A FINE DAY TO EXIT

...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!

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