, Neurosis, and to a lesser extent, Cult of Luna and Intronaut.I love Isis. I have earnestly sought another band that evokes the same response as they do. So, I have gotten many other albums billed as post-metal. They are packaged and sold to metalheads in metal magazines, like Decibel, who reviewed Anathema's We're Here Because We're Here very positively (8 out of 10).
The problem, though, is that most of these things are rarely post-metal, but instead post-rock. The problem is the same with Russian Circles, but this is much worse. Apparently Anathema's demos (20 years ago) were death metal, and they moved into gothic death/doom territory later on. But their latest has almost nothing at all to do with metal. To be fair, Decibel did warn me, but why is it even in the magazine in the first place?
To me, without that edge, this stuff gets really f**king boring when it goes for almost an hour. I turned it off and decided to get rid of it partway through track 8 (out of 10). Then I listened to some Behemoth
.The Verdict: It's not that this music is objectively bad stuff. I'm just really, really sick of post-rock being sold to metalheads in general, and to me in particular. I can't listen to it. I give We're Here Because We're Here 1 out of 5 stars.
I'm starting to get why so many metalheads stick to the reliable standards of thrash, death, and black metal. This is why Metal Blade rules--they are reliable. I like to expand my horizons, but if this is what I get, I may just stay in the comfort of good old-fashioned straight-forward sonic brutality.
Anathema USED to be good. Back in the early 1990's, along with Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, and The Gathering, they essentially started the whole gothic metal scene. Only Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride still put out anything worthwhile. A shame really.
ReplyDeleteAfter hearing this, I don't think I could give their earlier stuff a try. They've ruined it for me.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love My Dying Bride--their latest album may be their best yet.