Anathema Discography: #7 Judgement (1999)

"All the hate that feeds your needs
All the sickness you conceive
All the horror you create
Will bring you to your knees"

Anathema's 1999 effort Judgement is more guitar-driven and rocking than the keyboard-heavy and ambient Alternative 4 (1998). The main reason for this was the loss of main songwriter Duncan Patterson, but the songs were also born as group efforts, unlike on most Anathema albums, which led to a more band-oriented sound.

The first four songs form a suite together. "Deep" is a powerful opener that displays the melodic and melancholy, yet rocking style of the album. "Pitiless" is darker and more aggressive, while "Forgotten Hopes" is a semi-acoustic ballad, but despite the differences the songs share a common guitar theme, which is heard the bridge of the former and the verses in the latter. A short instrumental, "Destiny Is Dead" closes the quadrilogy.

Returning drummer John Douglas became a prolific writer on Judgement: "Make It Right (FFS)" is a pleasantly atmospheric tune that brings to mind Awake-era Dream Theater because of its Kevin Moore-like keyboard sounds. "Don't Look Too Far" is a psychedelic piece reminiscent of early/mid-era Porcupine Tree that has some heavy wah-wah guitars in the chorus. The classic rock-sounding "Wings of God", on the other hand, ends with a brilliant instrumental jam.

The star of the album, however, is Danny Cavanagh, whose leads embellish the album. The heart-wrenching eulogy for his and Vincent's mother, "One Last Goodbye", culminates in one of the most emotional guitar solos I've ever heard. Another favorite of mine is "Emotional Winter", which sees him channeling his inner Gilmour in the intro. There's also a lot of feedback on various songs, creating a vibe of disorder.

"Parisienne Moonlight" is a short but sweet piano ballad that features future band member Lee Douglas on vocals with Danny. The title-track is the heaviest on the album, transforming into a furious rocker after the slow first half. According to Danny, "Anyone, Anywhere" is a dishonest song that had no meaning at all to its writer, bassist Dave Pybus. While the lyrics are rather childish compared to the true feelings of pain and sadness in the other songs, it's a beautiful song musically. "2000 & Gone" is an instrumental outro that ends the album on a peaceful note.

Judgement works as the perfect bridge between Anathema's metal beginnings and their later sound. It's also like a companion work to Alternative 4: obviously the songwriting is different, but they were released so close to each other that they feel like two halves of a double album and complement each other. Alternative 4 sounds cold and edgy, whereas Judgement has a warm and full production. If A4 is the soundtrack for hitting the rock bottom, then Judgement represents the first difficult step you have to take to get your life back on track.

The cover art and the band photo in the centerfold of the booklet probably have a lot to do with this, but Judgement is a summer album to me - if you close your eyes while listening, you can imagine yourself by a lake at sunset. The atmosphere of the album also makes it a pleasure to listen to: it's sad, but you can hear that there was a good vibe going on during the making process. Judgement may not be as tight as its precedessor, but I wouldn't change a thing about it regardless.

Rating: 5/5