Conor Fynes 'Pentecost III' - Anathema (6/10)

This is some of the best doom metal Anathema has come out with over the course of their careers. Here, we have an imperfect, but beautiful blend of heaviness and grim melody. To anyone that has listened to much doom metal in the past, it shouldn't be hard to estimate what sort of material is going to be heard here. Despite being one of the best doom records I've heard, 'Pentecost III' seems to be lacking a few things, and suffering from a few shortfalls. The high points and most inspired sections are doom metal at it's best, but some lackluster vocal work and some less impressive sections rob Anathema of what could have been a real classic.

Each composition is full of really beautiful and melodic moments which could make even a heart of ice thaw out and burst into tears. The two songs that seem to have the most cohesion to them are the first and third tracks; 'Kingdom' and 'We, The Gods.' The other songs shown here are also good, but suffer from flow problems which make them feel less organized. With such a drawn out style of music like doom metal, it's easy to steer the course away from a composition and throw in alot of ideas in the hopes of spicing things up, but it ends up making the songs that much less memorable. However, 'Kingdom' for example takes it's sweet time to build up from a clean and melancholy ambience up to the level of full heaviness. 'We, The Gods' on the other hand is speckled with nice sections up until the finale, where an Iron Maiden-style gallop ensues and brings everything to a wonderful climax.

The vocals of Darren White aren't as bad as people say they are; but they definately aren't more than mediocre. The spoken word dialogues give the music a gothic flair, and there are parts where White's growl really compliments the rest of the mix. It should be clear to even a seasoned metalhead though, that he isn't one of the better growlers out there, and does not have alot of versatility to his voice.

Unfortunately, the main issue here is with the cohesion of songwriting. If all of the songs here were as grimfully perfect as 'Kingdom,' there would be a real masterpiece on our hands. As it stands however, 'Pentecost III' is a solid doom metal record and a fitting way to end Anathema's heavier era.

Phonebook Eater Anathema at their darkest, here with their fourth EP, "Pentecost III".

Initially I thought it was better than "Crestfallen" the underrated second EP of the band; now, I tend to prefer that release to this one.

The atmospheres are denser, creepier, and more apocalyptic sounding. Here we have no calm, fragile moments, but only 41 minutes of the doomy personification of pain and suffering. Probably the title track is the one that gives you less creeps, but even here there are sinister winks.

It would be a little hard for somebody who doesn't usually listen to death doom metal, like me, to like all the songs; "Kingdom" is creepy, but not violent, and quite fascinating, but just not that fantastic. "We, The Gods" is basically the same story. "Mine Is Yours..." is definitely the song I like the least here, even though it can be considered the song that has stronger roots to the band's original sound, from "The Crestfallen" and "Serenades". In fact, don't be surprised if you find some prog elements here and there; "Memento Mori" is an epic, 12 minute song, with many great moments, even though they use here much more growls than in all the other songs from this album. It is definitely my favorite song from Anathema's first period.

I can conclude saying that, despite having some elements that are closer to prog more than death metal, even though the doom metal still persists, "Pentecost" is a really good EP, recommendable to whoever likes the genre. 3.5 stars.

bonnek Though officially not listed as a full-length album, this extensive EP is actually a lot better then the debut. Think early Swans with the fattest possible sound and you're close. This is Anathema's heaviest and most oppressive doom release.

Kingdome is a doom-death classic. It’s impossible not to hear the defining influence on Katatonia and especially on Agalloch. Mine Is Yours is almost literally early Swans, an insanely heavy American post-punk band that would also serve as a huge inspiration on Neurosis. Anathema make a worthy and respectful tribute out of it. We The Gods can’t maintain the quality, sounding rather tedious and uninspired. After 2 minutes of eerie feedback, Pentecost III goes for a full Swans attack again. If you like this stuff, pick up the albums Filth, Greed or Children of God. Similar to We The Gods, Memento Mori can’t capture the drive of the opening tracks.

My 2004 CD-issue also contains Anathema’s first EP The Crestfallen. On its own it has hardly any convincing material, but the delightful dreamy acoustic piece Everwake lifts the rating to 3 stars.