A FINE DAY TO EXIT

A huge progression for the Liverpool lad's. Very experimental with various soundscapes. In retrospect, listening to Serenades and then to them today is astonishing. Never have I heard a band take such leaps in sound. The lyrics are extremely powerful, probably the best of any band for quite some time, if ever. The lyrics are focused around melancholic themes in general. You can't help but feel the emotions when listening to the lyrics, no matter how many times you've heard the song. The music is very layered and you find things in the songs that you didn't hear before with each listen. There's also a hidden track after the lush and serene "Temporary Peace." The track comes after about 12 minutes of waves slowly rushing upon the shore, while sounds of the band talking come in and out every few minutes.

Highlight's are: "Release," "Leave No Trace," "Barriers" (it's not called Breaking Down the Barriers!), "A Fine Day to Exit," and of course, "Temporary Peace."

Anathema - A fine Day to exit

This was the first Anathema album I bought and it also was the one album that turned me into an Anathema fan.

Since I only knew the "Forgotten Hopes" song that is available on this site, I did not really knew what to expect from this band, but I gave it a shot in the record store and I immediately loved it. The album is so varied; I thought openingtrack Pressure had some weird Coldplay resemblances, whereas my favourite track on this album, Release had a twist of Porcupine Tree and even trip-hop in it. The songs on the album are nicely balanced between the more softer and the more heavier songs. Yes it is not all so quiet and gentle.. but there is a natural vibe of progression when listening to the whole album. The songs themselves progress from quiet beginnings to heavy outings, most notably in the song Looking outside inside. This song starts very mellow but halfway through the old metal origins of the band shine through.

The nicest thing about the variety of moods in this albums is that it all does not feel forced to listen to. I think this album has appeal to both the lovers of metal as well as mainstream rock.

As a last remark, it is worth to mention the addition of a female singer on some tracks, she and Danny perform an haunting, but bit depressing, ballad called Barriers.

To conclude this review I can only say that this is one of the finest albums around in the progressive metal scene: no standout musicians on this album (no real soloing of instruments I mean by that), it is just a brilliant BAND offer!

As many of you stated, this is the first Anathema album I have heard, and it probably is my favorite Anathema album (but A Natural Disaster is really not far behind). There is an undefinable thread linking all songs, a vibe felt throughout the entire album that grows on you. At times reminiscent of Pink Floyd (notice how Cavanagh's voice sounds like Roger Waters in the second half of Looking Outside Inside), Porcupine Tree, Radiohead and even the Beatles (the piano part in opening track "Pressure"). Great lyrics, intense songs, great vocals.

One downfall : the last song "Temporary Peace". I think the album could have ended in a much better manner, and it is kind of a let down to end such a good album with a song that is sub-par in comparison with the rest the songs.

Though I fail to see how it could be categorized as "progressive" even with the above comparisons, I have no doubt that fans of the said bands will definitely enjoy this one.

A very good introduction to this band.

4.5 stars ANATHEMA have the ability to bring the listener into whatever world they bring to life through their music. The subject at hand is a man who feels the only way out is through suicide.The band received a lot of criticism for the perceived notion they were promoting suicide. The cover of the record would suggest our subject drowned himself in the waters. And the title of this work is implying,"It's a great day to die", like there's nothing wrong with suicide. Of course the band is against suicide and were quite angry at the accusers who obviously didn't bother to listen to this record in the first place. At the end of the last song "Temporary Peace" you can here our subject walking away from the water talking to an imaginary person, saying we need to ask for directions to get home and telling his imaginary friend to quit looking at him with his or her face all screwed up. I'm guessing he's feeling guilty about trying to end his life. Then you hear one of the band members say in a crazy voice several times "What about cats, what about dogs, what about chickens !" Implying I believe, that our subject may not have lost his life but he did lose his mind. A fine day to exit indeed. All speculation of course. After a long silence this hidden track comes on at 15 1/2 minutes that has a 60's folk feel to it. I like it. Interesting that in order to read some of the lyrics in the liner notes you have to hold it up to a mirror.

"Pressure" opens with piano and a good beat with vocals follows in this excellent mid-paced tune. Guitar ends it. "Release" opens with gentle guitar as vocals come in. Great sound. A fuller sound arrives 2 1/2 minutes in. Nice. A tasteful guitar solo 4 1/2 minutes in. This is one of my favs. "Looking Outside Inside" again has a good beat with vocals. A change before 2 1/2 minutes as he sings "Let me go" then it gets powerful. Nice ! It settles back down 5 minutes in to end it.

"Leave No Trace" has a good atmosphere with strummed guitar and vocals. "Underworld" is a powerful song with a nice heavy sound. "Barriers" features male and female vocals in a light soundscape that does get fuller. It's still laid back until late. "Panic" is an uptempo rocker with fast paced vocals. "A Fine Day To Exit" is pretty amazing. Gentle guitar and fragile vocals with lots of atmosphere. It kicks into gear 3 minutes in. Great sound ! It settles again before 4 1/2 minutes before it starts to build again. Haunting synths 6 1/2 minutes in as it blends into the final track "Temporary Peace".This is another favourite. Love the lone guitar line as you can hear the waves. Vocals then drums come in as it builds. Female vocals join in. Gorgeous sound after 2 1/2 minutes. Vocals stop after 4 minutes as we can hear the waves only until those spoken words from our subject that I alluded to earlier come in around 8 minutes and end before 10 minutes. Silence until the PINK FLOYD-like song comes in around 15 1/2 minutes.

Just a fantastic album, and my third favourite from this great band.

Emotionally Challenged.

It's almost uncanny how much Underworld sounds like an A Perfect Circle track, and how much in tune Cavanagh sounds to Maynard. Now that this is out of the way, I must say I am in awe of the intricacies of the band and how they change from album to album without losing their identity. They have gone away from progressive metal almost entirely and now are more an "art" band, attempting to create poetry in sound much not too dissimilar from Radiohead.

The melancholic lyrics are wonderful as always, and the playing is excellent and restrained, making sure not to go into noodling territory. The only track that really grinds my gears is the abysmal Panic which sounds pop-punkish in nature and quite a contrast from the band's usual quality. Other than this, much of the record is very solid, low-key, and artistic.

I'd suggest this album as a darker alternative to the modern style of Porcupine Tree. This album has lots of class and although it does not capture me spiritually as it has many others, it is still one heck of an album and fairly impressive given the band's roots.

New themes and new sounds mix with the band's classic style, creating an album that is open to outsiders while letting the band stretch its shoulders with experimentation. "A Fine Day to Exit" has something for everyone.

More so than on previous albums, "FDtoE" sounds as if the band invested a significant amount of time polishing their playing and the album's production; it is crisp and classy throughout. The performances themselves sound very orchestrated, featuring a group dynamic which makes the songs feel artful and mature-- different than "A4" and "Judgment". Vocals are enjoyable and easy to sing to, while not leaving the listener as emotionally drained as on previous works. The album ends on an excellent note of poignancy and contentment.

As a whole though, "A Fine Day to Exit" is lacks the impact of some of the band's other albums, but makes up for it with its fine performances.

Songwriting: 4 Instrumental Performances: 4 Lyrics/Vocals: 4 Style/Emotion/Replay: 4

Paraphrase of my thoughts upon starting this album:

I'm sitting here with a butter knife, because Anathema is wrist-slitting music. Yes, I slit my wrists with a butter knife, because I am a pretentious prog-rock fan who can never take the easy way out. I need a challenge in everything I do. It's also because when I listen to albums for a review, I sit in an empty room with the music, but I allow myself to have some buttered toast because that isn't too complicated that I can't enjoy it without compromising my ability to analyze the album. So all I've got to work with is that knife. Of course I'm not going to stick my fingers in the toaster because burns hurt way longer than cuts and I can't stand pain. The guy whom I've arbitrarily made up and placed next to me for this part of the review has noticed that my wrists are not cut. Why aren't they cut? No, it's not because my butter knife didn't work (how dare you assume that I am incapable of cutting with a butter knife); it's because I can't figure out why I feel the need to cut my wrists. Is it because this music is depressing in nature, or is it because it is fricking boring and I'm looking for anything to take my mind off of this music long enough for me to get through so at least I can say I listened to the whole thing and my scathing criticism will be legitimate? Of course, I need to know why I'm doing it. Much like challenges, I need a reason for all of my actions. *Note* Quick thinkers might notice that all of my actions thus far seem very arbitrary. You're thinking too hard. Focus on what's important: I've found myself stuck in a room with Anathema and a butter knife, and I am confused.

Paraphrase of my thoughts upon listening to this album:

Hey wait a second! This doesn't sound like Anathema at all! This sounds like...something else! Good idea, guys! Judgement was as good as your old sound was going to get, and you knew that it was time to try something else out. Ah, I know what this sounds like: a little bit of old Anathema mixed with a heap of old Radiohead and other various alternative rock bands. Interesting choice... Oh, this second track isn't bad... Wait, this is still depressing, and I am still bored. Where did I put that knife? Oh no! It fell down the vent in the floor! I suppose I was never going to to get around to cutting anyway. Well let's see how the rest of this goes... Hey female vocals on track six; I kinda like that... Wow, this song "Panic" is terrible...

Paraphrase of my thoughts upon finishing this album:

One fine day

Now firmly established as a mainstream band devoid of their early doom metal sounds, Anathema returned in 2001 with this superb album. Following on from the style they adopted on their third album "Alternative IV" and developed on "Judgement", "A fine day to exit" sees Anathema becoming ever more accessible.

The opening "Pressure" may actually have even worried fans, such is the commercial nature of the song. It has highly melodic multi-tracked vocals, superb guitar work and some well place piano, all adding up to a potential hit single. When followed by the delicate acoustic guitar intro to "Release", it all adds up to a highly tasteful and appealing introduction. The song builds gradually through some Porcupine Tree like repetitive riffs, the power and volume being subtly notched up all the while.

We continue to explore overtly commercial territories with "Looking outside inside", a sort of cross between U2 and "The wall" era Pink Floyd. "Leave no trace" is pure Radiohead, the remorseful vocals being more than a little reminiscent of songs such as "No surprises". The pattern continues on songs such as "Underworld" and "Barriers" but suddenly with "Panic" the band decide to let rip with a straightforward slice of driving rock. This upbeat pop rock song is quite different to anything we have been led to expect up to this point, but makes for a welcome diversion from the serious music we associate with the band.

It is though to the final track "Temporary peace" that the prog fan will look in anticipation of something truly memorable. This 18½ minute piece dwarfs the other tracks on the album, and is on the face of it the longest song the band have recorded up to this point. The track turns out to be something of a disappointment though. The first part is a song very much in the style of the other tracks on the album, and up to that standard. After the 5 or 6 minute mark though this disappears, to be replaced by ambient sounds, muttered talking and long sections of virtual silence. The track concludes some time later with a sort of hidden track, quite out of keeping with any style adopted by the band. Indeed, it would perhaps have been better if "Temporary peace" had simply been listed as a 5 minute track, the remaining time being unmentioned.

In all though, a superb album by Anathema which consolidates their transformation to a highly appealing band who thrive on strong melodies and sophisticated arrangements. Recommended.

Another step further in the surprising evolution of this wonderful british band!

"A Fine Day to Exit", of course has nothing to do with the first doom metal Anathema albums... And It's also far away from the gothic and enchanting "Alternative 4". Maybe it's a bit similar to the previous "Judgement", but less acoustic and with a more alternative feeling, taking elements of bands like Radiohead... Maybe it can be difficult to accept this change, but after a few listenings, it's ovious that the band did not lost any quality in this transformation progress.

The album opens wonderfully with Pressure, where we can notice that this is obviously still Anathema, but with a different orientation... Nevetheless, through the album we can find some tracks in a similar style of previous works, like Leave no Trace, in the best "Judgement" vein, and Underworld, wich reminds me to the hardest parts of the same album. Songs like Looking outside Inside and Panic are more experimental, and others like A Fine day to Exit, Barriers, along with the named Pressure, help to configure this renewed Anathema orientation.

Maybe I miss some of the old Duncan Patterson's bass lines, and the genuine melancholy of "Alternative 4" and "Judgement", but "A Fine Day to Exit" shows that the last thing that the brothers Cavanagh want, is to repeat themselves. And they achieved their intention, because "A Fine Day to Exit" is different of the rest of their albums, but it sitll has the typical elements that make this band so special, and recognisable.

Best tracks: Pressure (I really love the chorus...), Release (great acoustic intro, and marvellous electric guitar melodies... One of the album's little classics), Leave no Trace (maybe the best track here), A Fine day to Exit (the most melancholic song, and it's a perfect example of the departure with the previous Anathema albums...) and Temporary Peace (great ending... And another marvellous chorus)

Conclusion: If you are waiting of another "Alternative 4", or a new "Judgement", then you'll be dissapointed with "A Fine day to Exit"... Because it's a definitive departure from the more gothic style, a departure that we could anticipate in "Judgement", and he is fully stablished. It has a more alternative rock orientation, and more variated, and it opens a new and proggier way for the band that was continued in "A Natural Disaster". Luckily, this album is only a little step under the quality of the previous two albums, and if you did not like this gothic and depresive style, then maybe you'll find a satisfying experience in "A Fine Day to Exit". Excellent!

My rating: ****

After the Floydian rock marvels called Alternative 4 and Judgement, Anathema changed their style and sound to let a new influence come to the fore: post-rock and Radiohead. It's no huge departure from the previous albums but the dense and less immediate nature of the music will cost you a bit more time to fully absorb it. The music is highly textured and organic, it builds and grows, ebbs and flows like the waves of the sea. It is made up of 9 beautifully arranged high quality songs. It is mostly calm and slow but without a dull second and with an emotional impact ranging from fun emotions like sorrow and pain to longing and from craving to ecstatic outbursts of passion.

It's also one of those few albums that is more than the sum of its songs. From the first second to the last, this album flows so naturally that it becomes one continuous experience, dragging you along in its lush and brooding atmosphere. It is hard picking highlights again, but the calm and brooding tracks at the end like Barriers, A Fine Day To Exit and Temporary Peace rate amongst the most gorgeous music ever for me.

Their style has become a very personal mix of atmospheric rock and melancholy, less in debt to the Wall-era Pink Floyd sound of the preceding albums. But it's no use comparing Anathema to any other band anymore, they have become fully their own and surpassed their idols at their game here.

'A Fine Day To Exit' - Anathema (8/10)

In releasing another album, another evolution occurs. This can be said for almost every Anathema release, but 'A Fine Day To Exit' signifies the end of the doom phase for Anathema, a phase that (to this point) encompasses much of the band's history. 'Eternity' showed the band beginning to adopt 'post metal' into their mix; and this fine album shows yet another development in the bands sound; losing the metal for a more mellow and down-to-earth approach.

What used to be the band that innovated one of the most grim genres on the planet has now changed into something that I'm sure even the 'indie' kids could now appreciate. 'A Fine Day To Exit' is by no means a commercial album; but it does have alot more of an accesible sound than even the predecessor 'Judgement' had. What we have here are songs that resonate a warm but haunting art-rock sound.

As far as the songs themselves go, many of the songs are fantastic, with there being only a few moments of exception ('Panic' and 'Looking Outside Inside' both do very little for me.) Still, the band has seen better days. 'A Fine Day To Exit' has not the paralyzing moments of inspiration that 'Judgement' had, nor the overall album cohesion of 'A Natural Disaster' but it's a fine album for those looking for a good, melancholic art-rock album to get into, and a fitting gateway for one of the most emotive bands out there.

A perfect example of a four star album.

Mediocrity at its best...

...And it's not even metal...

I'd been interested in Anathema for a while, and I picked this one up out of interest due to it's high ratings here and on other sites. What I got was basically an hour of uninspired pop, average, clichéd rock with little connection to metal or prog, rather a collection of insipid songs which really hold no interest to me at all. A lot of the stylistic sound is borrowed from bands like Radiohead and Porcupine Tree who have well developed their style, and Anathema is unable to execute such a sound without feeling blatantly unoriginal or uninspired.

To begin with, the opener is basically a 6 minute pop track which really holds no interest for me, and doesn't seem clever or original in any way at all. The rest of the tracks aren't much better, perhaps a bit less boring and terrible. The production is incredibly average, the lyrics are pretty horrible, and I really find it hard to sit through this whole track. Other tracks are a pathetic attempt to make heavy rock, with tracks like the incredibly forgettable 'Panic' and the horrible 'Looking Outside Inside'

There are a few moments of good music - namely the first 3 minutes of 'Temporary Peace' (why this track goes for 18 minutes of silence with 2 incredibly irritating and uninteresting 'hidden tracks') and the title track isn't too bad either. Although these are far from post-metal, progressive, and are far and few between the constant mediocrity. What's more is the album art is horrible!

This album really has no place getting a review of more than 2 stars on a progressive rock site, or being labelled as one of the best post-metal albums. It's simply not prog, post-metal, or good when it gets right down to it.

I usually will not dislike, or poorly rate, music or albums based on their progressive credentials, but this one really does not have a place recieving a decent rating on a site of this nature, let alone an average of >4 (as of when I write this review.)

2/5 stars for this one, although I'd struggle to recommend this one to anyone. If you're looking for post (or prog) metal, look elsewhere!

Beautifully composed

If I am given this album and my eyes are kept closed not to see the CD sleeve or the computer screen and no information on who is playing the music, I will definitely refers the kind of musig this CD is in the vein of Radiohead, U2 or Muse (not really, because Muse has heavy and fast tempo tunes). Or if I can push the nevelope further, I can connect it with RPWL, Carptree, Sylvan last releases and the like. Well by describing this sort you can guess what kind of music these guys are playing in this album.

And then if the giver of the CD tells me that this is an album by a metal band. And I would spontaneusly respond: "What?!! You say this is metal man? Give me a break!". Yeah, you can test it yourself and agree with me that this is NOT a metal album at all as the music is ambient (reminds me to Pink Floyd), beutifully composed with a british pop mind. Pop? Yeah, you might consider it lake that because almost all tracks are basically easy listening - and of course enjoyable!

And finally the giver of the CD lets me know that this is an album by ANATHEMA a metal band. I would then say: Oops ..!! No wonder the album is titled "A Fine Day to Exit" (from the noisy metal music - I think. What do you think?).

Whatever category you might say about this album, it's still a very good album and it's very enjoyable - even though it sometimes gets me bored with similar vein all the way from start to end. But sometimes I need to runaway from the complexities of prog music, and this album can be as relaxing ground. It's very enjoyable music especially while sipping a cup of kopi tubruk .... Keep on proggin' ...

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

A "Experimental/Post Metal" band that has, in my opinion, worked at a very high and consistent level throughout their career. A Fine Day to Exit, despite the opinion of others, is my favorite Anathema album of the Naughties. The sound of A Fine Day to Exit foreshadows the arrival of another English band to the prog scene--though this one is somehow thrown into the "Psychedelic/Space Rock" subgenre: OCEANSIZE.

5 star songs: "Looking Outside Inside" (9/10), "Leave No Trace" (9/10), "A Fine Day to Exit" (9/10), "Temporary Peace" (9/10);

4 star songs: "Pressure" (8/10), "Release" (8/10), "Barriers" (8/10), "Panic" (7/10), "Underworld" (7/10).

4 stars for this consistently excellent album.

This"Experimental/Post Metal" category doesn't speak to me at all. What does it mean anyway???

"Anathema" has brought me lots of different feelings throughout their career: from totally adverse (their first two albums and a couple of EP as well) to great pleasure with "Eternity" and "Alternative 4". I should say that the evolution was superb and the result great.

Their previous album ("Judgement") was not top notch but still good. I would rank this album in the same division. There are few outrageous songs featured on "A Fine Day To Exit". It is more of a combo of decent numbers after all. I really wouldn't recommend this one.

If you want to discover the band from its best angle, both "Eternity" and "Alternative 4" as I have mentioned before should be your entry. This one is just a collection of desperate and uniform songs.

Decent vocal harmonies like during "Underworld" are quite pleasant but I can't really succumb to their "Porcupine Tree" style of music while they perform "Barriers". I am not saying that this song is not a good one, but hell! More personality would have been welcome.

The upbeat and punkish "Panic" is one of my fave at this time of the album: a superb beat, sweet vocals, incredible pace and great drumming job. This combo of positive elements is just great: a fantastic song it is. The shortest but the best so far.

But what about the longest one? An over eighteen minute epic with lots of "waves" sounds which from another generation and a middle part filled with spoken words which is rather dull. I have been listening to true and great epic songs for almost forty years. This one is just below average.

Anyway: to summarize my feel, I can't rate this album with more than three stars. It lacks of innovative ideas and sounds too much as a PT album. Three stars still because it is a good album, but no more.

Anathema finally settled in and defined their sound after changing from the doom metal of the early years. This was quite a stretch from their original sound and of course it alienated many old fans. But their sound was now established to a mostly somber and atmospheric sound. The topics of their lyrics were still bleak, but the lyrics were also more realistic and personal than before. Their sound took on the best sounds of Progressive greats like Porcupine Tree, Pink Floyd and Opeth (at their most mellow) and even took on sounds of Archive (trip hop-py sound except with less electronics...."Barriers" sounds so much like Archive that you would think it was if you didn't know any better) and there was no more growling vocals. The Cavanaughs were still at the helm as they would almost always be, but other members kind of came and went. But the music was beautiful but still quite dark.

This album was the first of their best work. There were still some weak tracks in the middle as the band explored a few different sounds to keep some variety in the music, but the album definitely begins and ends strong. More keyboards and acoustics are added to the mix and sometimes even drive the sound. The guitar here in this album is more atmospheric and instrumental as the band explores the sounds that they can get out of the instruments.

The best tracks are the ones that have the most feeling and emotion. These are "Pressure", "Release", "Looking Outside Inside", "Leave No Trace", the title track and the hidden acoustic track "In the Dog's House". The rest of the songs are good, but lack some development and are a little hard to remember. But you can hear the effort the band is making in exploring this new sound and it is a very worthy effort. Things would continue to get better with subsequent albums.

This album isn't quite up to masterpiece status yet, but it is close. The album's first 4 songs are worth the price of the album and the weaker tracks really aren't that weak, they just don't have as much of a personality, but they are still good. The improvement in the sound is obvious, it is well polished and the vocals are much much better. 4 strong stars signifies that this is still an excellent addition to your collection. Definitely a band with positive movement.