ETERNITY

If already on The Silent Enigma Anathema had shown traces of an evolution away from their doom-death origins, Eternity is where these tentative developments blossomed into a whole new sound that will form the point of departure of all subsequent Anathema releases. There are three main ingredients to this new sound. First, the songwriting has become leaner. The meandering twin guitar riffs and leads of Serenades are almost completely forgotten. They have made room for riffs and melodies that are more concise and easier to assimilate and memorize. The simple but effective guitar lead on "Angelica" is a great example of this. It's a very hummable, three-bar guitar lead, repeated over and over again in the breaks between the verses. When put like that, it sounds rather dull, but it's incredibly effective and crowd-pleasing ? if you've ever been to an Anathema's concert you know what I mean!

Second, the timid Pink Floyd influences that at times had already surfaced on previous albums (for example, on The Silent Enigma's title-track), on Eternity have become much more prominent and unapologetic. In several tracks, the band indulge in creating dreamy, lysergic soundscapes using Gilmouresque guitar leads and cinematic keyboard arrangements, courtesy of adjunct member Les Smith. We get a taste of these influences already on opener "Sentient", a beautiful instrumental for piano and guitar with sampled voices that is like a testament to the band's new sound. Even more obvious are the Pink Floyd references on "Eternity Part II" (which could have been taken off The Wall) and especially "Hope". This is actually a cover of a song that was originally written by David Gilmour for his 1984's solo album About Face, but then discarded and used instead by singer-songwriter Roy Harper (Harper's voice can be heard in the speech at the beginning of the track). Anathema's rendition is actually quite beautiful, powerful and dramatic. These are not the only moments of the album that are reminiscent of Pink Floyd: there are strong Floydian vibes throughout the album, which truly sounds like a strange hybrid between metal and Roger Waters's iconic band.

The third ingredient in Anathema's newly-found sound is the blossoming of Vincent Cavanagh as the lead singer of the band. Vincent had already taken over vocal duties from Darren White on The Silent Enigma. However, on that album he was mostly emulating the gruffy, death vocal style of his predecessor. On Eternity instead Vincent tries to actually sing. And what a beautiful effect that has! His tone is deep and dramatic, but warm and soothing at the same time. Occasionally, he still resorts to the gruff vocal style of olden days, but that does not sound out of place at all on the hedgier songs of the album, like "Thy Beloved" or "Eternity Part I". It's an overall beautiful performance, which gives an instantaneous melodic accessibility to the music and, in doing so, almost single-handedly elevates Eternity above Anathema's earlier output.

The new sound that Anathema concocts on Eternity will go far. By combining the gloomy atmospheres of doom metal with accessible riffs, clean vocals, and Floydian dreamscapes, on this album Anathema laid the foundations of the dark progressive rock/metal style that will become a staple of the metal scene in the new millennium. As such, Eternity is truly a seminal album, not only in Anathema's career, but also in the development of progressive metal in general.

In terms of listening experience, the album features some very strong tracks, but also some weaker ones. Generally speaking, the first half of the album is awesome. "Angelica". "Eternity Part I & II", and "Hope" are all amazing songs, full of pathos and substance. The second half is instead weaker and plods a little, with tracks like "Suicide Veil" and "Radiance" resulting rather forgettable. The album closes strongly, though, with "Far Away" - another Anathema's classic and a staple of their live shows - and "Eternity Part III".

It's this unevenness in the quality of the songs that prevents me from giving a higher rating to Eternity. Nevertheless, Anathema's third studio full-length remains a landmark in the band's career as well as an iconic album in the doom and progressive metal scene, and therefore it is highly recommended to anyone who is interested in getting to know either scene.

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