Anathema Discography: #3 Pentecost III (1995)

"My hand on your heart, I know there is a beating
In this oh so bleak landscape
There are many mountains
...but not so much water"

In 1994 Anathema recorded an EP called Pentecost III, and it was released the following year due to record label politics. This release saw them shedding some of the death metal elements of their earlier releases, although the music was still heavy and doomy. The music could also be considered kind of psychedelic, due to the hypnotic and repetitive riffs and the constant use of guitar feedback. Darren White is also mostly speaking or shouting, instead of growling.

"Kingdom" is a key song that paved the way for Anathema's later material, as it's mostly based on a single theme just like a lot of their modern songs. It's got a nice build-up and a heavy climax, although I think the song's length could be a little shorter than 9½ minutes - I think the best version of the song is the one played on this year's Resonance tour, which is based on the original and includes orchestral backing tracks from the Falling Deeper remake. The song also seems to be dear to the band members themselves, as in a recent live video Darren White says he's happy to finally perform it after all these years, as he was fired from the band before the EP was released.

The video track "Mine Is Yours" is simplistic yet crushingly heavy, and for once Darren White does a good job with his clean vocals at the end of the song. "We, the Gods" is another epic, lasting 10 minutes. The first third of the song has got some nice melodies, but it's also a little uneventful. However, once the song finally gets going it shines. Duncan Patterson, whose first musical contribution this song was, plays a cool bassline and the Cavanagh brothers offer some gorgeous guitar harmonies. The title-track is an atmospheric instrumental, but nothing memorable, and "Memento Mori" is a re-recorded version of an early demo track, which feels slightly out of place, being more brutal and the only song on the EP to include growls.

Pentecost III is a fine EP and an important step in Anathema's evolution, but listening to it also makes it clear that the band wouldn't have had a future with Darren White on the microphone, as his non-growled delivery is quite monotonous. However, the music is more than fine - if you cut the last two tracks and trimmed the fat in the two epics, you'd get a brilliant release. The band was clearly maturing musically and the next album would be the peak of their death/doom sound.

Rating: 3.5/5