2007-07-19
I have to say this release really caught me by surprise. I really didn’t know what to expect from it's (rather abysmal) cover, and was pleased to hear a Doom/Goth band who's music harkens back to the glory days of British doom metal, where such greats as
Anathema and
My Dying Bride created some of the best doom metal known to man.
Band main man Ian Arkley is a real veteran in the British metal scene, paying his dues with thrashers Seventh Angel and fellow doomsters Ashen Mortality. Sadly, I never had a chance to hear anything by the latter, but if it's anything like this album by his new line-up, it should be well-worth having a listen to.
The Anatomy Of Melancholy is divided into two parts, the first – laden with distorted guitars and some strong death growls, and the second – acoustic, more folk-Goth oriented, both are equally interesting and heavy with a somber atmosphere, and the quality of song writing and playing by the band members really puts this on another level.
The minute "The Dying Things We're Living For" starts out, you get the feeling you're thrown back into the early 90's, hearing something that sounds like a combination of
Paradise Lost's Gothic with
Anathema's Serenades, the sound, the guitar leads, the vocals, they all fit perfectly in achieving that feel and strength those bands once had, and sadly, very few others have managed to capture again since.
The band injects its music with enough rhythm changes and acoustic passages to make this interesting, never resorting to cheap theatrics to make this sound more tragic and depressive as many current doom bands do.
The second part of the album is quite a different experience, opening with an instrumental acoustic number that borrows heavily from middle-ages music, this leans heavily into folk-Goth, and Arkley makes use of his deep and poignant voice to great affect. Though the songs here work on a much slower, seemingly tamer feel, they still bear that strong air of profound somberness that the first part expresses so well.
Not much more to say here, I have very low tolerance to most current doom metal bands, but this just stands out as better than most, well worth a listen for anyone even remotely interested in the genre.
Alon Miasnikov
