Artist: My Silent Wake Title: The Anatomy of Melancholy (Reanimated Edition) Label: Bombworks Records Product ID: BWR0113 Style: Death/Doom Metal Packaging: 6 panel full color digipak Barcode: 845121058345 ABOUT THE ALBUM The brainchild of this haunting, melancholic blissful masterpiece is Ian Arkley - a real veteran in the British metal scene, paying his dues with thrashers Seventh Angel and fellow doomsters Ashen Mortality. Five years after the original release, Bomworks Records brings you 2013's digitally remastered reissue of the iconic The Anatomy Of Melancholy (Reanimated Edition), packaged in a full color six panel digipak that is once again divided into two parts with the first disc laden with distorted guitars and some strong death growls. The second disc is acoustic medieval/folk-Goth oriented doom. When 'The Dying Things We're Living For' commences you get the feeling you're thrown back into the early 90's, hearing something that sounds like a combination of Paradise Lost's Gothic with Anathema's Serenades. The sound, the guitar leads, the vocals, they all fit perfectly in achieving that feel and strength those bands once had, but few others have managed to capture since. Expect enough rhythm changes and progressive moments to make this magical, while never resorting to cheap theatrics to make things sound more tragic and depressing as many current doom bands do. The second part of the album opens with an instrumental acoustic number that borrows heavily from the middle-ages and fully embraces folk-Goth. Arkley makes use of his deep and poignant voice to great effect. The well-placed eruptions of emotion in their otherwise beautifully tragic compositions on this release perfectly illustrate the occasional periods of schizophrenic despair that every human experiences throughout life. Any fan of Anathema will find The Anatomy of Melancholy to be very satisfying from start to finish. Those discovering this band for the first time will undoubtedly feel that they have discovered a jewel among so many dull stones found within this genre of music. This doom/goth music harkens back to the glory days of British metal, where such greats as Anathema and My Dying Bride created some of the best doom metal known to man.