PENTECOST III

Pentecost lll was a 5 song E.P. released in early 1995 that saw Anathema continuing on with the suffocating Doom so elegantly displayed on their Serenades debut, yet shifting their focus on long, epic and atmospheric compositions such as the monumental opener "Kingdom" and "We, The Gods". The first half of the nearly 10 minute "Kingdom" is pure bliss, very atmospheric with a slight gothic spirit dwelling within. The song's later half is punishingly heavy, driving Doom which changes the complexion of the song completely. "We, The Gods" follows a similar direction...a slow, morose beginning and a crushing ending complete with pounding double bass work. It's nowhere near as atmospheric as "Kingdom" but much heavier towards the end. "Mine Is Yours To Drown In (Ours Is The New Tribe)" was the most immediate track upon first listen. Not as long as the two mentioned above, this particular song starts off extremely heavy, eventually cascading towards a very atmospheric ending. The title track is an instrumental that starts off with mournful guitars and an acoustic piece then ends with a bombastically pounding outro that completely destroys the serene aura that was set before it...a bit disturbing. I always wanted it to keep the theme of the beginning with the guitars instead of going into this heavy ending. "Memento Mori" is devastating throughout its entire duration. Quite possibly the most aggressive song the band has written. Unmerciful. There is a hidden track on this disc in which the band launch into driving Doom with Darren shouting out "666!" throughout.

This was to be the final Anathema recording to feature Darren White. The band felt that his vocals (which were not as gruff on this ep as they were on Serenades, sort of like a harsh singing style) and lyrics (which were very fantasy oriented here, though still maintaining a grievous nature, it was hard to tell just where he was coming from with these words) were not suitable for the direction they wanted to go. At the time, it seemed like a mistake, considering how perfect Darren was for Anathema's early material. It would prove to be the best decision for the future of Anathema.