Customer Reviews

Lights Out

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The light from a small fire pierces the fog-shrouded night to reveal the ghostly image of a beautiful woman in a white gown sitting on a stump by a lake. The ghost is crying because she mourns the loss of a loved one and she is doomed to sing dirges bemoaning her sense of sorrow and comfortable isolation. Her songs carry across the calm lake and soothe the damp night air.

Sounds kinda cool, doesn't it? Mind you, there are no songs on Antimatter's latest CD about this scenario, but that's the overall feel of it. Musically speaking, there is nothing even remotely heavy about this one, but dammit if "The Art of a Soft Landing," "Expire" and "In Stone" don't make you yearn for the sunrise of a cool, damp fall morning. Strangely peaceful and soothing stuff here.

The first Antimatter album, _Saviour_, kind of came out of nowhere and turned out to be a really great disc. Not something to listen to if you were contemplating suicide, mind you, but excellent. It has not even been a year later, and Mick Moss and Duncan Patterson have completed another album that is even better than the first.

Sonically, this album is pretty much identical to the first one: mostly electronic dark pop songs with very unsettling passages of samples, treated guitar effects, eerie synths, and toned-down beats. However, this one is less sad, a lot darker, and much more minimal. Songs are mostly very simple and slow to change, but the texture and production and unadorned beauty of it all makes it very good. The moods evoked through repetition are all very compelling here -- especially the final instrumental "Terminal", which is scarier than anything on the first release. Another difference is that Mick Moss performs many of the vocals, taking up lead on half of them. The three others are dominated by either the fey Hayley Windsor or the breathy, sexy-voiced Michelle Richfield. The only downside to this album is that there are a few instances of tacky "washing" synths but they are uncommon enough that they don't really make too big of a problem. Personally, I would have preferred less symph-pop emphasis on "Dream", although I still like that song. Also, "In Stone" and "Reality Clash" both use the "computer voice" effect and putting them back to back seems to me a poor choice of sequencing.

_Lights Out_ is a really dark, beautiful piece of work. It is sad that this is an unknown group because I think they are extremely good at what they do. They seem to get coverage exclusively on METAL websites which is weird but oh well. Check it out.

A product of ex Anathema's Duncan Patterson, he and Mick Moss have together made some of the deepest darkest most intriguing music I've ever heard, it's not metal or anything, more like their brand of darkwave.
Technical yet minimalist it's a mix of some nice string work (acoustic, violin), with clever use of synth, programming, keyboards and excellent vocal work from Mick Moss and guests such as Michelle Richfield (Ex-Dominion). Here you will find some excellent sound-scapes and some haunting melodies heaped with atmosphere and nice vocal arrangements.
Highlights in my opinion would be the title track `Lights Out', this starts with the sound of an eerie air raid siren and the vocals sound is equally as eerie with male and female vocals together as if they are one voice, there is also a heart monitor style `beep' throughout the track that sounds very ominous.
Other strong tracks are `The Art of a soft landing' and the instrumental piece `terminal' (but then again the whole album is very good!), other works worth checking out would be the album `Saviour'. There is also a virtual album `Unreleased 1998 - 2003' available for download from their site if you wanted to check them out as I did, then you can buy the albums!! Highly recommended :)

This album is much better than their first. The melodies are of a higher quality and the sound is really great. The song Dream is one of the best i have ever heard (and very good to send to a girl on a special day). You can hear very easily this album from the start to the end and relax. Its not too moody as their first album was. Great work. Recommended to all atmospheric metal fans and people who like something to chill out.

1. Lights Out 2/5
2. Everything You Know Is Wrong 2/5
3. The Art of A Soft Landing 3/5 *
4. Expire 3/5 *
5. In Stone 4/5 *
6. Reality Clash 2/5
7. Dream 2/5
8. Terminal 2/5

TOTAL = 20/40 = 50% = 2 star album


what happened to antimatter? i mean this cd is far from being 5 stars in my opinion like most of the reviews describe it...i like antimatter, but i find this to be too sleepy...i can't listen to the album without losing interest in it. i find my self "not listening" to it, rather then focus on the music. Its too slow..i find 'saviour' to be a masterpiece compared to this album.

very soothing yet dark music. Engulf yourself in it and you will be justly rewarded. The ambient undertones and melodic vocals are mesmerizing. This was 'art'. Love the way the music creeps into your psyche with repeated listens. Not for those who cant expand their musical horizons.

Mick Moss's tracks are excellent if not a bit restrained. Would be just a sign of what would come later on 'Confinement'. The man is a great songwriter. Patterson's tracks are heavy in dark electronica with female vocals that fit the mold of the songs. Each track has a sense of purpose but the best ones are 'Expire' , with its haunting vibe, 'In Stone', a brilliant Moss track with layers of melody and musical emotion that builds nicely , and the excellent 'Reality Clash' that just takes you away with its repetitive bass line and soothing vibe.

This disc must be listened to when you are able to set aside time and engulf yourself in it. Tracks are pretty long but not in a bad way. This is not background music but a very different kind of musical experience. I would highly recommend this as well as 'Planetary Confinement' and 'Leaving Eden' to those who can still appreciate a unique musical experience. It is not a metal CD but it is heavy in a truly different way.

Another wonderful album by Antimatter. It's even better than "Planetary Confinement" I'd say. The atmosphere is perfectly executed throughout the whole album- a beautiful aura of dismal essence that weaves itself through each and every song without eliminating the songs' variation. The music is so powerful and it sucks you in with its amazingly beautiful atmosphere. I dont think theres one song I do not enjoy on this album.

Overall, this album is DEFINITELY worth checking out.

I just heard Antimatter for the first time recently and was quite impressed by what I heard. Antimatter had been described to me as a "doom metal" act, so when I finally heard them, I was quite surprised. I suppose Antimatter could be considered doom metal by association, given at least one member's involvment in Anathema. However, calling Antimatter's music metal in any sense of the term is quite a stretch. There are a couple of heavy parts in one or two of the songs, but that's about it. For the most part what Antimatter presents here is a really cold, dark sound, perhaps this would fall under the genre of "darkwave"? The performance here is well executed, nice mix of male and female vocals, long songs but not at all boring.

Favorite tracks:

In Stone (love the lyrics...guest vocals by Stephen Hawking?)
Lights Out
Expire

I'll definitely be checking out Antimatter's other offerings.