories. In a way, Alternative 4 begins where Eternity ? the band's previous album ? had ended: with a fascinating hybrid of metal and Roger Waters / Pink Floyd influences. However, the songwriting on Alternative 4 is sharper and more experimental, pushing to the fore the dark, experimental undertones of the music, while letting the metal aggression slip more into the background. Duncan Patterson, the band's bass player, is the person responsible for this evolution. A huge fan of Pink Floyd and Waters's solo work, Duncan took on much of the songwriting duties between Eternity and Alternative 4, penning 6 of the 10 songs of Alternative 4 and playing piano and keyboards in addition to bass on the album.

Piano and keys are indeed the instruments that probably stand out the most on Alternative 4. Spacey keyboard soundscapes and gloomy piano arpeggios form the backbone of many of the songs on this album, from opener "Shroud of False" to closer "Destiny", passing through the morose title-track. The guitars are used to create contrasting dynamics, the gentle keyboards suddenly giving way to walls of gritty distortion in the most dramatic passages of the music, bringing the songs to intense climaxes. The use of such stark dynamics is the other defining characteristic of the album: the songs often move sharply between quietest moments, with only Vincent Cavanagh's deep voice to accompany the piano, and louder parts with explosions of distorted guitars, drums and rougher singing. As a result, Alternative 4 is an album that feels very bold and dramatic, at times even unhinged in its vehemence. This matches well the themes of regret, betrayal, loneliness, insanity and death that are touched repeatedly throughout the album.

It is a heavy album ? not in the sense of heavy music, but in terms of dense atmosphere and bitter lyrical content. Yet, it is also a very melodic and harmonious album, containing some of the most accessible and beautiful tunes that Anathema have composed up to this point in their career. Songs like "Lost Control", "Regret" and "Feel" are perfectly balanced between melodic accessibility and claustrophobic gloom. "Fragile Dreams" is, to this day, one of Anathema's most beloved songs and a staple of live concerts. The title-track is a strange affair, dark and disturbing with its ominous keyboard soundscape, obsessive guitar arpeggio and pounding drums. It is one of the most experimental songs written by the band and perfectly encapsulates the essence of the album. I also love the trio of shorter, piano-based songs ("Shroud of False", "Inner Silence" and "Destiny") and how they are positioned in the tracklist (beginning, middle and end), giving a sense of flow and continuity to the album. On the other hand, "Empty" and especially "Re-Connect" are weaker and feel somewhat undeveloped, although this does not detract too much from the overall listening experience.

In short, Alternative 4 is a great album that finds the band on the cusp of their most accomplished releases (Judgment and A Fine Day to Exit). It is atmospheric and experimental, and very much influenced by Roger Waters and Pink Floyd, but still retaining the bite and power of metal. It perfectly connects the band's doom heritage with the alternative rock / post-metal sound they developed in later stages of their career. As such, it may be the ideal point of entry for those who are new to the band, or to either side of their 30-year career.

[Originally posted on www.metal-archives.com]