Band:	Alternative 4
Album:	The Obscurants
Style:	Alternative rock
Release date:	September 12, 2014
A review by:	Ivor

01. Theme For The Obscurantist
02. Paracosm
03. Returning The Screw
04. Dina
05. Lifeline
06. The Tragedy Shield
07. Mr Black
08. Closure

Downbeat alternative rock was the first thing that drew my attention to Alternative 4 in our pool of albums available for reviewing. This kind of tag sticks out like a sore thumb among the abundance of conventional metal genres we get. You could say this album belongs here primarily by association, and for this there's a good saying: follow the musician rather than the band. So, a small quiz question for you all. Why is this album relevant?

Well, the name of the band should be a dead giveaway. Possibly one of the most interesting Anathema albums, Alternative 4 was also the last one to feature Duncan Patterson, one of the creative forces in the band at the time. When Duncan left Anathema, he started Antimatter with Mick Moss to go into a more atmospheric and electronic direction creatively. Then he came up with Íon which was a sort of folkish, ambient and world music project. Alternative 4 is another of his creations, and The Obscurants is already the project's second album.

The references are relevant to describing The Obscurants. First and foremost, it is an album of certain melancholic atmospheres and particular moods that you'll find hauntingly familiar. This album will unequivocally strike a note with those of you who appreciate Eternity and Alternative 4 era Anathema. No, this album is not similar to those two but will remind you of them. It's like with early Antimatter albums where you can find similarities in soundscapes, and the same applies to The Obscurants. There's just something there, a note, a melody, background keyboards, or a vocal line that remind you of Anathema and Antimatter in a good way.

The Obscurants is surely a downbeat album slowly flowing by. The primary instrument for the melancholic and slightly oppressive atmosphere is the synths, with the piano sounding especially bleak at times. Keyboard sounds define how this album comes across. The guitars, whether slightly more distorted, or less, or just acoustic, are there to complement the atmosphere and the breathy voice of Simon Flatley. All together it's a great combination that just ebbs and flows, a seemingly endless exploration of the atmosphere and mood. Whether this album is even rock is debatable and irrelevant. Duncan's done a good job to release this album about this time of year; it fits well with the coming bleak autumn weather.