June 22, 1998 - Alternative 4

Two weeks after my last release and a year and eight months since "Eternity", Anathema released their fourth album "Alternative 4" on June 22, 1998. Original drummer John Douglas is no longer with the band and he's replaced by new drummer Shaun Steels. Anathema play a similar kind of alternative rock as their last album, continuing with just clean vocals, but this album is a bit more experimental. Let's listen to the latest from Anathema!

The album begins with a short song called "Shroud Of False" and Danny Cavanagh plays some epic piano to start it off. The rest of the band joins in about halfway through and Vincent Cavanagh plays some nice heavy guitar and also sounds solid singing overtop. It's short, but it's a decent little intro song. Up next is "Fragile Dreams" someone named George Rucci plays violin at times on the album, and it sounds pretty good as they slowly build up to the main riff, which crashes in with some loud drums and some catchy guitars. The guitar is quieter in the verse as Vincent sings softer to match the mood, but the chorus has louder guitars and vocals and it sounds pretty good. They don't stray from this once they get here, and it drags a little by the end, but it's still largely a good song. Track 3 is "Empty" and Danny plays some epic keyboards while Vincent sings a solid verse overtop until things snap into an upbeat and pretty catchy main riff. The guitars sound solid and this is one of Vincent's best vocal performances I think as he hits low, high and sounds pretty good doing everything in between.as well. After a couple nice jams through everything stops and Danny takes over with some epic piano by himself. I thought they took the air out of things, but they nicely slam right back into a final chorus to wnd this pretty cool tune. The next track is "Lost Control" and Danny plays some very haunting piano while Vincent sings softly overtop. Duncan's Patterson joins with some nice bass while Steels plays a decent drum beat and this all makes for a fairly simple but plenty epic sounding riff. Vincent eventually does come in with some nice slow guitar and he even plays a slow solo, and it matches the mood very nicely. We hear some more violin as well as time goes on and it adds an extra element to the epicness that keeps things interesting until the end of the song. Track 5 is "Re-Connect" and they kick right into a decent main riff with some solid bass and guitars. They shift to an interesting new riff with some cool bass by Patterson leading the way with one guitarist playing some space-y stuff while the other plays some nice heavy stuff for a pretty interesting combo riff. They end things with a nice heavy verse, including Vincent singing "I'd like to see you fucking try!" and Steels plays some solid drums in the cool ending to this interesting and cool song. Up next is "Inner Silence" and Danny leads the way with some cool piano and Patterson even plays some backing synths! Vincent enters with a nice light guitar riff that quickly turns into a cool chugging heavier riff and his singing sounds pretty good to complete this epic riff. Things sound pretty interesting for a couple minutes and then everything but the drums drops out, but it's a very unexciting ending with Steels merely playing a few hits every few seconds. Track 7 is "Alternative 4" and there's some trippy keyboards that echo in the background, Steels plays some slow but epic drums and Vincent adds a slow guitar riff to make for a quiet but interesting main riff. Vincent sounds good singing overtop and the chorus doesn't actually have any vocals, but it's a nice heavy riff that breaks up the verses nicely. The final verse is just vocals and keyboards and sounds decently epic still and they fade out with a final chorus. The next track is the eight minute "Regret" and we hear some more droning synths in the background while Vincent leads the way with a light guitar riff. His vocals match the mood well and he sounds solid, I think he's a much-improved singer from a couple albums ago. Eventually the riff gets louder, but the keyboards remain prominent in the background and it's still a pretty tame riff. Don't get me wrong, I like the quiet epicness of this long song and think it holds your attention pretty well, with me of course liking the heavier parts the best. Track 9 is "Feel" and they kick right into a heavy guitar riff while the other Cavanagh plays some lighter guitar that mesh together nicely. Danny takes over on keyboards and leads the main riff while Vincent plays some light guitar to back him. These keyboards sound better as the lead for sure and Vincent sings nicely along with them for a lighter but solid main riff. There's some loud and epic guitar very briefly, then it's right back to the main riff and they certainly missed a solo right there. The ending is a little louder and a pretty cool way to end this song. The album wraps up with "Destiny" and Danny and Patterson are both playing keyboards: one on piano and the other on like a music box kind of keyboard and along with the light guitar this makes for an interesting main riff that Vincent sings perfectly overtop of.

That is the end of "Alternative 4" and I thought it was a solid album. Anathema continue to evolve and they do a pretty good job of going in a lighter, more keyboard driven style of rock, while still keeping things pretty interesting. There's still some heavier guitars at some points, but Danny Cavanagh is playing a slot of keyboards, which sometimes I don't think adds much, but other times can sound pretty cool. I think this album is a pretty solid effort overall and it easily surpasses their debut album and I'd even put it above "The Silent Enigma". It's close with their last album, but I like "Eternity" more as it still has hints of their metal past. 2nd place will have to do! Where will Anathema turn from here?