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ANATHEMA Pentecost III/Crestfallen
Peaceville (1992/1995/2004)
When I first approached the people at Peaceville records and expressed my intention of promoting Anathema's remastered albums through our website, I found them to be extremely positive and helpful. Two days later, I had a small parcel delivered at my doorstep, and that's when I realised that the 2004's re-issue of "Pentecost III / Crestfallen" was not included.
If this CD was nothing more than an average "best of" collection, like the ones that some labels tend to release with the hope of gaining access to some "easy" money, I would probably not have bothered making an additional request to the label (cheers Paul). The thing is, though, that, as with My Dying Bride's "Trinity", this ten track release is the best way of getting a clear look at how much Anathema's music evolved between the 1992-1995 era, and also contains some of the best tracks ever performed with Darren White as the band's frontman.
Even though I really appreciate the untamed and rough character of an album like "Serenades", I found the band's change of musical approach in the "Pentecost III" EP to be more to my liking. Here, Anathema's decision to allow their melodic side to emerge to the surface, while still investing in powerful Doom riffs definitely paid of. Any previous comparisons with Paradise Lost are dispelled by the musical structure of songs like "Kingdom" and "We, The Gods", thus bringing the mixture of groovy/rhythmical mid-tempo riffs with the psychedelic/experimental-sounding melodies of Pink Floyd ("The Wall") and Celtic Frost ("Into the Pandemonium") to the next level.
The second half of this release contains 1992's three-track EP "Crestfallen" and the 7" release "They Die" - both of which represent the band's earliest rough/primitive era. Songs like "...And I Lust" and "The Sweet Suffering" are pretty straight-forward and effective - both based on solid doom riffs and Paradise Lost-sounding guitar melodies, yet the medieval-sounding "Everwake" with it's beautiful acoustic guitar and brilliantly-performed female vocals is definitely the most inspiring moment on this release. The last few songs, "Crestfallen" and "They Die" are probably more of collective importance, as they are no longer available as a separate release, and represent the spirit of early Anathema - rough but classy.
Covering a creative period of four years, "Pentecost III / Crestfallen" contains material that will definitely attract the attention of a varied audience, and regardless to whether you'll go for the straight-forward doom metal anthems or the more experimental/psychedelic stuff, the result will still be the same - exposure to good quality music, and that is essential for every Anathema fan!
****
Review by John Stefanis
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