Anathema’s Best Albums: A Buyers Guide

Of all the bands who emerged from the British underground metal scene at the start of the 90s – Paradise Lost, Cathedral, My Dying Bride – none wandered as far from their beginnings as Anathema. Back then, it would have been a brave soul who put money on this gang of growling Scousers with the irreligious name to undergo a series of reinventions that would ultimately end with them justifiably being able to lay claim to being legitimate heirs to classic, 70s-era Pink Floyd. 

Formed in Liverpool in the late 80s by guitarist brothers Daniel and Vincent Cavanagh and their bass-playing sibling Jamie, plus drummer John Douglas and singer Darren White, they initially peddled guttural, goth-tinged doom metal. Early releases such as debut EP The Crestfallen were promising, even if the style of music they were playing came with its own in-built commercial and artistic limitations.