ALBUM REVIEW: Anathema – We’re Here Because We’re Here

It’s interesting just how much a band can change throughout the course of their career. Paradise Lost, for example, began as a doom metal band in the late 1980s, before gradually progressing into mainstream gothic metal and even industrial pop. A similar transition would take place with Anathema, who had grown out of a similar scene and over time had become more melodic and easy listening. This is not to say that a band sells out by changing so much over time, but it is sometimes understandable when the old school fans are unable to understand the drastic change and are unwilling to accept a new style.

We’re Here Because We’re Here is Anathema‘s eighth full length release and once again marks a move more towards atmospheric rock, with their darker roots long behind them. Opening track Thin Air sets the mood for what will follow by slowly building throughout. Whilst the album for the most part works it is apparent from the first song that it becomes a little repetitive and serves more as background music than something that would demand the listener’s attention. The album is certainly effective and when it strikes the right notes it soars, but there are times when it borders on mediocre and becomes somewhat dreary. Summernight Horizon, for example, has a few moments that hit perfection but then is brought down immediately afterwards by uninspired melodies.

It seems at times that the artists are aiming for some kind of Snow Patrol/Coldplay-style anthemic pop rock, which becomes apparent by the third track, Dreaming Light, a nauseating power ballad that becomes rather irritating after a while. Although there are some melodies that are seductive or dreamlike, as a whole the album becomes a bore too quickly and fails to keep hold of the listener’s attention. Had Anathema decided to utilise more range throughout the record then there could have been something special but unfortunately the end result is nothing special.