Anathema guitarist and singer Vincent Cavanagh reckons it is his band’s constantly evolving style which sets them apart from the pack.
The British band released their 10th studio album, Distant Satellites, last month and Cavanagh says the band will continue to evolve for fear of growing stale.
He tells Metalwani: “It’s one of the things that sets us apart and makes as interesting. It makes our catalogue of releases very interesting.
“Standing back and looking at all our releases it is an interesting evolution and not one many bands can say they have come close to. Another thing about experimentation and evolution in music is you have to be prepared to lose fans.
“If you play it safe it is boring, then you paint yourself into a corner and in two or three albums time people get bored of you and will be onto the next thing. We have always followed our own vision which is why the band continues to grow and get bigger.”
Although there is less than a month since their last record hit shelves the band are already putting in the leg work for their next.
Cavanagh adds: “We’re onto the next album already now, pretty much straight away working on new material. We never really stop and it’s not something you can stop.
“It is a cycle but for us it is a continuous day by day process of writing. Over the next few weeks we will get together at my place in Paris to run through our ideas and see where we are with that but we are already focussing on when and how to do the next record.
“We have no sign of slowing down or taking foot of the pedal. Sometimes the sheer momentum of being creative and putting records out it really helps.”
Anathema have been tagged as a prog band in the past but it is a label which doesn’t fit the band, says Cavanagh, who insists he isn’t a fan of the genre.
He adds: “People think we are a prog band and I don’t know how this has happened. I don’t listen to prog or know what it is. I know its Rush, Yes and Genesis and bands like that but I couldn’t name you a single tune by those bands.
“It’s not my music at all but whatever – we’ll just have to keep people guessing.”
Anathema’s Vincent Cavanagh on staying active…and not being a fan of prog.
