Anathema - Weather Systems (2012)

xerces

What do you think of Weather Systems?

1. "Untouchable, Part 1" - 6:14
2. "Untouchable, Part 2" - 5:33
3. "The Gathering of the Clouds" - 3:27
4. "Lightning Song" - 5:25
5. "Sunlight" - 4:55
6. "The Storm Before the Calm" - 9:24
7. "The Beginning and the End" - 4:53
8. "The Lost Child" - 7:02
9. "Internal Landscapes" - 8:52

Although I'm a little disappointed it doesn't stray far from WHBWH and seems to convey a lot of the same ideas, I find it very genuine, emotive and a thoroughly enjoyable listen. The lyrics and melodies are simplistic but effective. I think there's greater continuity here whereas WHBWH's second half sounded considerably proggier than the first. The highlights for me being the quiet joy of "Lightning Song" and the powerful crescendo of "The Beginning And The End"*. I'm also somewhat surprised to see it get such a high rating on MetalStorm because it's a far cry from the death/doom/gothic metal days of The Silent Enigma or even the piercing sadness of Judgement/A Natural Disaster.

My favourites by Anathema will remain The Silent Enigma, Alternative 4, Judgement and WHBWH (despite the point mentioned I think it's a really strong album, Steven Wilson's involvement is also a plus) but I can see Weather Systems getting repeated plays in the future.

*Do you notice the prominence of "silence" as a lyrical theme for Daniel Cavanagh throughout his career? :]

Nephilim Wolf

I downloaded it, and to be honest I wasn't all that impressed with it. They haven't made an incredible album since 'Judgement'. All the albums after 'Judgement' have really done nothing for me. My absolute favourite Anathema albums will always be 'Serenades, The Silent Enigma, Eternity, Alternative 4 and Judgement'.

xerces

Nephilim Wolf wrote: »

They haven't made an incredible album since 'Judgement'.

Yeah I can certainly understand that statement, and I'd agree except that there was something really appealing to me about WHBWH. It may not have quite been in the 'incredible' category, but I liked it's sentiment. Of course WHBWH was the start of a new era for them, I'm disappointed that the new era hasn't seemed to progress with Weather Systems, it sounds quite similar.

My absolute favourite Anathema albums will always be 'Serenades, The Silent Enigma, Eternity, Alternative 4 and Judgement'.

I haven't listened to Serenades and I think I've only heard Eternity once so I should probably get on that, the others you've mentioned are also favourites of mine.

Kess73

Not impressed with it at all. Much prefer the new Storm Corrosion album.

Weather Systems is an album where everything is played well, but sounds very safe and dull at times.

xerces

Kess73 wrote: »

Much prefer the new Storm Corrosion album.

I do too, but I'd say that comparing Weather Systems and Storm Corrosion is a bit unfair because they're completely different albums in scope. Sure, Storm Corrosion is a far more interesting listen (I've only listened to it once so far, so I'm still finding my feet with it), there's greater depth to digest and consider. It's got a lot more experimental elements. I think the intention with Weather Systems was to create simple, yet powerful melodies that would impact a listener in a dissimilar approach. Of course whether they achieved that or not is purely subjective. Personally, I can see myself throwing on the tracks Lightning Song and The Beginning And The End the odd time in the future. It's a given that Storm Corrosion will have far more longevity.

Nephilim Wolf

xerces wrote: »

Yeah I can certainly understand that statement, and I'd agree except that there was something really appealing to me about WHBWH. It may not have quite been in the 'incredible' category, but I liked it's sentiment. Of course WHBWH was the start of a new era for them, I'm disappointed that the new era hasn't seemed to progress with Weather Systems, it sounds quite similar.
I haven't listened to Serenades and I think I've only heard Eternity once so I should probably get on that, the others you've mentioned are also favourites of mine.

You should definitely listen to 'Eternity' again, it's a truly incredible album from start to finish. It's also the only album I've heard that has the title song divided into three songs, Eternity Prt 1, Eternity Prt II and Eternity Prt III. All three songs are incredible and are very imaginative and inspired. In fact I would say that its Anathem's most inspired and their most imaginative album.

Dan_Solo

Never listened to Anathema before this, and TBH they don't sound like a rock/metal band at all (now, maybe they used to be). Boring as hell, sounds like something Ray Darcy would play.

RayCon

Ive struggled with this album. And unlike most Anathema listeners , Ive actually only been aware of them since WHBWH so in therory I should take to this like a duck to water, but ..... and here's the major problem , with some of the songs (particularly the first 2) I can't help thinking "If this was Coldplay or Snow Patrol Id instantly dismiss it - why am I giving it a chance ?" - and thats over compensation. ... and I haven't even mentioned the unbelievably awful lyrics ... seriously this album could be sponsored by Camembert -it's that cheesey.

Track 4 I like ... then 6 and 7 are very good ... evrything else is "meh" or no thanks.

Dan_Solo

RayCon wrote: »

I can't help thinking "If this was Coldplay or Snow Patrol Id instantly dismiss it - why am I giving it a chance ?

Well I didn't want to kick the hornet's nest but yeah!

xerces

Dan_Solo wrote: »

Never listened to Anathema before this, and TBH they don't sound like a rock/metal band at all (now, maybe they used to be). Boring as hell, sounds like something Ray Darcy would play.

They were definitely considered metal in the early nineties, with more rock influence in the late nineties and early noughties, but yeah, they're a much lighter outfit these days. They do have some fantastic albums, but unfortunately this is not one of them. You'd have to check out their darker period for those, personally I'd go with The Silent Enigma (95') or better yet Judgement (99') if you're ever interested.

xerces

RayCon wrote: »

Ive struggled with this album. And unlike most Anathema listeners , Ive actually only been aware of them since WHBWH so in therory I should take to this like a duck to water, but ..... and here's the major problem , with some of the songs (particularly the first 2) I can't help thinking "If this was Coldplay or Snow Patrol Id instantly dismiss it - why am I giving it a chance ?" - and thats over compensation. ... and I haven't even mentioned the unbelievably awful lyrics ... seriously this album could be sponsored by Camembert -it's that cheesey.

I was the same with the first two tracks, I listened to them a couple of times with reluctance to do any more, for fear of being unable to stomach the cheese. If it was Coldplay or Snow Patrol I wouldn't have given it a chance. I think knowing Anathema's past and the transition they've made in their career, from their early days to where they are now musically, has made me curious as to what direction they'd take in the future.

Track 4 I like ... then 6 and 7 are very good ... evrything else is "meh" or no thanks.

Yeah, as I mentioned previously, I arrived at a similar conclusion. I may have been a little safe initially in expressing my opinion of the album, but the fact is that there's nothing here that we didn't hear on WHBWH and Weather Systems also falls way short of it's replay value. WHBWH is also the first I heard of Anathema in 2010, I decided to check out their back catalogue on the strength of it, with many a gem of an album found.

Mushy

Supporting Opeth in November:D

RayCon

Mushy wrote: »

Supporting Opeth in November:D

14th Nov ... woo hoo ... the day I get home from Orlando !!!!

xerces

Mushy wrote: »

Supporting Opeth in November:D

Oh man this is great news!

I've never seen Opeth and I love Heritage. It'll be cool to catch Anathema again. I'm using my phone on the way to Dublin at the moment so I shtuck a bit of Anathema on the iPod, they really do have some incredible stuff.

Mushy

Heres the poster. Delighted Opeth are playing as had to skip them in Germany last weekend, and now have to chance to see Anathema again makes it even better.

Nea

Waa Hoo
What a savage announcement, it made my evening,its also great to have Opeth back in "St.Vicars"

On the subject of Weather Systems, it took me a long,long time to get into it but I do love it now,but it still doesnt stand out like WHBWH

Cill94

I'd never listened to this band before but decided to give this album a try as I saw it got good reviews around the place. Wasn't impressed at all. I'm picky when it comes to vocals and I don't like female vocals, and the female voclas on this annoyed me a lot. The dude singer got on my nerves as well at times. Also the lyrics were a bit too 'luvvy-duvvy' and cringey for me. Shame because I can appreciate the instrumentals. I have the same issue with Dream Theater.

jenizzle

I think the problem is that they're happy now. There's no more angst to write songs about, it's not as 'doomy' as it once was which is what I loved about them. The last two albums have been upbeat and Lee is getting a lot of airtime, and while I like her voice, her input is nothing special like it was on A Natural Disaster.

Numina

Cill94 wrote: »

I'd never listened to this band before but decided to give this album a try as I saw it got good reviews around the place. Wasn't impressed at all. I'm picky when it comes to vocals and I don't like female vocals, and the female voclas on this annoyed me a lot. The dude singer got on my nerves as well at times. Also the lyrics were a bit too 'luvvy-duvvy' and cringey for me. Shame because I can appreciate the instrumentals. I have the same issue with Dream Theater.

Well how about trying this on for size?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ47U0sH3hY

They play a totally different style now compared to what they played in the 90's, which was pretty much doom metal.

xerces

Cill94 wrote: »

I'd never listened to this band before but decided to give this album a try as I saw it got good reviews around the place. Wasn't impressed at all. I'm picky when it comes to vocals and I don't like female vocals, and the female voclas on this annoyed me a lot. The dude singer got on my nerves as well at times. Also the lyrics were a bit too 'luvvy-duvvy' and cringey for me.

I see what you're saying and it's understandable to dismiss this album as being too 'luvvy-duvvy'. If you want to hear them do the polar opposite then check out this song, the intro is great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9ojrMszA8A

This is my favourite by them. I was listening to this recently and for the first time I noticed the dark echoing "I" added behind the actual lyrics at 54 seconds and 57 seconds, I love discovering stuff like that in music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs-emvLUY20

Gamb!t

New album is very good.
Took a while to get into it,Some late In The Woods influences in places.

Cill94

Numina wrote: »

Well how about trying this on for size?

They play a totally different style now compared to what they played in the 90's, which was pretty much doom metal.

I tried it on and it fit quite snugly :P

I was aware that they used to play heavier stuff but I hadn't gotten round to checking it out yet. Great song alright. Cheers!