Anathema Album: “Serenades [1993]”

If you've discovered Anathema through recent releases such as 'Judgement' & 'A Fine Day to Exit' you may find 'Serenades' a tough listen. Unlike the Pink Floyd, Jeff Buckley & Radiohead tones of today 'Serenades' has its roots firmly set in the English death-doom metal scene that was so popular in the early 1990s. If you can recall 'Turn Loose the Swans' era My Dying Bride & 'Gothic' era Paradise Lost then you'll know what's in store: slow, bludgeoning & gothic riffs with Darren White's take it or leave it vocals that fall somewhere between Glenn Benton's grunts (Deicide) & the melodramatic wailing of Thomas Gabriel Warrior (Celtic Frost).

What made 'Serenades' superior to the competition at the time was the Cavanagh brothers' ability to come up with some ridiculous catchy riffs to give life to what could easily become a dirge. The chorus to 'Lovelorn Rhapsody' regally soars head & shoulders above everything else on the album, 'Je Fait...' is an indicator of the band's future direction, the verses to 'Sweet Tears' bounce along & 'Sleepless' is a tidy, if lyrically weak goth pop number. The only real moments of out & out introspective misery are 'Sleep in Sanity', a filler by anyone's measure, & the greatly superior 'Under a Veil'. If you want a real indicator of how miserable these guys can get then the extra tracks from The Crestfallen EP that are tagged onto the CD are even heavier, slower & more challenging.

If you can cope with doom-death stuff from the early 1990s then you will find no finer album of its genre, but if you prefer the more melodic direction taken by the band in recent years I'd advise you begin with 'Judgement'.

have newer albums. but "serenades" is nice deepy music. the artists are genius. i would be happy if this album would be selled again. (sorry for my englisch :-)

Can anyone PLEASE explain to me what they sing about in "J'ai fait une promesse"? Although I've taken French 101, I have difficulty figuring it out, and I don't have the words.Tell me soon or I'll die! ....I'll check back.

Guys i love Anathema but not in their first albums . They are so depressing - dont hear this kind of music. Its not fun.

I love depressing music, and this is about as down as it gets. This material is much heavier than Anathema's later, more acoustic-based work. Along with My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost, this band set the standard for 90s depression/doom metal. These songs rarely move at more than a crawl, and the huge, heaving riffs are like massive sobs. I rate this album as average, however, because it gets pretty boring sometimes. Repetition can be good for setting a mood, but here it just becomes slothful. The vocals are extreme deep growls, pretty much just thrown on top of the music. Very slow, no rhythm. Basically, this type of vocals does nothing for me. I'd prefer clean singing, which Anathema eventually did adopt. However, if you're really down and want nothing more than to be pounded into a stupor, this is the album for you.