Label: Kscope
Review by Luisa Mercier
Last year in September, Anathema held a special event, a very special event: a concert with the Plovdiv Philarmonic Orchestra in the Roman theatre in Philippopolis, among ancient ruins. Now that event has been captured into “Universal”, the DVD recently released.
Upon watching it, I feel compelled to say that was one f the most mystical experiences of my life and one of the best shows I have ever seen because of the feeling and of course, the Anathema music.
The setlist is mostly comprised of tracks from the last two masterpieces “ We Are Here Because We Are Here” and “Weather Systems” plus some other songs from their recent past. Only “Fragile Dreams” is the witness of their past, coming from “Alternative 4”. The set was divided into a main one with the orchestral part, while the final 30 minutes are devoted to rock only with four pieces played in the usual way.
There is not a moment that will let you down, you will be swept away in an emotional typhoon in which I would like to highlight “Closer” and “A Simple Mistake”. Even though all the tracks have earned a magical aura thanks to the orchestral arrangement, these two have become even more beautiful, the pathos was palpable and I was moved by such amazing compositions. Some instrumental parts were added that gave a post rock mood to them.
Bonus concert is the show in a fascinating setting like the Union Chapel. You might have understood me, I loved the DVD. If you have the chance, please watch it!
Rating – 90/100
Tracklist
- Untouchable part 1
- Untouchable part 2
- Thin Air
- Dreaming Light
- Lightning Song
- The Storm Before The Calm
- Everything
- A Simple Mistake
- The Beginning And The End
- Universal
- Closer
- A Natural Disaster
- Deep
- One Last Goodbye
- Flying
- Fragile Dreams
- Panic (Encore)
- Emotional Winter (Encore)
- Internal Landscapes (Encore)
- Fragile Dreams (Encore)
Line Up
- Vincent Cavanagh – Voice, Guitar, Vocoder
- Danny Cavanagh – Guitar, Keyboards, Voice
- Lee Douglas – Voice
- Daniel Cardoso – Keyboards, synth
- Jamie Cavanagh – Bass