Of all the bands who emerged from the British underground metal scene at the start of the 90s – Paradise Lost, Cathedral, My Dying Bride – none wandered as far from their beginnings as Anathema. Back then, it would have been a brave soul who put money on this gang of growling Scousers with the irreligious name to undergo a series of reinventions that would ultimately end with them justifiably being able to lay claim to being legitimate heirs to classic, 70s-era Pink Floyd.
Formed in Liverpool in the late 80s by guitarist brothers Daniel and Vincent Cavanagh and their bass-playing sibling Jamie, plus drummer John Douglas and singer Darren White, they initially peddled guttural, goth-tinged doom metal. Early releases such as debut EP The Crestfallen were promising, even if the style of music they were playing came with its own in-built commercial and artistic limitations.
Things started to shift with the departure of White. Vincent Cavanagh stepped up to the microphone, and the band began to fold in influences from far beyond the metal scene: Floyd, of course, but also the Cavanagh brothers’ beloved Beatles, Radiohead, British folk, even dance music. If these unlikely inspirations weren’t always explicit in Anathema’s music, they certainly were in their increasingly adventurous spirit.
Not that it was an overnight transformation. Anathema’s journey was a series of small evolutionary shifts taking place gradually over successive albums. One major step change came with the addition of John Douglas’ vocalist sister Lee, who first appeared on 1999’s Judgement but only became a full-time member for 2010’s We’re Here Because We’re Here. Her rich, ethereal voice came to define the band’s sound as much as Vincent Cavanagh’s emotionally charged approach.
It wasn't always easy. Like so many brothers in bands before them, Vincent and Daniel Cavanagh’s relationship was fraught at times, something compounded by their turbulent upbringing and Daniel’s struggles with mental health issues.
Anathema almost survived. But in September 2020 they announced an indefinite hiatus, apparent victims of a year "like no others." At the time they stood as one of the finest British bands around – not quite rock, not quite prog, not quite metal, but simultaneously a little and none of each. Nobody, not even Anathema themselves, could have foreseen that.
...and one to avoid
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