Anathema Discography: #1 The Crestfallen EP (1992)

"All emotion is consumed by an inner silence
All grief is unassuaged by disconsulate tears
I want for nothing, I live for nothing
I am waiting to die but I am afraid of dying"

Over the course of the next couple of months I'm going to review every Anathema studio release in this blog. The band has been around for 25 years, so this year they've played special "Resonance" shows with a setlist spanning their entire career and released a box set documenting their middle era. I'm also seeing Anathema live for the second time this August, with Dream Theater, so could the timing be any better? Anathema's style has changed a lot over its 25-year career, from death/doom to atmospheric and progressive rock with orchestrations and electronics, and I'll go through every step of that evolution.

Anathema is one of the pioneers of the genre of death/doom, and the band's first release, The Crestfallen EP, represents that sound: heavy guitars, growling and slow tempos. "...and I Lust" is a decent opener with wailing leads by Danny Cavanagh and cool harmonized guitar riffs by him and his brother Vincent. Vocalist Darren White's poetic and dark lyrics make it clear that this isn't the right album for you if you're in the mood for something cheerful: "Pain is a far away land / Misery, a lifetime's journey".

"The Sweet Suffering" may be the least melodic Anathema song ever, and therefore not very memorable or nice to listen to. It includes oppressive riffs and call-and-response vocals; White even uses some high screams in this song besides his standard death growl. "Everwake" is a total departure, a sweet acoustic folk track sung by Ruth Wilson. This song also started the tradition of having an acoustic ballad with female vocals as track #3, which would continue for a few more releases.

According to Danny Cavanagh "Crestfallen" is the first song he wrote for Anathema. This, along with the mournful guitar harmonies and the fact that it's the slowest song on the EP makes it a true classic of death/doom - Danny has even claimed that My Dying Bride ripped off the song's main riff on its first album. Despite this classic status "Crestfallen" isn't one of my favorites, as it starts to drag on towards the end and keeps its plodding tempo for 10 minutes. "They Die", on the other hand, is one of my all-time favorites from Anathema, managing to keep the sluggish pace more interesting and ending with one of the saddest melodies I've ever heard.

For some reason the CD I own (Pentecost III/Crestfallen) includes earlier recordings of "Crestfallen" and "They Die" from a 7" single, instead of the versions from the original EP. Whoever was the genius that came up with this idea gets no understanding from me, as the sound of these recordings is horrendous, Darren White's growls are so indecipherable that it sounds like they're coming from under water, and the playing is pretty sloppy - even some mistakes have been caught on tape. It would've been ok if the tracks had been included as bonus material, but having them replace the EP versions makes no sense to me. Well, at least there's the novelty of hearing faster versions of both songs that are closer to standard death metal - "Crestfallen" is three minutes shorter than on the actual EP!

The Crestfallen EP was recorded at the same sessions as Anathema's first full-length album Serenades (1993), which is the reason for the very similar (if not identical) production. It's glaringly obvious that the band decided to save the best songs for the album and only give the EP as a little taste of what was to come. Even the two highlights of the EP can be found as similar versions on later releases - "Everwake" on Falling Deeper (2011) with added orchestrations and Anneke van Giersbergen's vocals, and "They Die" on Serenades with a different ending. In other words, The Crestfallen EP can only be recommended to completists, but the reissue combines it with Pentecost III (1995), so the good news is you won't have to buy it specifically.

Rating: 2/5