A FINE DAY TO EXIT

And then came perfection: A Fine Day to Exit is my personal favorite album of Anathema ? and indeed one of my favorite albums of all time. It is one of those rare records where everything just falls into place: the concept, the songs, the production, and the overall ebb and flow of the album, which makes it impossible not to listen to the whole thing in one mesmerizing sitting, over and over again.

The powerful concept hits the listener immediately from the front cover, designed by renowned artist Travis Smith. Through a car windshield, we see the view of a deserted beach leading into the sea. Scattered across the sand, the shoes and clothes of a man. A cell phone with a missed call and a family portrait lie in the car dashboard, next to two empty cans of beer and a post-it that reads: "A fine day to exit". Impossible not to fear the worst: a man has taken his own life. But, as we open the gatefold CD booklet, a second pane unfolds to complement the front-cover picture: here, we see more landscape, a bottle of whisky, a gun and, reflected in the rearview mirror, the eyes of the man ? alive. It's such a powerful change of perspective on the whole story that never fails to move me each time I open the booklet. And it is a most fitting visual representation of the album's poignant concept of struggle and rebirth, of the pain of hitting the bottom and the staggering realization that it's possible to come back up, that we do have that inner strength in us.

This message of darkness and light is perfectly translated into sound by the band. A Fine Day to Exit retains the dark, melancholic mood of its predecessors (Judgment, Alternative 4), but it assuages it with soothing tones of hope. The album is a fantastic emotional rollercoaster, moving from tense, sinister pieces like "Pressure" and "Panic", to downright depressive songs like "Leave No Trace" and "Underworld", to more peaceful moments ("Barriers"; "A Fine Day to Exit"; "Temporary Peace"). This variation of moods and atmospheres traces a beautiful arc of emotions that perfectly captures the album's concept of struggle, heartbreak and eventual healing and release. Most importantly, the sequencing of songs, and the way each piece naturally flows into the next, provide a strong sense of progression that continuously propels the album forward, like in a novel or in a movie, making A Fine Day to Exit a compelling album to listen through from start to finish.

The individual songs themselves are beautiful pieces of music. Anathema had been experimenting with dynamics and post-rock crescendos since their very early albums, and on A Fine Day to Exit they finally show that they have mastered these techniques. The songs move seamlessly between quiet parts, with acoustic guitars or piano, and louder sections with guitar distortion, drums and shouted vocals ? reproducing within each track the contrasting flurry of emotions that characterizes the album. Although each track contains verses and choruses, the distinction between these lies more in the loudness and intensity of the music than in what's being played. This is a trick Anathema use frequently through the album: the piano/guitar riffs often change only slightly between verses and choruses, and the main difference lies instead in Vincent Cavanagh's vocal lines and how loud each part is played. This gives the songs a circular feel, almost like if they were in constant flux, which contributes to the hypnotic, magnetizing quality of the album.

Every song is a highlight of its own, but if I were to point out the most outstanding moments of the album I would single out the initial duo "Pressure"/"Release", which are a fantastic way to open the album ? their compelling, tense mood providing the perfect way to captivate and draw in the listener. "Leave No Trace" is another amazing track, very downcast and heartrending. "Panic" stands out for being the fastest track of the album and for Vincent's quick-fire singing that gives the song a punkish edge. The closing pair "A Fine Day to Exit"/ "Temporary Peace" is another standout moment of the album ? the calm, cathartic closing melody of the latter being a particularly high-point of Anathema's discography. But there are really no weak tracks or fillers here, not a single note on the album that I would rather skip or change.

In this respect, the album's production is top-notch. On A Fine Day to Exit, Anathema recurred to the services of Nick Griffiths ? renown for co-producing Roger Waters's solo albums as well as engineering Pink Floyd's most iconic release "The Wall". To these ears, the album's sound is fantastic. It is deep, dark and lush, and it strikes a great balance between heavier and softer moments. There is a lot of emphasis on the use of piano as lead instrument ? more so than on every other Anathema's release. There is also a fair share of programmed loops, sound effects and samples (I love the sampled vocals intertwined with the guitar solo on "Pressure"), which add to the special mystique of the album. The guitar sound also deserves praise, particularly the balance between acoustic and distorted guitars achieved on tracks like "Release" and "Looking Outside Inside". Most importantly, the production managed to give the music that elusive quality of being layered, classy and complex while at the same time retaining the immediacy and accessibility of pop music. To some, this will make A Fine Day to Exit a non-metal album, and that's probably right: the metallic content of the album is fairly thin, and the album falls more into the camp of dark, atmospheric rock and not too far away from what Radiohead were trying to do at the time. Personally, whether this is a metal album or not does not matter the slightest to me ? as long as the music is as good as this.

All in all, I consider A Fine Day to Exit the apex of Anathema's discography - the band's own "The Wall", so to speak. It contains many of Anathema's most memorable songs; it has a strong concept that is perfectly converted into music; and it has a great sound overall. The album unfortunately did not get the success it deserved, mainly because it was released at a time where the band had already lost many of their early-day metal fans (who probably said farewell to Anathema around the time Alternative 4 came out) and still had not gained traction in progressive rock circles (where the band will obtain accolades in the following decade, with the release of We're Here Because We're Here and Weather Systems). With hindsight, however, A Fine Day to Exit is where Anathema truly matured into an entity that transcended the boundaries of heavy metal to become a significant force in contemporary rock music. I highly recommend the album to fans of any genre. This is a masterpiece.

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