WEATHER SYSTEMS

A great follow up to WHBWH, very easy to listen to with mostly simple compositions (except for storm before the cloud). Most of the songs start slowly and build up to a cresecendo, dropping back at the end of the song. The lyrics and themes are still a little dark and emotional but cheerier than previous works and the music is similar (but evolved) to previous Anathema albums, with good production values, so if you liked their previous recent works you will like this album.

Untouchable part 1 has male vocals, with part 2 switching to female and essentially a continuation of part 1. The Gathering of Clouds is a strong song, more uptemp that Untouchable and it draws you along with the tempo, probably the best track on the album. Lightning goes back to a slower pace, building as the song progresses, similar to Untouchable. Sunlight is a middle of the road track and not as catchy as first tracks.The storm before the calm is a little different to the other tracks, in that it is a more complex peice and in the middle breaks out like a cross between Pendulum and Pure Reason Revolution, and the last part of the track is reminiscent of earlier Anathema works. The Beginning and the End is structured as a single and a little more mainstream accessible, with a nice guitar solo towards the end as the song slowly winds down. The lost child is a quieter track and a bit melancholy. Internal landscapes is also quiet & ambient with a voiceover of a near death experience (which goes on a little too long) at the start & finish, a little like Sunlight and not as catchy as other songs on this album.

So far the best album I have for 2012 (albeit Anathema are one of my favourite prog bands) and should be a contender for the 2012 top list.