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Jeff Wagner in from Metal Maniacs 1999

It's almost guaranteed that with every new Anathema album there are a plenty of key moments where you can do nothing but drift off on their sonic cloud and dream of a beautiful death. With Judgement, every single song delivers that build/climax/fall this band conjures so expertly, complete with guitarists Daniel and Vincent Cavanagh's ocean-wide atmospherics and Vincent's ever-expanding vocal abilities. New bassist Dave Pybus takes a subtle approach, providing only the barest necessities, and that's okay because the brothers Cavanagh express plenty over this 13-song album--the range of their work is impressively wide; some of the most wrenching emotion to ever be squeezed from a six-string. Though the band have never really strayed drastically from their path, Judgement puts them back on the track they were pursuing with Eternity, leaving last year's Alternative 4 to be exactly as Vincent prophesied at that time--the Anathema album that will, "a few years down the line turn out to be slightly different sounding to the rest of them." That's not to say they haven't progressed, because they have. Considerably.

There's a sense of heightened songcraft on Judgement--even the most conventional tunes ("Make It Right," "Don't Look Too Far") possess unusual twists and tweaks that sit perfectly alongside the more adventurous material on this album ("Judgement," "Pitiless," "Wings Of God"). Anathema still sludge through trenches of emotional waste and weariness, but always balance the bleakness with an uplifting brilliance. Judgement seems to comprise of three distinct chapters. The first four songs--"Deep," "Pitiless," "Forgotten Hopes," and "Destiny Is Dead"--mesh together seamlessly, dependent on one another to make the picture complete. Acoustic guitars, rise-and-fall dynamics, exquisite guest vocals by Lee Douglas, and vast production values highlight the next chapter--"One Last Goodbye," "Make It Right," "Parisienne Moonlight," and "Don't Look Too Far"--which deserve to be heard by millions and performed in stadiums with a huge light show. (Pink Floyd did it with material just as cerebral. We can dream, can't we?) One needs to hear nothing but Vincent's soaring performance in the heart-ripping naked honesty of "One Last Goodbye" to realize he's at last come into his own as a tremendous vocal talent. The final third of Judgement is as dynamic and compelling as this band has ever been. "Emotional Winter" paints a spacious landscape that sends out warm chills with Vincent's midsong cries. Then into "Wings Of God," a lengthy track of shimmering guitar waves and wild peaks and valleys. "Judgement" sports an unusual arrangement, one linear crescendo until it collapses. It begins low-key, picks up in the middle, then really picks up the pace, cymbals slashing and ringing through frantic guitar strumming, probably the fastest Anathema has played in its career. The song burns itself out in a torment of calamity, aided by returning drummer John Douglas's quirky-but-perfect fills. The cymbals on this track's finale initially seem too high in the mix--clashing, unnerving. But when compared to the even, well-considered production and mix throughout the rest of the album, it becomes clear that this is the way it's meant to be. "Anyone, Anywhere" starts winding the album down in a fit of wrenching desperation, and ending instrumental "2000 & Gone" entwines itself around various dialogue samples, the band's signature gentle feedback haunting Judgement's final passages.

The judgement? Beautiful; perfect; gifted; Anathema's finest hour. A little heavy on the superlatives? Hell yes!, but this is Anathema we're talking about--a band that holds a songwriting key of immeasurable weight and incomparable power.

How I love this album. You just have to play this one from beginning to end, it's like one long piece, packed with emotions. Every song is just beautiful, and the guitars and Vincent's voice are in my opinion one of a kind. To me one song really defines this album, and that's "One Last Goodbye". Of course. Whenever I think about this album, I immediately think about the way that song tears at my emotions. This song has no match.
"One Last Goodbye" and the rest of Judgement posess an honesty and a true sorrow that just hit you from the moment you push "play". And yes, there is hope in the lyrics and the music as well, but that's not what I connect with this album.

i love all the songs... i cant stop of listen, and anyone anywhere ist my love one... i still try to make a guitar version to play it in my alone time when i cant get any player close, you know in the forest ...
is like a break album you can say before and after judgement

...that brought you to your knees

when life....hmmm you like it?

me too!!!!great song!
i can not longer wait until the new album reach my hands!!!!!!

day after day
you burned it all away................

Judgement..... the most complete album..... every song is unique..... from begining to end.... a masterpiece....
it's the deepest album in my opinion.....
as soon as i realise that the beautiful Parisienne Moonlight is coming to an end, and that judgement will begin.....i can't help it.....tears will flow down my cheeks....
and it continues...until its all over with 2000 & gone....i sigh...and try to come back to reality....
Unique album, every song is something special, something out of this world!
I also found (at last!) the piano sheet for parisienne moonlight...i can't stop playing it!

10/10

I know exectly what you mean!

by the way, do you have the song Transacoustic? I think its only on the judgement digibook cd, and i have the normal one:( ...so i've never heard it before:( do you have it?

nooo problem!

yeah wonderful album!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Andalusia wrote :
I remember when I first heard judgement, and that parisienne moonlight / judgement intro', and it was almost too emotional to listen to.I'm getting into this album more now, eternity remains my favourite but judgement is close. But I do find it hard to listen to unless I am in a very robust frame of mind. How could such young guys have written with such wisdom and pathos?

Age ain't nothing but a number..