SERENADES

About Anathema: From the beginning of their career to 1995 there is nothing so special about them. In the "Pentacost III" ep and in "Eternity" they manage to make us understand that they are meant for something bigger, something that would latter come with what I consider their best album "Alternative 4". Pink Floyd and Radiohead influences can be found in their music as the years pass and in 2004 they release an amazing record which is completely different from everything they have done before. Summing up, Anathema is a band that always evolved. They passed from doom, to atmospheric rock, to alternative always having elements from more than one style. Progressive elements can be found also but their too few to categorize them as prog metal (In my humble opinion their inclusion on PA should be questioned). However, Anathema is an amazing band that can appeal to many prog fans who like music with deep and mostly depressing emotions.

About "Serenades": Anathema's debut album is much better than "Crestfallen" ep. The lyrics seem to be better but still not even close to their later ones. Their mind seem to have opened from "Crestfallen" since you can hear many different ideas and many different influences on their music (at times you can even see similarities even with "Sisters of mercy". Anathema seem to be experimenting much more than on their first ep. For those who haven't listened to "Crestfallen", let me say that all the songs sound almost the same apart from "everwake". Here we have two very experimental songs, "j'ai fait une promesse" and "dreaming: the romance" which I'm not going to analyse (you won't get as surprised if I do). A much more mature attempt by the band and much better as a whole. The guitars are less heavy than on "Crestfallen" and the production is fine compared to it. Better drums and better compositions, evidence that this band is evolving.

Buy or not?: If you've never listened to Anathema before, try "Alternative 4", "Eternity" and "A natural Disaster" to get a picture of Anathema's good work. Most of you wont like this cd because it's mostly doom metal. There are prog moments but not many. This ep is not such a good starting point. As many people may know, the members of Anathema are in a terrible financial condition. If you are a fan you should buy it. If you want to help them financially in another way, you can donate money to Anathema through their official site.