Review by Adam M on June 29, 2025.

This album was a lengthy chapter in Anathema’s progression.  It is more song-oriented than the early albums and nicely leads into their Judgement album which would soon follow.  It is a song-oriented album that has highlights like “Deep” and “Empty”.  It is a very interesting album, but also too song-oriented to make an impact.  The album is pretty and would revolutionize the sound for Anathema.

The musicianship is great with guitars that are emotionally resonant.  It also has a great singing performance from Cavanaugh that is among their finest moments.  The musicianship is strong and a highlight of the release.  There is a good deal of controlled songwriting to be found that is very interesting.

In terms of flaws to be found on the album they would be largely that the album falls a bit flat of Judgement and is thus only a secondary type of work compared to that effort.  There is not quite the emotional potency to be found on here as there is on that album and this is perhaps less emotionally poignant than that album.

This is overall a very strong album and something to be worshipped quite highly because it is such a memorable album in terms of strong songs.  People looking for the best album from the band will be disappointed, but those looking for another strong release from the band will be satisfied.  It is a great and well-rounded release that is largely satisfying.

Rating: 8.1 out of 10