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Anathema - Weather Systems
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8.3 | 712 votes |
Release date: 16 April 2012
Style: Atmospheric rock

Owners:
593 have it
52 want it


Disc I
01. Untouchable Part 1
02. Untouchable Part 2
03. The Gathering Of The Clouds
04. Lightning Song
05. Sunlight
06. The Storm Before The Calm
07. The Beginning And The End
08. The Lost Child
09. Internal Landscapes

Disc II [Limited edition DVD 5.1 mix]
01. Untouchable Part 1
02. Untouchable Part 2
03. The Gathering Of The Clouds
04. Lightning Song
05. Sunlight
06. The Storm Before The Calm
07. The Beginning And The End
08. The Lost Child
09. Internal Landscapes
Review Lyrics (9)

Additional info
Produced, engineered and mixed by Christer-André Cederberg. Co-produced by Vincent & Daniel Cavanagh.
Assistant recording engineer - Andrea Wright.

Recorded at Parr Street Studios in Liverpool, Aerial Studios in Wrexham and at Christer's place in Oslo.
Mixed at Christer's place. Mastered by Chris Sansom at Propeller Mastering, Oslo.

All string arrangements by Dave Stewart except The Storm Before The Calm - by Vincent Cavanagh & Dave Stewart.
Performed by the London Session orchestra.
Leader: Perry Montague-Mason.
Session fixer: Isobel Griffiths.
Strings produced by Dave Stewart, recorded by Steve Price at Angel Studios, London.

Art, design and layout by Vincent Cavanagh & Sarah Derat, assisted by Scott.

Internal Landscapes is dedicated to William Cavanagh.

Staff review by
Dream Taster
Rating:
8.2
Liverpool, United Kingdom. In the distance the gathering of the clouds dims the sunlight, an omen of an impending rainstorm. In the beginning there was lightning, and in the end a drenched landscape.

Needless to say that whatever kind of rock featured on Weather Systems is literally miles away from Anathema's death/doom sound of decades past. But then again it is no less riveting. Spellbinding is more like it. Once more the Cavanagh brothers manage to fascinate me with their ability to write beautiful music. Be warned though that there is very little variation in the formula that was presented on its predecessor We're Here Because We're Here.

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published 29.06.2012 | Comments (21)

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Comments page 4 / 5

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Comments: 130   Visited by: 1558 users
21.06.2012 - 15:16
Rating: 10
DelightfulJim
Still haven't heard anything that I enjoyed more than this so far.
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23.06.2012 - 11:44
Rating: 1
joey_demaio666
New Anathema Is Shit.
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Hail And Kill
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29.06.2012 - 16:17
Rating: 7
lord artan
I do not love this album for several reason.i do not expect anathema Release this weak album.but still anathema best in the world.i just do not expect.i expect masterpiece from anathema
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29.06.2012 - 16:20
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Elite
Written by joey_demaio666 on 23.06.2012 at 11:44

New Anathema Is Shit.

I don't like this sort of Anathema either but this comment about them being shit and you giving them a 1 is really funny seeing your nick is Joeydemaio. Even Anathema's worst album is suprerior to anything Joey de Maio was ever part of.
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Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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06.07.2012 - 01:36
Rating: 7
Góral
Combo Breaker
Best album to listen to with a girlfriend..
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12.10.2012 - 18:43
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Elite
Written by Lustful Maid on 12.10.2012 at 18:35

Generally speaking, this is not a bad album if you don't know anything about this band. I simply don't understand why Anathema has been categorised as Doom metal band for almost one decade. I believe even they themselves don't know why.

As far as I know almost everyone has stopped calling them doom metal after The Silent Enigma. I wouldn't even them progressive, for me they are armospheric rock or even alternative rock.
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Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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12.10.2012 - 19:03
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Elite
Quote:
Written by Lustful Maid on 12.10.2012 at 19:01

As far as I know almost everyone has stopped calling them doom metal after The Silent Enigma. I wouldn't even them progressive, for me they are armospheric rock or even alternative rock.

Probably heavy rock for the last 2 albums. I am more interested to know if you think this album is a Christian.

what does Christian have to do with it. Christian music is not a sound but has to do with the lyrical content and tbh I don't see anything Christian about the lyrics. So, this is of course not Christian music
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Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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12.10.2012 - 19:25
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Elite
Quote:
Written by Lustful Maid on 12.10.2012 at 19:15

What does Christian have to do with it. Christian music is not a sound but has to do with the lyrical content and tbh I don't see anything Christian about the lyrics. So, this is of course not Christian music

hmm...not all musicians like to express their music too straightforward, it is lacking in "Depth". On the contrary, you don't call Venom a Black metal band evenrhough they always mentioned about Satan in their lyrics. We are not in the same universe I think.

Venom I DO call black metal, first wave black metal just like Mercyful Fate are first wave black metal. Because at the time black metal was defined by the image and lyrical content and not the music. Just like Christian music is defined by the lyrical content and not the music.

What has so-called lacking in depth have to do with someone playing Christian music? Believer plays Christian thrash and especially their seond and third album cannot be said to be lacking in depth.

It seems you are a Christianity who labels music he doesn't like as Christian music. The people in Anathema aren't Christians so they cannot be labeled as being a CHristian band
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Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

Loading...
12.10.2012 - 20:22
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Elite
Written by Lustful Maid on 12.10.2012 at 20:10


- When we talk about Marketing, it is surely scheming in the real world. Josh Groban's music is obviously godly, but it may be applicable to lovers. Anathema is making this album that would be acceptable by the general listeners, especially some christians found this interesting even no god appears in the lyrics (this is also a possibility, not a definite). They don't have to be christians to use this "marketing strategy".

They have been making this sort of music for quite some time now. SO it's not that they have all of a sudden gone down this road. I agree that they are writing the rock/pop music to gain more sales, which they would never have gained with their death doom albums and especially not with Darren WHite on vocals.
But still nothing Christian about it at all.
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Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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17.10.2012 - 15:26
Rating: 7
Echonia
Written by [user id=39762] on 12.03.2012 at 22:02

Mmmh... The first tracks were amazing, but it loses points towards the end, especially in "The Lost Child", maybe one of their weakest songs. It's good, excellent at times, but no masterpiece like WHBWH and... Well, half of Anathema's discography. At the moment something like a 7.5 or 8, more or less. Best tracks: "Untouchable Part 1-2" and "The Beginning And The End".

The lost child is one of their weakest? It is the best song of the album and way better and more 'anathema like' than the whole WHBWH!
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We are just..a moment in time!
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18.10.2012 - 04:59
ThunderAxe1989
Account deleted
Wow, this is certainly the best album I've heard in along time!
I love it.
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21.10.2012 - 15:43
Rating: 8
saja
An evolution
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21.10.2012 - 22:45
Linak
I Own You Bitch
This is such a wonderful album, it took me like 5 listens to make peace with the fact that Anathema doesn't seem to have any plans to come back to their older sound, and then I just started to really love it.
Even if I still skip a couple of tracks, the general atmosphere is great, I just had to say how much I like it.
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Stick this up your fucking pee-aitch-dee.
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24.03.2013 - 18:33
musicalkaratekid
Outstanding album, and certainly one of the band's best. The atmospherics bring to mind The Gathering but they are lush and beautiful in a somewhat different way. Both parts of 'Untouchable' and 'Lightning song' are obvious highlights but every song is just as good in terms of quality as any other. The female vocals on here work very well too and flow beautifully with the music.
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20.02.2014 - 01:25
Creativinity
TBH I thought Anathema sounded very Christian as well. I am a Christian, myself but do not define the music I listen to as good or bad based on its lyrical content. I like everything (as long as it's metal, of course.) I just understand how someone can make the confusion of thinking them Christian, as it does sound very Christian-y, especially to people who have listened to a lot of Christian music.

Nonetheless, it is beautiful music, as is a lot of secular and non-secular music.
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03.03.2014 - 17:12
Gawain
Account deleted
Great album, It was my introduction to Anathema and hence metal..
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28.04.2014 - 13:09
Rating: 10
raveneffect
While most may feel its highly exagerated (and I understand why), this is a 10 for me. I've been hooked to it ever since I first listened to it, I know every note, every word, every effect and I usually cant listen to it just once. Its one of my all time favourites.
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04.05.2014 - 11:42
Rating: 8
BloodTears
ANA-thema
Elite
Finally bought the original CD for my collection. Now it's complete just in time for a new album

Sounds even better.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29

Like you could kiss my ass.

My Instagram
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22.05.2014 - 23:50
mandrake88
Account deleted
Really?? storm before the calm?? trying to prove a point?? no offense, but the guys are so trying to be an exception to the rule that is makes them ridiculous
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23.05.2014 - 02:45
Rating: 8
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Staff
Exception to what rule?
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"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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05.03.2015 - 23:46
ElCazador
I cannot describe my feelings on The Storm Before The Calm, the electrified wind sound is awesome, the second part of the song (Calm) is just awesome. The Gathering Of the Clouds is another great track of this great album.
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01.01.2016 - 16:38
Constantine
Account deleted
The best anathema album since Judgement
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18.02.2017 - 01:53
Rating: 9
musclassia
Staff
Went to look up this album and saw I had a '7' rating for it. Clearly it's been a while since I rated it because I am a lot more fond of it these days. It's not perfect, but the Untouchable song is beautiful and the likes of Sunlight and Beginning And The End are similarly delightful. Really lovely album
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11.02.2020 - 18:32
ickoriss
One of my all-time favorite albums, easily my favorite from the band.
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11.02.2020 - 22:10
Rating: 9
musclassia
Staff
Written by ickoriss on 11.02.2020 at 18:32

One of my all-time favorite albums, easily my favorite from the band.

Yeah as time's gone on I've become increasingly fond of it, far and away my favourite thing Anathema's done
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06.03.2020 - 00:00
Rating: 10
Metal Diogenes
I just can't believe it's nearly 8 years already since this melancholic rock diamond was released. Struck me immediately back then like a lightning and has been on my playlist ever since. No weak songs, no filler, not a single one. Too bad the albums after this haven't been as great.

One of my favourite albums of all time.
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You've got a lot of guts. Let's see what they look like!
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15.05.2020 - 20:39
Rating: 9
JOPE OF STEELE
Steelemeister
I don't usually enjoy this style of music very much, but here it works, the vocals must be what makes a huge difference to many of their peers, as these singers are one of the strong points of this album. I don't really have any preference in what the band plays, maybe I would even say the old albums are overrated in their significance and the new ones should be praised more, yet I don't prefer the new sound either and can see the band possibly excelling in something totally different style.

From the songs The Storm Before The Calm and both Untouchable-s are those I prefer the most. The precise highlight moment to me would be the last three and half minutes of The Storm Before The Calm.
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My vision is augmented
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15.05.2020 - 21:02
Rating: 8
Redel
Moderator
Written by JOPE OF STEELE on 15.05.2020 at 20:39

From the songs The Storm Before The Calm and both Untouchable-s are those I prefer the most. The precise highlight moment to me would be the last three and half minutes of The Storm Before The Calm.

Certainly their best album since Judgement (1999).
The Storm Before The Calm and both Untouchable-s are excellent.
My personal highlight on this album is The Beginning and the End.
8.0 overall. Great album, still I prefer old Anathema.
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15.05.2020 - 23:59
Rating: 9
JOPE OF STEELE
Steelemeister
Written by Redel on 15.05.2020 at 21:02

still I prefer old Anathema.

And your definition of old Anathema is? As I see it there's 3 different Anathemas, "old", the middle one and the "new".
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My vision is augmented
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16.05.2020 - 00:04
Rating: 9
musclassia
Staff
Written by JOPE OF STEELE on 15.05.2020 at 20:39

I don't usually enjoy this style of music very much, but here it works, the vocals must be what makes a huge difference to many of their peers, as these singers are one of the strong points of this album. I don't really have any preference in what the band plays, maybe I would even say the old albums are overrated in their significance and the new ones should be praised more, yet I don't prefer the new sound either and can see the band possibly excelling in something totally different style.

From the songs The Storm Before The Calm and both Untouchable-s are those I prefer the most. The precise highlight moment to me would be the last three and half minutes of The Storm Before The Calm.

The vocals certainly help, they're all great and the interplay between them on the likes of The Gathering Of The Clouds and Untouchable is enchanting. But there's something to the music on this one that is so beautiful, even compared to the albums released around it. For a while I wasn't as hot on The Storm Before The Calm as some of the other songs, mainly due to the first half (which has grown on me), but the last few minutes you mentioned are spellbinding. Overall, I'm not that keen on The Lost Child, but the rest of the album is stirring track after stirring track for me.
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