Anathema - We're Here Because We're Here
by Andrew Carver
published: 26 / 7 / 2010

Label:
K Scope
Format: CD
intro
Epic and grandiose-sounding guitar rock on latest album from one-time doom metal band, Anathema
Anathema made its name with doomy and gloomy metal laden with gothic undertones and gargling vocals. Those who followed the band’s earlier path might be surprised with what they sound like now: As others have noted, the band that once shared a stage with Bolt Thrower and Cannibal Corpse would probably better suit a bill with prog titans Porcupine Tree (with whom they now share a label, KScope). Apart from the obvious sonic change resulting from the departure of growler-in-chief Daren White and his replacement on vocals by guitarist Vincent Cavanagh in the band’s early days, over time the band has smoothed and polished things to a gleam, incorporating vocal harmonies, piano (as on the intro to ‘Summertime Horizon’ and ‘Dreaming Light’) and strings, which might have startled in 1993 but makes perfect sense now. It’s clear the band is in the right place, particularly since bringing producer and former Cradle of Filth keyboardist Les Smith on board full time. The group adroitly handles the sweeping sounds of tracks like ‘Thin Air’ and lovely vocals of ‘Everything’, and manages to imbue lyrics that occasionally inch dangerously close to the cheesy with emotional atmosphere. If there’s any complaint to be made with the soaring songs on ‘We’re here’, it’s that they work better individually than as a suite of music. Otherwise, fans of the bands will find it a worthy successor to ‘A Natural Disaster’ (after the slight side-trip through the acoustic versions on ‘Hindsight’ - not, apparently, a sign of future directions). Those who like their guitar-rock well-orchestrated and grandiose will not be disappointed.
Track Listing:-
1 Thin Air2 Summernight Horizon
3 Dreaming Light
4 Everything
5 Angels Walk Among Us
6 Presence
7 A Simple Mistake
8 Get Off Get Out
9 Universal
10 Hindsight
11 Thin Air ((Lockdown 2020 Version))
12 Summernight Horizon ((Lockdown 2020 Version))
13 Everything ((Lockdown 2020 Version))
14 Angels Walk Among Us ((Lockdown 2020 Version))
digital downloads
most viewed articles
current edition
Cornbury Music Festival - Great Tew Park, Oxfordshire, 8/7/2022...10/7/2022 -The Final GoodbyeBathers - (With Cowboy Mouth and Sugartown), Strathaven Hotel, Strathavan, 17/6/2022
Felix Cavaliere - From Pelham, NY to Rock n Roll Hall of Fame
NIck Godfrey - Interview
Prolapse - Peel Sessions 20.08.94 and 08.04.97
Queen and Adam Lambert - O2 Arena, London, 20/6/2022
Andy Ellison - Interview
Dorothy Bird - Jimmy's, Liverpool, 30/6/2022
Dwina Gibb - Interview
Sarah Cracknell - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Hurrah! - David Jensen 08.12.82Moon Under Water - Fragments EP
Paolo Nutini - Last Night in the Bittersweet
Marine Research - John Peel 18.05.99
Brooks Williams and Aaron Catlow - Ready for the Times
Burning Hell - Garbage Island
Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp - 18
Dave Edwards - Many Rivers
Jessie Buckley and Bernard Butler - For All Our Days That Tear The Heart
Blue Orchids - Angus Tempus Memoir
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart