The Crow A perfect follow up to Alternative 4.

No so dark, but a bit more complex and alternative pop-rock oriented, but still with the dark and sad personality of this band. The leaving of Duncan Patterson, the main songwriter of the band, was not a drama because the Cavannagh brothers took the duty of making the entire songs, and they did it wonderfully, giving us another brilliant album, maybe not so good as their previous efforth, but different and really enjoyable.

The pianos and strong bass lines of Alternative 4 and replaced for layers of guitars and mellow keyboards, and a lot of accoustic passages. The style started with Eternity is here perfectionated and variated. And Vincent sings better than ever! He sound really confident with his vocals for the very first time.

Best songs: Deep (a great opening, with marvellous vocal melodies...), Forgotten Hopes (great guitars...), One Last Goodbye (a really moving song, I absolutely love the lyrics... My favourite of the album), Parisienne Moonlight, Judgement (strong guitars in a good proggy piece...), Emotional Winter... Except a pair of songs, the whole album's level is outstanding.

Conclusion: a step further in the Anathema's career. Not so gothic and dark as their previous albums, but more proggy and alternative rock oriented, Judgement is an excellent album not te be missed for people who seek a melancholic, sad and sensitive way of seeing progressive rock, in the vein of Porcupine Tree, Riverside, Wolverine... But with an unique and special feeling.

These songs are a real pool of talent.

My rating: ****

siLLy puPPy ANATHEMA (which is Greek meaning something dedicated to evil) is a band that I have heard a few tracks from over the years and they have always rubbed me the wrong way therefore I have avoided this band like a flea-bitten varmint carrying the plague. The truth is this band has had so many different sounds over their career and judging them from any particular phase could leave out one phase that might actually rub you the right way. In this case their 5th studio album JUDGEMENT does just that and rubs that spot that feels oh so good. With a long list of credentials including a sound in alternative rock, acoustic rock, art rock and more, this album finds the band steering their ship out of doom metal waters into a progressive rock sea. In fact if you ask me this band is heavily influenced by the Porcupine Tree albums of the same era with a bit of alternative metal sounds a la Alice In Chains in the mix. Fortunately these influences are strong but not putting them into any particular clone department.

What I am finding pleasing about this album is the strong melodic melancholy with aspiring acoustic arpeggios mixed with grungy chords and passionate pleas to placate the pain. The story is the two Cavanaugh brothers recently lost their mother so the mood of the album fits. This album also finds the band losing bassist Duncan Patterson who was a major contributor in the songwriting department leaving Danny Cavanagh to take the major role as such. This was an album I picked up with much trepidation but since it was one of their highest rated and praised I thought I should at least give it a spin. I was fearing I would find it in the same camp as Opeth, which is a much beloved and highly praised band that I seem to lack the digestive enzymes to comprehend, but to my surprise despite the heavy influences being just a little too obvious, I find myself liking this album a lot. It has enough of its own personality to win me over. Now I can tiptoe through their discography a little bit more hoping to hit on another winner such as this.

Sinkadotentree I remember fondly when i discovered ANATHEMA along with PORCUPINE TREE and ANEKDOTEN all around the same time. I was in heaven to say the least. "Judgement" ws my favourite ANATHEMA album back then and the first half of the album is one of the strongest collection of songs i've heard. There is so emotion in this record and certainly the fact that the Cavanagh brothers had just lost their mom contributes to this. They dedicated this album to her and the song "One Last Goodbye" is about her passing and one of the most, if not the most emotional song i've ever heard. Also one of the most intense guitar solos i've heard is on "Pitiless" but like i said earlier the first half for me is flawless. This is one of those true 5 star albums in my collection that i value highly.

topofsm Don't act like you've never heard alternative rock before. That's exactly what Anathema is putting out on Judgement. Continuing to drift away from their doom metal roots, Anathema went far more spacey and atmospheric. While there's nothing explicitly metal on the album to be found, it is well composed and has progressive tendencies, and a melancholy mood that metalheads will be able to appreciate.

The album kicks off with "Deep", a midtempo song that introduces the pained feelings that will be expanded upon later in the album. The acoustic guitar is a bit understated, but gives the piece a sorrowful edge.

It is hard to pick out other highlights on the album as well. While the songs on Judgement are distinct, the song flow is well constructed and the pieces simply work together. "Pitiless" picks up where "Deep" finishes, but is more hard hitting and scathingly bitter. "One Last Goodbye" is a heart-wrenching ballad and an outstanding addition to the album. "Judgement" starts off ominous until it builds faster into the most aggressive part of the album, though it's no heavier than any alternative rock generally gets.

There aren't really bad points of the album. The atmosphere is well put together and the soft guitars mix well with the somber tones of the album. It could be said though that the songs between the highlights aren't so memorable and eventually just fade into background music. That being said, there isn't a bad song on the record. It has the prog atmospheres that modern music lovers can't get enough of, and contemporaneous and similar in sound with Porcupine Tree. While not doom metal, Judgement is a great album in its own right.

Conor Fynes 'Judgement' - Anathema (9/10)

This is without a doubt, the perfect example of Anathema's musical style and strength as a band. Despite the high amount of acclaim that 'Alternative 4' receives, I don't find it to be a very strong album despite a few excellent tracks, but 'Judgement' really shows the band maturing and chanelling their depressive tendencies in a way that's not juvenile or irritating, but instead veyr beautiful and moving.

This is certainly a far cry from the band's doom metal origins, but the same sense of dread is still here in full. Having reached the pinnacle (thus far) of their career, there's the perfect balance of Anathema's traits here. There's a bit of a metal, experimental sound; but filled with gorgeous melodic hooks and rhythms.

'Judgement' is filled to the brim with great, soulful tracks; although the second half of the album starts to lack the same stunning flow the first half did. If I had to choose some great songs that uninitiated listeners could sample out; the songs 'Deep,' 'Forgotten Hopes' and 'One Last Goodbye' are all incredibly emotional and powerful, especially the last one mentioned...

'One Last Goodbye' certainly stands as being one of the very few songs I've ever heard that was perfect. Despite it only being 6 minutes long, it has such a haunting melody, and each note; each subtle nuance the song has it's place. The only other song I could really call 'perfect' is 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen, but that's another story...

When one says 'progressive metal,' this definately does not fit the traditional bill. It's a much different brand of music than your typical Dream Theater or Symphony X. There are metallic elements, but there's no space left for mindless fills; only pure and emotionally charged songwriting.

Realms ahead of most music out there in terms of emotion and effect. Absolutely superb.

Phonebook Eater Anathema reaches to what seems to be maturity with this album, and start to have a more doom metal style more than progressive. Judgement is thirteen songs, all very very depressing, (typical doom metal characteristic) but some times have a great and emotional touch, like in songs such as "Deep" very slow and mellow, and "Pitiless", probably one of the bands best songs. We also have "Don't Look To Far" and the interesting title track that are at a pretty similar level, but not as high. However,some songs tend to be annoying ( I disliked "Forgotten Hopes" especially), and too profoundly into the atmospheric and desperate tones of the album, when songs should keep a certain distance between the dependency and independency of the album. (Not sure if I made this clear). Anyway, in general it's a pretty good album, and I give it 4 stars mainly for the presence of "Pitiless", possibly my favorite Anathema song. Anyway, it is still an excellent addiction to any prog or metal fan.

Peacock Feather True, as for me, is the idea that the greatest works of art are created on the basis of a personal tragedy of a creator. In this case, creators are the Cavanagh brothers, who had a great tragedy – their own mother died. Plus, Patterson, as already mentioned, left the band (his place on 2 albums will be taken by Dave Pybus, known for playing in Cradle of Filth), so the only right decision that was made by brothers, along with the returning John Douglas, was to start working on a new album, which was called Judgement.

The strongest impulse received from such a cruel combination of circumstances served as the birth of a truly great album, and, perhaps, number 1 in my personal top albums of Anathema. Yes, I love Judgment. I love it for the perfect combination of all the elements that make up the sound of Anathema of those years, I love it for the most excellent compositions, for the softness, sensuality and sentimentality, for the light psychedelicness, for the fact that painful metal arrangements have finally been replaced by strict and elegant rock forms. To be honest, I can't single out any song that falls out of the general canvas, which would be a pass-through, but I can single out the most favorite songs for me: this is the opening album triptych (hit Deep, nervous and hard Pitiless and gentle Forgotten Hopes with outro Destiny is Dead), gothic Make It Right, beautiful male and female duet in Parisienne Moonlight (in which for the first time as a vocalist appears Lee Douglas, sister of John Douglas), Emotional Winter with an intro, as if written for Shine On You Crazy Diamond and hard rock Wings of God.

Wait, did I miss something? Of course, because One Last Goodbye is a special thing, as it is dedicated to the deceased mother of the Cavanagh brothers. And hell, if I'm asked to name the saddest and grieving song of all time, I won't hesitate to name that song. One Last Goodbye is an example of how to turn a personal tragedy into music. Simple in form, in lyrics, but pressing on you as much as you can do in the whole wide world. And you understand everything even without Danny's lyrics and Vinnie's vocals, because the progressive movement of the music leads you to a crescendo and a guitar solo that will make you cry if you are a true emo girl, and make you shrink into a sentimental ball if you are a bearded man. One Last Goodbye, like the whole Judgement, is like a cleansing waterfall, in which you will want to splash for more than one or 2 hours, and each time you again experience a feeling of relief and euphoria when the final and warm notes of the instrumental 2000 & Gone make you turn on the Play icon again on the opening Deep…