I'm going to reveal here and now a (one of the...) deficiency/ies of the Paranoia Metal Show; of course, if there weren't any deficiencies, all the Paranoia Team members would be dedicated to the vacuous and immoral life of a harem where there would only be women, alcohol and Rock n' Roll. I am referring to the distribution of new records for reviewing... One year! A whole year I have had to wait to execute my paranoid right over this record, showing my teeth to defend the option that me, and only me had over it. It's mine, only mine! Lately, I had even included this cd (at the time, the potential cd) in my pagan libations to the Gods of Whoknowswhere, a privilege reserved only to my favourite political figures, that is Thatcher, Sharon and el Fary, among others.

All this mess, let's not be confused, is just bullshit, and only relevant in the measure it could condition me when writing this review. But it hasn't been the case, on the contrary. "A Natural Disaster" has disappointed me slightly. Slightly because I still like what I listen in it, but disappointed because I believe Anathema are capable of a lot more. So the problem is that Cavanagh and Co. have signed a record where many things could have been signed by other people who do not match Anathema's level.

I like the intimism of the records these guys release; I have always liked it, but taking it to an extreme such as "A Natural Disaster" can result in Danny Cavanagh making records only at a spiritual level, such a spiritual level that he wouldn't even give them a physical expression... In other words, this is a record that clearly lacks any of those intense moments that are so characteristic of Anathema (as you can hear in "Harmonium" and especially "Pulled under"). There are many delicate passages, also interesting, such as those of "Are you there?" or "Violence", but the album presents too many ephemeral parts. I'm only halfway convinced.

Ivan Sàez
Translation: Fausto Navarro http://faustonavarro.com