The London Palladium, 7 March 2020. Liverpool’s Anathema has just played one of the most astonishing sets I have ever witnessed to a sold-out crowd. The 10th anniversary of We’re Here Because We’re Here has just been played in full. The audience is awash with emotion. Surely the band’s star will continue in the slow but steady upwards trajectory that they had deserved for over a decade.
Weather Systems – Haunt the Woods
Thekla, Bristol – 17 May 2025
Words And Photography: Paul Hutchings
Sadly, four shows later, the pandemic hit, and a few months later, Anathema were no more. On indefinite hiatus since 22 September 2020, fans hoped against hope that the band would return. 
Small shoots slowly emerged via the social media pages of main songwriter Daniel Kavanagh. An immensely talented musician, Kavanagh had undoubtedly taken the end of his band hard, with many stories in the media concerned about his welfare.
It was something of a relief to know that this complex individual was making music once more, and as time passed, more detail was revealed about his new project, Weather Systems.
Named after the 2012 Anathema album, and featuring Anathema bandmate Daniel Cardoso and vocalist Soraia Silva, the band released Oceans Without A Shore in Autumn 2024, and the album scored highly in the end-of-year polls.
In many ways, it is the extension of 2017’s The Optimist, although stylistically there are more links with We’re Here Because We’re Here and Weather Systems. Drenched with the emotion that really impacts on their fans, Oceans Without A Shore was a stunningly beautiful record.
As Kavanagh said at the time, “Anathema never really had ‘casual fans’. The music was so intense and emotional, and people were affected by it on a deep level. I really respect that, and I just try to write music that will resonate in the hearts and souls of listeners. I hope it heals.”
Three English dates on the band’s inaugural tour sees them play the second boat on this run, the other as we are informed by Kavanagh during the set, being in Budapest. There is an air of palpable excitement in the virtually sold-out venue.
“We think this will be a good one,” Kavanagh says after the band has launched their set with Deep from 1999’s Judgement album. It is the first of nine Anathema songs that feature this evening, and no one in the hull of the old boat is disappointed about that. 
Alongside Kavanagh, Silva and Cardoso on stage, we have André Marinho, whose bass playing is exceptional. Kavanagh reveals that Marinho also plays in a Metallica Tribute band and is something of a genius with the various technical aspects of the band’s sound. He is a giant on the six-string, happy to hold his position stage left, the occasional smile revealing that he is clearly enjoying himself.
Cardoso is a phenomenal drummer, whilst Silva picks up the not inconsiderable mantle left by Lee Douglas on many of the Anathema covers with an addictive enthusiasm. At times, she is evidently having such a good time she almost forgets to sing, too busy jumping around as the band’s enveloping music wraps its embrace around those gathered. 
He has always been a stress ball when playing live, and tonight is no exception for Daniel Kavanagh. The perfectionist, there is plenty to go wrong, but he holds all the intricate passages together with ease, even if he rarely gets the opportunity to ease up.
Pedal boards and synths are all working at maximum, and he puts the relevant components together. It may be this technical challenge that restricts him, but he rarely forays far from his keyboard set-up as a result.
It’s on A Simple Mistake, which he describes as the “heaviest song tonight” where he really lets fly, linking with Cardoso and Marinho in a brief burst of almost Metal rage.
The set is front-loaded with songs from Oceans Without A Shore before Silva takes her first real foray into the Anathema catalogue on Springfield. She passes with ease, and we can rest assured that the rest of the covers will be given similar respect.
In fact, she is almost speechless as the audience takes over the vocals on the Untouchable trilogy. Part 2 is inevitably where a few in the crowd can be seen openly weeping, such is the impact this song has had over the years.
Kavanagh is in good spirits, and it is great to see him back on stage. He is keen to praise the lighting engineer, who is totally in synch with the band’s music.
Kavanagh talks fondly about his former band members, including brother Vincent (“he’s not interested in Rock anymore – I have to listen to his Jazz.”). His appearance is somewhat 1990s with the return of the dreadlocks, and he has put on weight, but his Liverpudlian dry wit remains intact, and towards the end, he is able to smile.
The intensity rarely drops, but the joy around the venue as the band rip through a raucous Fragile Dreams to conclude the evening is uplifting.
This may not be the next incarnation of Anathema, but when Kavanagh promises us a new album plus a tour celebrating Weather Systems in the next year, life feels good. It is a welcome return to a musician and band who deserve all the plaudits.
Welcome back.
Haunt The Woods
It is a frustrating opening for Cornwall’s Haunt the Woods. “We have some technical gremlins,” scowls singer/guitarist Jonathan Stafford, as his in-ear monitors fail. “It’s been so smooth all tour,” he reflects. The rest of the set is incredibly good.
Gremlins dispatched, Haunt The Woods play a 40-minute set that is stunning from every angle. They blend numerous genres, and the Spinefarm label outfit earn many new fans due to their diversity in delivery.
With guitarist Phoenix Elleschild and bassist/keyboardist Jacke Halle hidden in the darker recesses of the stage, it is Stafford who all eyes fall upon. He is a ball of emotion, which he pours into his performance. He leads with a vulnerability that leaves you both captivated and slightly concerned. 
They pull mainly from the most recently released Ubiquity album, the title track being a thing of some beauty. There are gentle, acoustic passages, ferocious punkish folk, as well as the expected progressive elements.
Helter Skelter grabs the attention, and when Stafford says “We have a song and a half” left, one wag questions what he means. It is evident that this is a thing, but the band finish their set in the middle of the crowd, Stafford surrounded by his bandmates as they do an a cappella version of Sleepwalking to finish their set.
Some in the crowd were conversant with the band. “It’s almost a home show,” Stafford laughs. Others are standing there with jaws open at what they are hearing.
As a support act, there is no one more suited to Weather Systems than Haunt The Woods. Forty minutes fly by, and one of the best ovations I have ever heard for a support band is delivered.
Check these lads out. They could go far.
