SERENADES

Even if can be considered as prog I think that Anathema's Serenades is a really good album. They added growling vocals and other littles elements of "death" metal to what could be called "doom" metal and filling it with significant emotional lyrics (make sure you have a written version of the lyrics beside you while listening). The mix sounds very good when played by Anathema. Even if I liked it, the album will become somehow become repetitive in the last couple of songs but pieces like the gentle "J'ai Fait Une Promesse", the intense "Sleepless" and "Sweet Tears", the aggressive "Lovelorn Rhapsody" will make you listen to the album a bit more. I got to admit that I'm an Anathema fan. I admire their early stuff as much as their recent mostly progressive releases. Serenades is of course not for everyone because it can't be called prog. A must-have for any Anathema fan. An excellent addition to any metal discography. A good buy for most of you out here. Final "prog" verdict: Good, but not essential.