Distant Satellites

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Distant Satellites
Studio album by
Anathema
Released4 June 2014 (2014-06-04)
RecordedCederberg Studios, Oslo
Genre
Length56:40
LabelKscope
ProducerChrister-André Cederberg
Anathema chronology
Weather Systems
(2012) 		Distant Satellites
(2014) 		The Optimist
(2017)
Singles from Distant Satellites

Distant Satellites (stylised as distant satellites) is the tenth studio album by the British rock band Anathema. It was released in June 2014 via Kscope and reached #33 in the UK album charts.

Background and recording[edit]

The album was recorded at Cederberg Studios in Oslo, with producer Christer-André Cederberg,[3] with some songs also mixed by Steven Wilson due to an operation on Cederberg's back.[4]

The artwork was created by Korean new media artist Sang Jun Yoo, and based around his "Distant Light" installation.[3]

The band released a statement on their new album prior to its release:

distant satellites is the culmination of everything ANATHEMA been working up to so far in our musical path. It contains almost every conceivable element of the heartbeat of Anathema music that it is possible to have. There is beauty, intensity, drama, quietude, and extra musical dimensions that the band have previously only hinted at. All built on the song writing chemistry of Daniel, John and Vincent - and the haunting voice of Lee Douglas.

This is the first album to feature Daniel Cardoso as the band's primary drummer, replacing longtime member John Douglas. Douglas has since moved to electronic percussion and keyboards.

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Drowned in Sound8/10[7]
The Guardian[8]
PopMatters[2]
Sputnikmusic3.7/5[9]
Metalholic[10]

Distant Satellites received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80 based on ten reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[5] The album ended the year at the 9th position of the 2014 Metal Hammer best albums list,[11] as well at the 2nd position from Metal Hammer writer Adam Rees.[12]

Despite a generally positive review, Sputnikmusic did lament the familiarity of it all stating, "Anathema stumbled onto musical gold when they crafted the formula used on We're Here Because We're Here. It's a formula they would be crazy to dismiss, and that's probably why they haven't... Overall, Anathema have struck gold for the third time in a row, but for the first time there are some prominent flaws as well."[9]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Daniel Cavanagh, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."The Lost Song Part 1"5:53
2."The Lost Song Part 2"5:47
3."Dusk (Dark Is Descending)" (D. Cavanagh, Vincent Cavanagh)5:59
4."Ariel"6:28
5."The Lost Song Part 3"5:21
6."Anathema"6:40
7."You're Not Alone" (D. Cavanagh, Jamie Cavanagh, John Douglas, V. Cavanagh)3:26
8."Firelight"2:42
9."Distant Satellites" (Douglas, V. Cavanagh)8:17
10."Take Shelter"6:07
Total length:56:40

Singles[edit]

The Lost Song Part 3 Digital Single/EP
  1. "The Lost Song Part 3" - 5:22
  2. "Coda" (Non-album track) - 1:12
  3. "The Lost Song Part 3 (Ambient Mix)" - 5:28

Personnel[edit]

Charts[edit]

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[13] 42
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[14] 42
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[15] 58
French Albums (SNEP)[16] 64
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 18
Italian Albums (FIMI)[18] 82
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[19] 12
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[20] 9
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 77
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[22] 9
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[23] 24

Release history[edit]

Region Date Label
Japan 4 June 2014 Kscope
Germany 6 June 2014
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom 9 June 2014
Canada 10 June 2014
France
United States

References[edit]

  1. ^ Bland, Benjamin (6 June 2014). "Anathema – Distant Satellites review". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Ezell, Brice (13 June 2014). "Anathema: distant satellites". PopMatters. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Anathema on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022.[user-generated source]
  4. ^ a b "ANATHEMA: Interview with Vincent Cavanagh". 31 May 2014. Archived from the original on 3 June 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Distant Satellites Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  6. ^ Jurek, Thom. Distant Satellites - Anathema at AllMusic. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  7. ^ Bland, Benjamin (6 June 2014). "Album Review: Anathema - Distant Satellites". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  8. ^ Lawson, Dom (5 June 2014). "Anathema: Distant Satellites review". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  9. ^ a b Spencer, Trey (6 June 2014). "Review: Anathema - Distant Satellites". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  10. ^ Wani, Owais. "Review: Anathema - Distant Satellites". Metalholic Magazine. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  11. ^ "Metal Hammer | Louder".
  12. ^ "Metal Hammer | Louder".
  13. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Anathema – Distant Satellites" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  14. ^ "Ultratop.be – Anathema – Distant Satellites" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  15. ^ "Ultratop.be – Anathema – Distant Satellites" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  16. ^ "Lescharts.com – Anathema – Distant Satellites". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  17. ^ "Officialcharts.de – Anathema – Distant Satellites". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  18. ^ "Artisti - Classifica settimanale WK 25 (dal 16-06-2014 al 22-06-2014)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  19. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Anathema – Distant Satellites" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  20. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  21. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Anathema – Distant Satellites". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  22. ^ "Anathema Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  23. ^ "Anathema Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
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