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ANATHEMA Alternative 4 Peaceville (1998/2003)
The last Anathema album re-release which was sent to me to review, "Alternative 4", proved to be, as I expected, the most difficult of all. Anathema's fourth full-length release has been the soundtrack of some of the most important moments so far in my life, and listening to the ten compositions that are featured here has always caused a variety of emotions in me. Well, I was well aware that, in order to give full justice to this masterpiece, I needed to once again fully commit myself to its fatal charm and bring down the protective walls that help to ensure my sanity...well, you really don't expect to play with fire and not get burnt...
Three weeks after I first started listening to the album, I still haven't managed to put any of my thoughts to paper. My classic strategy of trying to define the important moments in an album, and built upon them my review was not working at all. Why is that, I wondered? Well, simply because Anathema are not any ordinary collective, and most importantly, because "Alternative 4" is one of those albums that only a few really talented bands are capable of producing.
Even though I am a really big fan of "Eternity", the band's previous album, it is quite obvious that the two years that separate these two albums were very important, not only in terms of ensuring the band's undoubtedly musical evolution, but also in achieving a compositional harmony between the members of the band.
The role that each member of the band had to play in the creation of a record was far more obvious in the previous releases: Duncan Patterson (bass) would be responsible for the more dark/disturbing compositions, and the Cavanagh brothers would come with the more emotional/melancholic tunes. "Alternative 4" gives you the feeling of a more collective effort, and also comes across as more of a concept release.
The album kicks off with a very emotional intro, the brilliant piano theme of which is courtesy of Duncan Patterson, and is followed by what I consider to be the best Anathema song ever recorded - the amazing "Fragile Dreams".
Danny Cavanagh is given full credit for bringing to life one of the most uplifting, yet terrifyingly emotional compositions, the violin melody of which has managed not only to stand the test of time, but also to become Anathema's trademark sound.
The band's influence from the mighty Pink Floyd is not only noticeable in the following up-tempo composition "Empty", but also in more claustrophobic compositions, such as "Lost Control" (brilliant acoustic guitar theme) and "Inner Silence", where Danny's sound is quite up to the game, and his brother Vinnie appears a much more confident and mature frontman.
The parade of brilliant anthems continues with the doomy same-titled composition, the quite 70's-sounding "Regret" (the choice of Hammond was spot on) and the amazing "Feel", which I believe to be one of the most underrated compositions by Anathema's loyal fans. If you choose to invest in Peaceville's 2003 re-issue, you will get the chance to listen to some really good Pink Floyd covers ("Your Possible Pasts", "One of the Few" & "Goodbye Cruel World") and a very unusual musical interpretation of Bad Religion's classic "Better Off Dead".
There are not many albums in my record/CD collection which are given a spin as often as Anathema's "Alternative 4", and that situation seems quite unlikely to change in the years to come. Those of you who are only now being introduced to Anathema's discography should be prepared for an amazing musical trip - the rest of you are probably more than capable of justifying my decision to give this album the highest ranking possible!
*****
Review by John Stefanis
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