ETERNITY

This was one of the first albums I ever delved into... I first read about it in a review of a magazine 10 years ago which described it in a very emotional way, not making any comments on the music, the guitars, vocals etc. I was pretty impressed I must say.

The music: Anathema have evolved from their latest 'Silent Enigma' and follow a more 'melodic' path in this record. The heaviness is still there though. A good description of the music could be 'melodic doom/atmospheric' metal. Of course there are several points were the Floyd influences are obvious and the keyboards bring this feeling. There is also a cover of Gilmour's 'Hope' (for many years I thought it was a Floyd cover) which is excellent.

The emotion: The strong asset of this record is the combination of the music with the lyrics. If you start 'getting' into the meaning of the words, it is almost inevitable to fall in love with this album. Issues about life and death, human existence etc. are very well 'presented' and make this record a 'painful' journey...

It is still (and probably will always be) Anathema's best release. Hint: Don't treat this album as a common release, try to search 'deep' in it, you won't regret it. Regarding it's progressiveness, I can't tell if you can consider it prog or not. For me it's definitely a masterpiece of atmospheric music. Everything seems perfect, from the cover to the last note. Highly recommended.

Angelic...

This record is the start of a new era for ANATHEMA. Gone for good are the Death Metal vocals, and they would become more PINK FLOYD sounding.The best song for me on the record is "Hope" which was co-written by David Gilmour and is a cover from the Roy Harper and Jimmy Page record called HARPER AND JAGULA. The monologue to open the song was also done by Roy Harper. I really like the guitar line in this one. Duncan Patterson's finger prints are all over this album from the lyrics to the excellent bass playing. Compared to the albums that follow this is a little dingy sounding and the vocals to the songs themselves just aren't as good. Maybe it's because this is the transition album.

The first song "Sentient" has some nice piano and guitar, and ends with some vocal sampling sounding a lot like PINK FLOYD. "Angelica" has a quiet beginning that builds in intensity until the vocals come in. Some emotional guitar on this one."The Beloved" is a rocker, much more aggressive than the first two tracks. Some excellent guitar 4 minutes in. "Eternity Part 1" is emotional much like most of this record, love the line "do you think were forever ?" "Eternity Part II" is atmospheric with a guitar line that comes and goes, some faint spoken vocals 2 1/2 minutes in.

"Suicide Veil" is pretty much a gothic tune, dark and slow, with lots of bass, ending with some beautiful acoustic guitar and rain. "Radiance" kicks in around a minute and gets heavier with synths before 3 minutes. Passionate vocals and guitar after 4 minutes. I love the chorus on "Far Away", and the bass is great too. I like the way the song speeds up at around 4 minutes and then the guitars of Vincent and Daniel shine. "Eternity Part III" is a dark tune that gets heavy with some nice guitar. "Cries On The Wind" features some heavy passages early. Check out the ripping guitar solo after 3 minutes, then the tempo picks up. It ends with spoken vocals. "Ascension" is a melodic instrumental ending emotionally with piano.

A pretty good record but the best is just around the corner. For me "A Fine Day To Exit", "Alternative 4" and "Judgement" are all a level up from this one.

This album was the definite transitional one in the career of this band hailing from Liverpool. After two full-length releases plus one EP having been quite influential in doom metal they've changed here drastically their sound towards more atmospheric and psychedelic rock/metal with a strong Floydian touch. It became a highly emotional, melancholic and inspiring album and I've to say it's besides "Alternative 4" one my favourite ones by them (though all their others are very good as well).

The short but fascinating "Sentient" is a perfect introduction into the inspiring atmosphere of this album and "Angelica" reveals a sound quite typical for the band's later albums with weeping guitars, mournful atmosphere and soft vocals by Vincent Cavanagh that considerably improved compared to "The Silent Enigma". "The beloved" changes to a significantly heavier and more aggressive mood though still having pleasant and highly emotional sections with expressively presented deep lyrics. Then there are the first two parts of the title track of which Part one is a great highlight in particular. It's a rather up-speed track with some experimental electronic sounds at its end leading into Part 2 which continues with more atmospheric and ambient tunes. Pink Floyd-cover "Hope" starts with the recitement of a Shakespeare-sque sonnet and represents a very nicely done version of this great song. Somehow it fits here very well right in the middle bringing some gleam of light into this rather mournful album. "Suicide veil" is another highlight and as the title implies a very sorrowful and depressing song with some nice Floydian touch. "Radiance" is another slow paced and excellent track revealing a highly textured symphonic sound. The following "Far Away" is - actually I hate repeating myself - once again a highlight of this disk and together with "The beloved" and "Hope" one of the easiest ones to memorize from here. "Eternity part III" reveals a more dragging doom metal sound with thick guitars and here we can find one of the few sections with growls of this album. "Cries on the wind" continues in a heavier and slow paced mood with great thick guitar sound and all instrumental last track of the standard edition "Ascension" starts in a more up-speed pace before it closes with a mellow acoustic sound. The limited edition comes including acoustic versions of "Far Away" and "Eternity part III" which are a very worthwhile addition.

As a summary I just can highly recommend this album to any fan of heavier, dark and atmospheric progressive music. Certainly worth (at least) 4 stars!

Cavanagh makes leaps and bounds with his vocals - but the rest?

Anathema biggest leap into a "darker" Floydian sound was here at Eternity. The copy I have is actually a Limited edition Disc with 2 extra tracks, an acoustic rendition of Far Away and Eternity Pt2. Anyways, this might be one of my least favorite Anathema records, it strikes me as the most plain and least captivating.

Quite frankly, I find little of it intriguing, progressive, or what not. Most of it seems like bland alternative music. And to boot, the melodies are not particular captivating, as they would be on Judgement and Alternative 4. Many speak of the emotion that is contained in all of the Anathema records. I find little if any of it here. Instead I here a group of musicians, while still very able, searching for their sound since they went away from their doom roots.

I am sure fans of neo, alt. rock, and more mainstream acts might find this album very enjoyable, however, it's just not for me. I find many of the other Anathema records much better music wise, and also crafted much more thoughtfully.

For those of you who read my review for A Fine Day to Exit and wondered why Anathema seemed like such an anathema to me, I would first like to say that I only said that just now because it was a pun and I almost never leave a potential pun unsaid. Now, the band is no anathema to me, but they do bore me. And if they don't bore you, well then my goodness you are either a boring person or you are really depressed and you just sit there meditating on the lyrics while you listen and you wallow in the grief that you've exagerrated because you crave attention.

Before you guys get all offended or whatever, know that I am kidding, unless you liked the Crestfallen EP, because you shouldn't like that even if you're into doom metal. Sure, I'm opinionated, but I've also long held the belief that my opinions are facts, so there. I'm not going to argue with you about it! Just let me write this review!

So, what we have here is Anathema sprouting from their doom metal roots into a decent-sounding alternative metal with some Pink Floyd influence. This is the premature version of their sound, though. You'll notice that when Anathema drastically changes their sound, it takes them and album or two to actualize the potential of their new ideas. A Fine Day to Exit was a decent album, but it did get a little boring and I couldn't bother finishing it when I had more enjoyable music to listen to, like the album that followed, A Natural Disaster.

If you like the general sound the group presents here, I would suggest that you stop listening to whatever you're sampling, and grab Judgement, which [at this point] is analogous to A Natural Disaster in terms of sound development. If you're really into this sound, I still suggest that you stop and go check out the aforementioned as well as Alternative 4, which is also better. Now, if you still aren't satiated by those two, sure, have this one as well, but I doubt you'll listen to it half as much.

The album where the Anathema's musical direction changed definitively... Thanks God!

But the style of the band was not really orientated yet. After closing their Doom Metal era, they maked this album based on Pink Floyd and 70's sounds, and with some gothic and symphonic influences... And the new Anathema's style was born!

They keeped their metallic roots, but giving the music a lot of more sentiment and diversity... The clear Vincent vocals are far from the Doom Metal growls. Ok... But I muss say they are not really good. This mand could not really singing yet... He is not very bad, but sometimes he sounds out of tone, and I think his voice was not under his total control. It's a pity... Because some great parts of the album are spoiled by the weak Vincent's singing. He would improve a lot for the next realease (Alternative 4), but in Eternity he sounds unpleasant. Nevertheless, the female voices in some songs are much better.

The album is maybe still harder than the later Anathema's milestones... But the acoustic and ambiental passages avoid this album being hard for not-metal lovers. Some songs have even new age influences... Like Eternity Part II, and the very Pink Floydish Sentient. This is still metal, but a mellow view of this style, and more accesible than the previous Anathema's extreme works. So if you are not into hard sounds, this is not a problem.

Best songs: Angelica (one of the most beautiful guitar meodies Anathema has ever made...), The Beloved (hard and catchy song... Despite the bad vocals), Hope (one of the most original songs, with good guitar layes and some keyboards), Far Away (a little classic of this album...) and Cries on the Wind (I like the egipcian influences of this track...)

Conclusion: the first album where Anathema starts to showing the style they make now... Really different of their Doom Metal beginnings, and far better in my opinion. This album has some weak points, like the poor production, and the bad Vicent's singing. But every Anathema's fan will find it interesting. I would also recommend this album to the rest of listeners... But despite this is not a bad work, if you are new to Anathema, I recommend you to start with later albums like the marvellous Alternative 4, or the equally excellent Judegemnt, because Eternity can be a bit hard for beginners.

My rating: ***

Anathema shock. they're very good!

Between 1992 and 1995, Anathema released two full albums and two well filled EPs. With their doom laden heavy instrumental sound and growled vocals, they appeared to have set out their stall and defined the path they would take throughout their career. People like myself found their works frustrating as they hinted at great potential but ultimately disappointed. Nothing prepared any of us though, including their most devoted fans, for what was to happen in 1996.

The line up remained unchanged for the recording of "Eternity", but the reality is this is a completely different band. Suddenly, Vincent Cavanagh discovers he is actually a highly capable singer while the band as a whole reveal a starling capacity to create melodic masterpieces. There is no question of the band compromising their values or selling out, but this is the equivalent of Pink Floyd metamorphosing from the band which made "Ummagumma" to the creators of "Dark side of the moon".

The opening "Sentient" signals the change straight away, with beautiful piano and weeping guitar combining over a lush mellotron like base. The track is slightly reminiscent of Marillion's "Pseudo silk Kimono", in texture if not melody. This becomes "Angelica" where we find a continuation of the wonderful guitar sounds. As we brace ourselves from the inevitable growling to shatter the magnificent introductory moments, we are presented with delightfully melodic vocals. I still find it hard to restrain my unfettered joy in Anathema's decision to take such a bold step at this stage in their career.

Even when the pace is lifted and the atmosphere is sharply altered for the hard rocking "The beloved", melody and fine vocals remain the order of the day. The arrangements are admirably inventive and tightly performed. The first of three tracks to bear the album's title runs in all to almost 6 minutes. The choral synths, female backing vocals and gothic atmosphere combine to create a track which has all the hallmarks of a Sisters of Mercy number, it could even be Wayne Hussey singing! There is no direct connection between the three "Eternity's", part two being an atmospheric instrumental coda to part 1.

The next surprise is the inclusion of a cover version of the David Gilmour/Roy Harper song "Hope". This starts with a poetic recital leading to magnificent bass laden number with a quite astonishing vocal performance. As Vincent sings "I wanted to live forever" the quivering of his voice is charged with emotion and power. Why would anyone with such a fine voice waste so many years growling!

"Suicide veil" has more in keeping with the old Anathema in terms of style and instrumental sound, the raw emotion being brought out far better by the sung vocals. "Radiance" builds from a goth like start to a climactic conclusion, the Mission/Sisters of Mercy comparison remaining entirely valid. "Far away" is strongly reminiscent of Porcupine Tree, a band Anathema have been closely associated with over many years. The vocal style on this song is that of Steve Wilson, especially on more recent Porcupine Tree albums.

The final "Eternity" track is by far the hardest, venturing even closer to the style of previous releases. "Cries on the wind" prolongs the doomy mood with ultra-heavy guitar sounds prevailing. The instrumental "Ascension" which closes the album takes us back to the haunting piano atmosphere of the start.

The re-released version of the CD includes three bonus tracks. Two of these are acoustic workings of tracks on the album, while the third is a live rendition of "Angelica". I find myself preferring the acoustic renditions of "Far away" and "Eternity part 3" which are after all the heaviest tracks on the album.

This is the album Anathema had threatened to make right from the start. Those of us who saw the potential in their early albums but were left disappointed by them have been rewarded beyond our dreams here. There is still a little way to go to attain the heights the band would reach on later albums, but "Eternity" represents a massive change for the band and one of the most admirable improvements in the history of prog.

With the death grunts gone, some of the band's future style and quality starts shining through. What we get is emotinal doom rock that reveals a lot of Fields of the Nephilim and Pink Floyd influences.

The album is uneven though, only a few songs are really remarkable and while Vincent gives a brave try at the vocals it comes out rather forced and regularly out of tune. At least he succeeds in offering some strong melodies and an emotional - not to say pathetic - edge to the growing personality of the band. You can certainly not blame them for not doing their ultimate best.

Anathema's third studio album is the album that divides Anathema's two main periods: The deat Doom metal one, and the Alternative Rock (with Doom Metal influences) one. Said that, "Eternity" is still an immature album, with certainly some very nice moments in many parts, but the band obviously hasn't reached maturity yet; the vocals aren't really convincing, just like some moods in the songs.

Musically, the album has many Pink Floyd influences as well as still some metal winks here and there. The structure of the album isn't particularly well-built, but still respectable for a band that still had a lot to prove back then.

Some of the best moments are also the most dramatic; "Angelica"'s melancholic melodies, the first part of the title track's amazing, haunting, and very impactful atmospheres. Not to forget also the alarmed and creepy "Cries On The Wind", and the beautiful harmony of "Far Away".

An interesting effort, in conclusion, and definitely worth the listen if you like the band, since it it's a landmark album for them chronologically and musically speaking.

If you have ever read some previous reviews of mine about "Anathema", you might know that I was quite mixed (to say the least) about the music displayed so far. The only exception being of their "Pentecost III" EP (whose lenght was almost a full album one);

This "Eternity" album starts brilliantly, with a fantastic intro song that should shiver your flesh. The instrumental "Sentient" is such a moving piece of music! Almost symphonic!

Actually, the great feeling goes on with the other songs featured as well: harmony combined with some heavy enthusiasm. If it weren't for one of my best friend (hi JP), I wouldn't have investigated more into this band. But as I wrote in some previous early recordings (especially the EP "Pentecost III"): there were some good signs which are completely fulfilled in this album.

Of course, this work doesn't belong to some sort of a quiet and tranquil generated music. The offering is rather energetic, but still melodic and comfortably innovative ("Eternity"). What a change in comparison with some previous works!

The band is almost unrecognizable. Not in terms of instrumental parts (I have mentioned how great they were already). But more in terms of musical beauty ("Eternity " both part I and II).

This band was categorized in a complete different section while they appeared in PA. But now, gone are the growling vocals, and welcome are the melodic song structures like "Hope". I would almost tell that the great instrumental sections of their previous recordings are shadowed by the vocal parts of this work!

The excellent doom atmosphere is not alien from this album of course: "Radiance" and the excellent "Cries On The Wind" are there to remind us these moments. The added prog feel is so obvious! These songs are a great achievement and a definite superb prog adventure.

As many reviewers have written, this work is a major step forward (but some signs of improvements were noticeable already with "Pentecost III") in the development of the band / music.

The most emotional track being the wonderful "Far Away":which featurs an awesome guitar finae. Itl is of course a highlight of this album.

This effort is by far their best one. Seven out of ten, but upgraded to four stars. This is a total and reversed style of music which is played . But so pleasant to report! And so great to listen to!

Of all the bands in the "Peaceville Three" of Anathema, My Dying Bride, and Paradise Lost - pioneers of both a death/doom hybrid sound and, later, gothic metal - Anathema are by far the group who have drifted the furthest from their original metal sound. On Eternity they play an intriguing blend of doomy gothic metal with gothy indie rock which puts me in mind of The Chameleons - in particular, Vincent Cavanaugh's lead vocals put me in mind of the vocals of Mark Burgess of Chameleons fame, and both bands tend towards a similar "wall of guitars" sound. From here on in the Pink Floydisms which would come to dominate their music would only become more prominent, so I guess here's where you decide whether you're done with Anathema or in it for the long haul. Personally, I find the whole thing just a little too bland for my tastes.

This is Anathema's first attempt to venture away from their trademark doom metal sound into a more dynamic and varied sound. For the most part, they keep a lot of the same topics of interest in their songs, but they explore other sounds in a search for a sound they can call their own. The band does a pretty descent job of pulling it off, and there was a surprising lack of criticism from most of their fans about the sudden change of style.

Anathema has become a band lately that has received a lot of respect and it has been well earned. They have a pretty impressive discography and through most of it, you truly hear a progression to a much better sound, production and vocal quality. On this album, there are very few dirty vocals, where previous to this, all of their vocals were pretty much growling. The vocals aren't too bad, but there are a lot of issues and areas of weakness there that weren't yet worked out in this album. So you get a real raw feeling there, but it doesn't mix very well with the accent in the English lyrics. It's sometimes an irritating sound, but not bad enough to ignore the album.

As far as the instrumentals and orchestration, you can hear a huge improvement in the variation, composition and musicianship here. Even the instrumentals can be a little rough at times, but there is no doubt of where the band was going to go as far as professionalism. Here is a band that listened to criticism to improve their sound, and improve it they would do. That still doesn't mean you should ignore this album. There are some great tracks here and you can hear the attempts at emotion in both the voice and the instruments, and as a consequence, you get some great moments, notably in the "Eternity" trilogy and other songs where the vocals even come close to early David Gilmour vocals as in the Gilmour/Harper penned tune "Hope".

You can also pick out their explorative side starting to grow in "Suicide Veil" where if you can get around the vocals, you end up getting a very beautifully written song with a lot of emotion. The problem with the vocals and emotion is that sometimes it is over dramatized in an attempt to make the emotion stand out more, but again, the band was learning. Actually, the believability level is a lot higher in the sections where the vocals approach the most emotional points and come close to, but don't quite reach, the old dirty sounding vocals. It is actually a trait that is welcomed on this album mostly because it is done with better control than in previous attempts, and of course, dynamics are playing a much bigger part in this album. Even the use of dynamics would continue to improve as the band continue to put out more albums.

I have a lot of respect for this band and the growth they have had over the years. I was pushing my friends to listen to this band and some of them actually did listen to them and are now true fans. It is good to see them now getting the respect they deserve for improving their sound and perfecting it. On the way to perfection though, they were able to influence the sound of Goth- metal with albums like this one that would be released. I know there are a lot of fans that love this album, I have a slightly harder time with it because they were still working out the kinks in the new sound they were exploring. When they finally do find their own sound, what we have is a band that is up there with the best post-metal or progressive metal bands and for that I have respect for what they were doing with this album. They took some great steps with this album and they still came out of it with a lot of respect, so it was a step in the right direction. With some slight hesitation because of my respect for the album, I can only rate the album as good, but not essential. But it is a very bright 3 star album and if you like this post-metal sound then you should check it out at least, it might strike a stronger chord within you.

[A retrospective originally published at The Progressive Aspect in 2020]

With Anathema announcing themselves another casualty of 2020, and being placed on indefinite hiatus, I'm sure many have been reacquainting themselves with their full discography. Everyone has their own special and favourite albums from the band, as their mood and style have changed several times over the years. There are, however, pivotal and transitional moments, and 1996's Eternity is possibly the most important of those. There's probably some bias in my statement, as Eternity is one of my three favourite Anathema albums ? and yet, it's hard to deny that this album was a big change for the band. All traces of extremity are gone from the music, and there are no harsh, guttural vocals.

The album is dark, tortured, melancholy, and yet hopeful. It's powerful, emotional and expressive ? all of which are key components to the success of Anathema's latter day albums, and the new legion of fans accorded to them when they signed to Kscope. There will be some who argue otherwise, I'm sure, but in my opinion it all started here. Anathema retain the heaviness of their previous releases, but it is a heaviness more akin to gravity than to sound. This is music that weighs down upon the listener, all- encompassing and all-enveloping. The music may be less sonically heavy, but it's crushing nevertheless.

The album begins with a beautiful and minimal instrumental, Sentient, with keening guitar over piano. It has a Gothic and Floydian sound which provides the mood and atmosphere for much, if not all, of this album. Angelica follows, and is possibly the album's most well-known song, thanks to its reinterpretation on the Hindsight album. It's also the first we hear of Vincent Cavanagh's tortured vocals ? not growls, but certainly nowhere as polished as they will become. Everything about Eternity screams transitional. The music is caught between what was and what will be. The vocals, too. And that transitional nature has often seen this album be viewed more harshly than I think is fair. Vincent's vocals no doubt come as a shock to those who have come to Eternity off the back of later albums, as they did to those who came to it at the time.

In fact, the Anathema album I find most akin to Eternity is the far more recent Distant Satellites ? another transitional album, heralding another change in sound. But while a lot of people seemed to regard Distant Satellites as a step backwards, after the beloved Weather Systems and We're Here Because We're Here, I see it more as looking back, than stepping back. Besides the aural similarities to Weather Systems, the Anathema album I am mostly reminded of is (you guessed it) Eternity. There is a return to the bleakness and darkness, after a couple of overwhelmingly "happy" albums. This is perhaps more a minor melancholy than the more oppressive gloom of Sternirt, but the change in mood is inarguable. Vocally, obviously, there is little comparison to Eternity (though the song Anathema certainly comes close), but musically it has that same Gothic Floydian vibe, albeit with an added flirtation with electronic sounds.

Both albums also have a song in three parts, in Eternity's case the title track(s). The first part screams pain and sorrow, while the second is another gorgeous instrumental, as expressive without words as the first part is with. The pain may be gone, but the sorrow remains ? until the end, where hope springs eternal. And this has to be deliberate, as the next song is one of the absolute highlights of the album ? an incredible cover of Roy Harper's Hope, from his album with Jimmy Page, Whatever Happened to Jugula?. Even better, they presage the track, as it was on the Jugula album with Roy's recital of Bad Speech. I love both the original and Anathema's cover, and it deserves its centrepiece spot on Eternity. With music written by David Gilmour, Hope is of course tailor made for Anathema's dark and Gothic take on Floydian splendour.

Suicide Veil is even greater, with its slow and dramatic crescendo. It's probably my favourite song on the album, the dynamic control on this track is awesome, instrumentally and vocally. Radiance is another slow burner, though with nowhere near the punch of a Suicide Veil. It's cold and abrasive, but it pales in comparison. That said, when it ups the tempo in the last couple of minutes, it's really quite impactful, and the guitar sounds at this point are irresistible. This is the weakest song on the album, for me, and it still has moments of glory. Eternity truly doesn't have a dud track ? which is quite phenomenal when you consider that it is a transitional album. Generally speaking, transitional albums can be quite clunky, but somehow Anathema has made the journey as exciting (possibly more so) than the destination.

Far Away remained a live staple long after Eternity was released, and you can hear why. With very little tweaking, it fits the more modern Anathema aesthetic, and features female vocals (those of Michelle Richfield) prominently. The final part of Eternity is suitably climactic, with squalls of guitar. Cries on the Wind has a glorious bass-driven introductory passage, which leads me to finally acknowledge one of the ingredients vital to the vibrancy of Eternity ? Duncan Patterson. Patterson stayed on with Anathema for their next album, before moving on to different things. His bass played a huge part in Anathema's sound at this point, and was certainly one of the reasons, I think, that this transitional album is as smooth as it is.

Eternity then ends as it began, with an instrumental. However Ascension is a very different beast to Sentient, and actually a quite surprising end to the album. Spirited and spritely, Ascension dances its way towards a fade out, before returning in a more sombre, yet still overtly optimistic fashion. Hope seems a key concept to this album. Through all the darkness, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We can only hope that Anathema's hiatus will not be final. There may yet be light at the end of that tunnel, too. And even if that never comes to pass, the band have left behind an incredible discography. If I can not objectively say Eternity is one of Anathema's best, I can say it is one of my favourites.