June 21, 1999 - Judgement

Six days after my last release and almost exactly one year since "Alternative 4", Anathema released their fifth album "Judgement" on June 21, 1999. Drummer Shaun Steels was only on their previous album and replacing him is the return of original drummer John Douglas. I'm happy with his return, but there is also the departure of original bassist Duncan Patterson. He is replaced by new bassist Dave Pybus but even with all this changeover the Cavanagh brothers are still the driving force of the band and they still play the same style of alternative rock and continue to head in a lighter direction. Let's see what the new Anathema is all about!

The album begins with "Deep" and one Cavanagh plays a decent light guitar riff and Vincent sings softly overtop. The chorus has some much louder guitar but it plays the same main riff and I of course like the heavier part better. They stray too far from the quiet and loud versions of this main riff but things sound solid if not spectacular. Up next is "Pitiless" and Pybus starts us off with a decent bass riff that the guitarists nicely build around.  Vincent sings decently overtop, holding some long notes. I don't know which Cavanagh does the guitar solo, but it's a pretty epic and sweet one that definitely adds a spark to things. The end of the song leads directly into track 3 "Forgotten Hopes" and from the ashes of the last song emerges a light guitar riff that sets the stage for this light but epic new direction. Vincent sounds good when he comes in to sing the verse and Danny echoes him in the chorus for some dual vocals that fit the mood nicely before the chorus ends with some cool guitar. After another slow verse and chorus the song is wrapping up and it too leads perfectly into the following track, this time a short instrumental called "Destiny Is Dead". Pybus leads the way with a nice bass riff and the Cavanagh's add a bit of guitar but this is a pretty repetitive and not all that exciting interlude. Track 5 is "Make It Right (F.F.S.)" and a slow, kind of wavy guitar riff leads the way and everyone else builds around it. Vincent sings a quiet verse but things get better when Danny adds some epic synths to the mix. The guitar is decent but not amazing and and that pretty much sums up this whole track. The synths are something I normally wouldn't like but I think they spice up an otherwise average song. Up next is "One Last Goodbye" and Danny plays some synths while Vincent plays a light guitar riff and Pybus adds some decent bass before Douglas comes in on drums to complete this slow main riff. Vincent sings softly to match the mood as they slowly roll through this for a bit until the guitar gets louder and Vincent sings in a louder, higher voice. This part is a more elic version of the main riff and after a bit of this we hear a nice guitar solo that matches the mood very well before they wrap things up. Track 7 is "Parisienne Moonlight" and it has Danny doing lead vocals for the first time, as well as also featuring for the first time the sister of drummer John, Lee Douglas providing the female vocals. Danny leads the way with a nice piano riff and he also adds some synths to add to the epicness. Danny and Lee sing all the lyrics together and Danny doesn't seem to be bad but also not anything special while Lee sounds like she has a decent voice. The two voices sound good together though and this pretty much sums up this short song which was good in it's own way even if it was not a typical song (at this time). The next track is the title track "Judgement" and Vincent plays another light guitar riff to start us off and he sounds good singing overtop the quietly epic backing keyboards. Things start to slowly pick up and once Vincent switches to electric guitar and the rhythm section gets louder things have a nice beat going on and the pace quickens again! Vincent lets out a nice long yell that sounds great and then takes things away eith a new fast guitar riff. This takes us right to the end of the song, where a sudden record scratch stops things and we abruptly change to track 9 "Don't Look Too Far", which also has Lee Douglas on guest vocals. A nice acoustic guitar riff kicks things off and everyone builds nicely around it to form a soft but cool main riff with Vincent matching the mood perfectly. He switches to electric guitar as they shift to the chorus and the chorus riff sounds great and is pretty damn catchy too! Lee echoes Vincent nicely in the chorus and she continues to do so in the following verse at times and I think it adds a nice extra element to a song like this. Vincent is fucking shredding that guitar as they continue to jam out the chorus and this is the kind of Anathema i'm talkin' about! A fantastic finish to what is easily the best song on the album so far. Up next is "Emotional Winter" and Danny plays lots of trippy keyboards and Vincent's epic guitar make it sound like it could be a King Crimson song and I can get behind that for sure. After a minute and a half of this they nicely shift to a more typical riff for this album as they slowly and smoothly play a verse which leads to a nice louder chorus. After a couple solid goes through of that they return to the trippy opening part to close things out. I liked the variety and thought they did all the sorts well. Track 11 is "Wings Of God" and they kick right into a slow but decently heavy main riff that has some cool trippy keyboards, some solid vocals by Vincent and some pretty cool lead guitar as well. Actwr over three minutes of this riff with some pretty sweet guitar at times they change gears and move in a new direction. Pybus's bass sets the stage and Douglas and Danny build nicely around it and Vincent comes in with some more solid guitar in this lengthy instrumental riff that covers the whole latter half of the song. I really liked the first half and the second half was decent but not nearly as good. Up next is "Anyone, Anywhere" and it starts with a catchy light guitar riff and Vincent sings an epic verse overtop. The piano on this track is actually played by a guest, Dario Piatti, and it's some nice beautiful piano that fits the mood really well. This is not your typical Anathema song, but the light guitar and piano, and the lack of a rhythm section, does make things sound pretty epic. Eventually the bass and drums do join in and we hear a more typical sounding riff playing some slow but loud and solid stuff. Piatti plays the end of the song by himself and his piano sounds pretty good as he quietly wraps this one up. The final track on the album is "2000 & Gone" and it's all instrumental with some light keyboards and guitar starting us off. Pybus and Douglas play a light rhythm section to match and things sound pretty smooth and breezy. This pretty much sums up the whole five minutes as they continue to lightly jam and we hear some solid guitar.

That is the end of "Judgement" and I thought it was a good album but it's certainly another shift towards a lighter style of rock. "Don't Look Too Far" was really great but most of the album was on the lighter side, although they did do a solid job in this new style. I think it's better than their first two albums but not as good as their last album "Alternative 4" so 3rd place will have to do. Where will Anathema go from here? I'm sure it'll be interesting!