Anathema - Alternative 4 (10 tracks) +Album Reviews

Remnants of dying laughter, echoes of silent cries.

Lessing | 05/14/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Many see "Judgement" as Anathema's best record, but I beg to differ. I have always liked this one more, due to the fact that I had it before Judgement. And of course, the brilliant songs on it.
Alternative 4 is considered (by me) to have one of the greatest openers ever. The whispered lyrics on "Shroud of False", accompanied by a beautiful piano tune, linger forever in the back of my mind. Here they are: "We are just a moment in time. A blink of an eye. A dream for the blind. Visions from a dying brain. I hope you don't understand." After having listened to it for a zillion times, they still cause goosebumps.
The lyrics are amazing, among the best I ever had the pleasure to read/listen to. Not only are they deeply sad and depressing, but also poetic and charismatic. There are true gems in this album, lyricwise and musicwise, with the fantastic first three tracks being the best example, which alone are much worth owning the whole record.
Apart from these, the slow and peaceful yet melancholy "Inner Silence" or "Regret" are good choices for a first listen. Heavier songs are f.e. "Empty" and "Fragile Dreams".
Anathema, starting as a doom metal band, soon developed to softer sounds, away from metal. In my opinion, that development was one of the best things that ever happened, because it provided me with great, great music. I don't need heavy guitars in particular, I want good music, and that's what Anathema did.
The amount of personal feelings of this record is amazing. It tells a history of despair and sorrow, far more sincere than any of the junk food lyrics the charts supply. This piece of music became special to me, and he who gives it a chance might experience the same."

Depressing Depressing DEPRESSING!

Noyce | Santa Cruz, Ca | 05/05/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Anathema's album "Alternative 4" is simply one of the saddest, depressing albums I've ever heard. The whole album from track 1-12 is all tragic and mellonchollie. Even when they write dark songs or love songs the sorrow seeps through. Anathema have been for years considered one of the top doom metal bands in the world, but by this point they're no longer doom, or even metal. But that doesn't matter, genres don't sell albums, music does, and this album contains great music along the lines of a darker, heavier, Pink Floyd (although they're much more then a Floyd rip off, let me mak that clear).The album is solid start t finish. The album starts out with the hollow, piano led "Shroud of False" where vocalist Vincent tells us that were only a vision from a dying brain, and he hopes we don't understand. The lyrics are by lead songwriter/bassist/keyboardest, Duncan Patterson. That flows into the excellent violin rocker "Fragile Dreams" which is a piece by Daniel Cavanaugh. The instrumental begining is amazing. "Empty" is another violin-rocker, this time by Duncan. There is a great piano breakdown in the middle. The final line of the song is "I've a solution to this sad situation, nothing left but to kill myself again because I'm so empty". Then the album reaches its depressing peak with the dark "Lost Control", which is about alcohol addiction. With simple acoustic guitar, violin, and piano moments Duncan's pain is brought to life. "Re-Connect" is the only Vincent piece on this album and isn't up to the level of the other songs, although it is tolerable. "Inner Silence" is actually a love song but the sorrow does not leave. Between the wailing guitar and the orchistral keyboards emotion leaks off the track. Then there's the very gothic title track. The switches between hunting keyboards and almost dead sounding vocals to aggressive riffs and dark piano lines. The line "I'll dance with angels, to celebrate the holocaust" won't leave your head anytime soon. Then comes the best written song on here, "Regret". Starting out acoustic the song slowly builds up to the electric ending over seven beautiful minutes. The next song "Feel" is also great but lets be honest here, this goes being influenced by Pink Floyd, this is almost robbing them. The drum beat is the same as the bass rhythm in "Welcome to the Machine" and even uses a line from a Pink Floyd song, they changed "Your never gonna die" to "I thought I was never gonna die". Still I won't deny that it's a great song. The album closes with one more minor chord piano dirge called "Destiny". The song is just another painfuly touching peice.This album is great! The only reason I won't give them five stars is for the riff and lyric robbing on "Feel". Oh yeah, I think Shaun Steels' drumming is worth a mention. He uses a lot of brass parts (sorry I'm not a drummer, I don't know the lingo) to great effect. He realy has a unique style going on.Well this is a great album for a bad day. Whenever I'm depressed I toss this album in, however the music is good enough on its own that you can listen to it anytime. But man this is one of, if not THE most depressing album I've ever heard. I mean all three songwriters manage to mention being stabbed. But it's so real, and that's why I will continue to listen to and feel this album for years to come."

When Anathema becomes good

Bret | USA | 05/25/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the second album Anathema released with Vincent as the lead vocalist. I never liked the older Anathema with the other singer (he sounded like he was dying of an asthema attack), no matter how many times I tried to listen to it. I tried to find what all the reviewers were raving about, but it just wasn't there. Then Alternative 4 came out followed by Judgement, followed by A Fine Day to Exit... the best three albums ever made by any band... period. This CD is more than deserving of a five star rating, but since their other two albums are soooo much better, it only gets the four stars in comparison. If this were their only album, I would have given it the full five.I think what makes this band as great as they are is the amount of emotions that go into their albums. Other bands sing about it, but Anathema means it and you can hear it in their music. It's passionate, depressing, angry, and even at times - upbeat. It has everything that goes into a great album.After first listen you'll feel confident that you made a worthwhile purchase. A year later, you'll feel exactly the same way. The music Anathema makes will always withstand the test of time, especially their most recent albums. Every song could potentially be a hit if they weren't "so underground" with a "death metal" name that steers all the radio stations away, as well as MTV (who recently refused to play an Anathema video for no apparent reason). Props to Anathema for not selling out and changing their name, as some fans have suggested. It's my personal opinion that this album, as well as their other recent albums will one day be thought of as classics by millions of people, the same way Pink Floyd is today. Buy this album immediately, you won't be dissapointed."

An ammendment to the top review on the page...

Joe Awesome | Australia | 01/26/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great album. It is the Third Anathema album with Vincnet singing, the first being The Silent Enigma, second Eternity.
The entire first three quarters of the record are fantastic, with Fragile Dreams, Empty and Lost Control all being both powerfully emotive and musically rich."

Words can not describe this album accurately. (4.5 stars)

IcemanJ | Ohio, USA | 04/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Considered Anathema's best by many, this release has some of the band's most emotional songs AND good production. Not only depressing songs, but agressive ones too like parts of "Empty" and "Re-Connect". There are obvious improvements from the previous "Eternity," much better production and much better singing overall, much more melodic and powerful.Unlinke any of their other albums there are many violins and pianos used. I love violins, they have such a soft and enchanting feeling, along with pianos, acoustic, and electric guitars. The instrumentals are very spaced out at times, such as "Shroud of False" and "Destiny" which are just piano melodies and vocals. I feel this creates an empty feeling, which ends up being sort of metaphoric.Most of the songs are excellent, such as "Inner Silence," the intensely emotional ballad with dramatic yet passionate melodies; "Fragile Dreams" with that unforgettable, timeless violin intro; and "Regret," my personal favorite with a amazing underlying acoustic riffs and epic structure. I love how "Empty" almost comes to a complete stop and goes into a beautiful piano melody, then goes right back. "Lost Control" has breathtaking instrumentals and keeps alternating between hollow parts with emphasis on one instrument; and a lush, full instrumental arrangement.I feel this album's only weak point is the title track. Personally, that song is way too drawn out and hollow with lack of melody to be enjoyable, but others might like it.The lyrics on this album are very good, they do a great job of conveying emotions to the listener. They are mostly quite depressing, and about betrayal, loneleyness, emptiness, and regret. What a memorable album."

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	Anathema Alternative 4 Genres: Alternative Rock, Rock, Metal Track Listings (10) - Disc #1 Shroud of False Fragile Dreams - Anathema, Cavanagh, Daniel Empty Lost Control Re-Connect - Anathema, Cavanagh, Vincent Inner Silence - Anathema, Cavanagh, Daniel Alternative 4 Regret - Anathema, Cavanagh, Daniel Feel Destiny
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