A formal ecclesiastical ban, curse, or excommunication.
A vehement denunciation; a curse: "the sound of a witch's anathemas in some unknown tongue" (Nathaniel Hawthorne).
One that is cursed or damned.
One that is greatly reviled, loathed, or shunned: "Essentialism-a belief in natural, immutable sex differences-is anathema to postmodernists, for whom sexuality itself, along with gender, is a 'social construct'" (Wendy Kaminer).
[Late Latin anathema, doomed offering, accursed thing, from Greek, from anatithenai, anathe-, to dedicate : ana-, ana- + tithenai, to put.]
1. The meaning has changed over several centuries of use. Originally a Greek word meaning 'a thing dedicated' it then came to mean 'a thing dedicated to evil; an accursed thing' and then, in the context of the Christian Church, 'the act or formula of consigning to damnation', in which use it is still found with historical reference; the plural is anathemas (e.g.
The pope had ended the Council with two final anathemas which were intimately connected with Anselm's situation—R. W. Southern, 1990).
2. Its use as a quasi-adjective meaning 'accursed' and in weakened senses 'intolerable', often followed by to, dates from the 18th century. It is used in predicative position only (after a verb) and is arguably a kind of uncountable noun (similar to pleasure):
The policy they embraced was however anathema to many Conservatives, who rightly saw in it the beginning of the end of British rule in India—Roy Jenkins, 1988
This leads very quickly to the 'hoping something turns up' syndrome which is anathema to most managers—J. Harvey-Jones, 1988
Waif look is anathema to fashion house—headline in Times, 2007.
anathema (ənă'thĭmə) [Gr.,=something set up; dedicated to a divinity as a votive offering], term that came to denote something devoted to a divinity for destruction. In the Bible, the term is herem. Anathema means "accursed" in the New Testament, where it clearly suggests separation from God as the penalty. In the early Church and in Judaism contemporaneous with it, it was a penalty conveyed by a decree of excommunication.
The name was given by the ancients to certain classes of votive offerings, to the nets that the fisherman laid on the altar of the sea nymphs, to the mirror that Laïs consecrated to Venus, and to offerings of vessels, garments, instruments, and various other articles.
The word was also applied to the victim devoted to the infernal gods, and it is this sense that is found among Jews and Christians, referring either to the curse or its object. The man who is anathematized is denied communication with the faithful, and he is delivered to the demon if he dies without absolution. Through the centuries the church often lavished anathemas upon those considered heretics and enemies, though many such as St. John Chrysostom taught that while it was well to anathematize false doctrine, people who have strayed should be pardoned and prayed for. The use of anathemas has largely dropped out of contemporary Christianity.
Magicians and sorcerers once employed a sort of anathema to discover thieves and witches. Some limpid water was brought, and in it were boiled as many pebbles as there were persons suspected. The pebbles were then buried under the doorstep over which the thief or the sorcerer was to pass, and a plate of tin was attached to it, on which was written the words "Christ is conqueror; Christ is king; Christ is master." Every pebble must bear the name of one of the suspected persons. The stones are removed at sunrise, and the one representing the guilty person is hot and glowing. The seven penitential psalms must then be recited, with the Litanies of the Saints, and the prayers of exorcism pronounced against the thief or the sorcerer. His name must be written in a circular figure, and a triangular brass nail driven in above it with a hammer, the handle of which is of cypress wood, while the exorcist declares, "Thou are just, Lord, and just are Thy judgments." At this, the thief would betray himself by a loud cry.
If the anathema has been pronounced by a sorcerer, and one wishes merely to escape the effects of it and cause it to return to him who has cast it, one must take, on Saturday, before sunrise, the branch of a one-year-old hazel tree and recite the following prayer: "I cut thee, branch of this year, in the name of him whom I wish to wound as I wound thee." The branch is then laid on the table and other prayers said, ending with "Holy Trinity, punish him who has done this evil, and take him from among us by Thy great justice, that the sorcerer or sorceress may be anathema, and we safe." Harrison Ainsworth's famous novel, The Lancashire Witches, deals with the subject and the Pendleton locality in England.
While Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride got more attention from underground doom metal fans, Liverpool natives Anathema were just as important in creating a new strain of doom (sometimes referred to as doom/death) that drew heavily from atmospheric goth metal and, in the early days, featured gruff death-style vocals. Guitar-playing brothers Vincent and Danny Cavanagh formed Anathema in 1990 with vocalist Darren White, bassist Duncan Patterson, and drummer John Douglas, and originally called themselves Pagan Angel. As Anathema, the band recorded a Black Sabbath/Paradise Lost-inspired demo titled An Iliad of Woes; another demo, 1991's All Faith Is Lost, and a Swiss single called "They Die" landed the group a deal with Peaceville Records. Anathema's first official recording, an EP titled The Crestfallen, was released in 1992, and followed the next year by the full-length Serenades, the most traditional doom-styled album in their catalog. After a tour, the group re-entered the studio in 1994 to record Pentecost III, a five-song mini-album that nonetheless ended up long enough to have qualified as a full-length. Delays prevented its release until the following year, by which time the group was already working on its next album. However, after recording had begun, Darren White left the group to form the Blood Divine, taking with him their sound's main connection to death metal. Vincent Cavanagh assumed lead vocal duties, with a cleaner, more accessible style that fit the newly atmospheric direction of the finished album. The Silent Enigma was released in late 1995, and began to establish Anathema as a unique presence on the underground doom scene. That impression was confirmed by their next release, 1996's heavily gothic Eternity, which featured contributions from Cradle of Filth keyboardist Les Smith. Stretching its songs into sorrowful, orchestrated epics, Eternity's Pink Floyd-ish spaciness alienated some fans of Anathema's older sound at first, but quickly proved to be their most original work to date. Drummer Douglas left the group in late 1997, and ex-Solstice drummer Shaun Steels joined the following year. Alternative 4 was released in the summer of 1998, taking a simpler, subtler, and more polished approach than its predecessor; shortly afterward, bassist Patterson left and was replaced by Dave Pybus. In 1999, original drummer John Douglas rejoined, and the group switched to the Music for Nations label. The well-received Judgement album was issued later that year, marking a complete departure from metal, though the themes in their songs remained gloomy while taking on an air of existential despair. Later in the year, keyboardist Martin Powell and Cradle of Filth's keyboardist Les Smith traded bands; Smith became an integral part of Anathema's sound.
The band underwent more changes as the new century began. Just before the release of 2001's A Fine Day to Exit, studio bassist Pybus left to join Cradle of Filth as well. He was replaced by touring bassist George Roberts and later by Jamie Cavanagh. David Cavanagh left the band for a year in 2002, but returned for 2003's deeply atmospheric, nearly prog rock A Natural Disaster. Music for Nations closed after its distributor's acquisition by Sony/BMG, and Anathema found itself without a label. They continued to tour and release tracks on their website via the "pay-what-you-think-it's-worth" model established by Radiohead. They eventually signed to the Snapper subsidiary KScope, and issued a collection of acoustic re-recordings of catalog items titled Hindsight. It was followed in 2010 by We're Here Because We're Here and Falling Deeper in 2011. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi
Anathema formed in 1990 as a doom metal band. In November of that year, the band recorded their first demo, entitled An Iliad of Woes. This demo caught the attention of several bands and labels from the English metal scene.
At the beginning of 1991, the band gained a lot of attention with the release of their second demo entitled All Faith Is Lost, resulting in a four-album deal with Peaceville Records. Their first release under the label was The Crestfallen EP in November 1992. They took the material from that album on the road, touring with Cannibal Corpse.
Serenades, Anathema's debut LP, attracted a lot of mainstream attention, propelling their "Sweet Tears" music video onto the MTV playlist.
Anathema's first European tour was in 1994, and was closely followed by gigs at the Independent Rock Festival in Brazil.
In May 1995, vocalist Darren White parted with the band, eventually forming The Blood Divine. Rather than recruiting a new vocalist, the band decided that guitarist Vincent Cavanagh should assume White's role. This new formation debuted by touring with Cathedral in the United Kingdom.
The release of Eternity came in 1996, relying more on atmospheric sounds, and starting the transition to clean vocals; the album Judgement would later consolidate this style. A European tour followed the album's release.
The second member to leave the band was drummer John Douglas, who departed in the summer of 1997. He was replaced by Shaun Taylor-Steels, formerly of Solstice, who would also later play drums for My Dying Bride.
Alternative 4 was released in 1998. During this time the band underwent many line-up changes. Bassist/songwriter Duncan Patterson quit due to musical differences and was replaced by Dave Pybus of Dreambreed, where Duncan had played bass for a short period. Martin Powell (who had played keyboards and violin for My Dying Bride previously) also joined the band. Finally, John Douglas returned to the drums.
In June 1999, the album Judgement was released, marking Anathema's complete shift from the doom metal genre, focusing instead on slower and more experimental songs. This new sound has been likened to artists such as Pink Floyd, Jeff Buckley, and to a lesser extent, Radiohead. However, the essence of the band remained the same. Their songs continued to express a feeling of depression and, more often than not, desperation.
Shortly before the release of A Fine Day to Exit, Dave Pybus announced his departure from the band and later joined Cradle of Filth. He was replaced by touring bassist George Roberts, and later by Jamie Cavanagh.
In March 2002, Daniel Cavanagh announced his departure from the band, joining Duncan Patterson's band Antimatter. However, he later rejoined Anathema in 2003 for the release of A Natural Disaster, and started their European Tour. This accelerated the changes in Anathema's tone, towards the atmospheric and progressive, as exhibited in album tracks 'Flying' and 'Violence'.
Upon the closing of their label Music for Nations after its purchase by Sony BMG, Anathema found itself without a record label, despite having completed an extensive tour of the UK with popular Finnish rock band HIM in April 2006. During their search for a new label, the band have adopted a more 'DIY' approach to music release, embracing the internet and releasing songs via their own website, for which fans may donate a monetary sum of their own choice. Despite the obvious lack of label-based tour support, the band continues to play dates across Europe, guitarist Danny Cavanagh also playing the odd low-key acoustic concert.
On 20 March 2010, Anathema announced on their website[5] and Facebook page[6] the release date of their next album. Their album, We're Here Because We're Here was released on May 31, 2010, on the Kscope label.
On July 6, 2011, it was announced on the band's official page that their album of re-interpretations, Falling Deeper, will be released on September 5, 2011. The album will be a follow-up to Hindsight and will contain new orchestral versions of songs from the past, as well as a version of "Everwake" featuring the vocals of Anneke van Giersbergen.[7] On September 12th, Les Smith's departure due to "creative and musical differences" was announced on the band's website.
Band members
Current members
Vincent Cavanagh - Lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar (1990–present)
Daniel Cavanagh - Lead guitar, vocals, keyboards (1990–2002, 2003–present)
A Vision Of A Dying Embrace (74 min, VHS in 1997 and DVD in 2002, also available through the 2008 re-release of The Silent Enigma (a bonus DVD), Peaceville)
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