August 17, 1995 - The Silent Enigma

Two and a half weeks after my last release and about two and a half years since their debut "Serenades", Anathema released their second album "The Silent Enigma" on August 17, 1995. Anathema still play some of the doom metal style that they did on their first album, but lead singer Darren White has left the band and so have the deep, screaming vocals. White is not replaced however, instead guitarist Vincent Cavanagh takes over lead vocal duties and he screams a little bit but mostly sings in clean vocals. The music is also more melodic and this album is the mix of the Anathema of old, and the Anathema that is yet to be. Let's check it out!

The album kicks off with "Restless Oblivion" and after a slow opening they shift into a nice slow, doom-y riff with some nice heavy guitars. Vincent sings overtop and his voice is like a heavy yell that isn't nearly as heavy as White's vocals, but it still sounds alright and it fits the mood of this music well. Once they slow things down John Douglas plays some nice drums to back this quieter riff and Vincent sings/talks overtop. Back to the heavy riff again Vincent gives us his beat scream attempt, which is still just a loud yell, but I think it still sounds pretty heavy and it's hard not to headbang along. A pretty heavy and coop opener! Up next is "Shroud Of Frost" and it has a nice heavy opening before Duncan Patterson plays a cool bass riff to keep the pace and the Cavanagh brothers build a slow but cool riff around it. They jam out a couple solid verses and then things quiet down for a spoken word part that sounds, pretty British. The music picks up again as the spoken word continues and I'm not a big fan of it, I don't think it really adds anything. They continue to jam out basically the same riff, which is a solid one but it gets a little tiring after so long, save for Douglas playing some different drum fills. The end fades into the next song "...Alone" and it's a quiet song with one Cavanagh (no clue if it's Vincent or Danny) leading the way with an acoustic guitar riff that is quiet and sounds pretty epic, backed by some light droning keyboards. Guest singer Rebecca Wilson sings lines here and there overtop the light music and her high voice is not normally what I'd listen to, but it fits the mood pretty nicely. Track 4 is "Sunset Of Age" and we're back to the nice doom-y metal with one Cavanagh playing the heavy backing riff and the other playing a cool lighter guitar riff. Vincent sings in his yelling voice and the verse is solid but it's the guitars that sound great on this one. The two brothers work together really nicely on this song with some great light and heavy guitars. Vincent yells a heavier verse midway through and I love it when he turns on the slight growl. It's a long jam to the finish, but this was probably my favourite song so far. Track 5 is "Nocturnal Emission" and it's driven by a slow, chugging main riff with some light guitar overtop. Vincent talks rather than sings, but he does so in a really low voice that fits the mood well. There's a not a ton happening on this one as they jam through a few verses and choruses before a long fadeout takes us to the end. Up next is "Cerulean Twilight" and this one has a faster pace right from the start as one Cavanagh plays a quick guitar riff and the rest of the band builds around it to form an interesting main riff that is a little psychedelic but also has some nice heavy vocals by Vincent. He sings in his usual voice as well but his yells sound great on this song. Midway through the mood shifts to a new riff driven by a repetitive but decent guitar riff and this long part is very psychedelic as Anathema seem to be blending in the trippiness nicely into their usual style. Track 7 is the title track, "The Silent Enigma" and the Cavanagh brothers combine for a light guitar opening that leads into a heavier verse with Vincent singing and sounding decently epic in his weird way. There's a heavier part where Vincent yells and sings and unsurprisingly I like this part the most. The next song is the longest on the album at just over eight minutes and is called "A Dying Wish". The first couples minutes is a light but solid opening and it segues really nicely into a real headbanger of a main riff. Vincent yells really nicely overtop and he also sings (not as awesomely) a verse as well. He yells a great, loud "Silence!" and Anathema show off their progressiveness a bit with some more nice segues between another singing riff and then to a trippy middle section with some cool bass and drums taking the lead. This eventually leads back to the headbanger riff for some more nice jamming before they end the song with a soft but epic guitar bit. This was a nice prog epic and possibly my favourite song on the album. Things are wrapping up with the shortest song, an instrumental titled "Black Orchid". It has some epic keyboards, bass and guitar that combine to form a quiet bit interesting riff. Midway through things get louder and we hear some epic drums and they play out this new riff right to the end of the album. An interesting way to end the album.

That is the end of "The Silent Enigma" and I thought it was a good album. White's really heavy vocals are gone, but Vincent Cavanagh does a pretty good job of filling in for the heavy parts. His singing voice takes some getting used to, but ultimately I thought he was pretty solid. The music was still pretty doom-y though and I think I liked this album even better than their debut "Serenades". But Anathema is an ever evolving band, where will they go next?