firebox.fi

 

If you still don't know Antimatter, you'll have to know that the band was founded by Mick Moss a really good compositor/musician from Great Britain and Duncan Patterson that you probably already know for his work with Anathema. After three albums and "Planetary Confinement" (2005), Duncan decided to leave the band to release his own personal album. The fans of the combo, me the first, wondered if Antimatter was dead or if Mick still wanted to follow his road with his band, and we learned lately that a new album "Leaving Eden" was in writing and then recording process. The new album is out now, and you know what? Mick simply managed to write the best album of the band. For sure if you like Antimatter and the best Anathema releases, "Leaving Eden" will be a must for you.

No doubt, "Leaving Eden" is the best release of Antimatter for me. The three first albums are all really cool that's right but they are not fantastic too. "Leaving Eden" is fantastic. Always with this really sad atmosphere, the really dark Progressive Rock of the British maestro is one more time extremely convincing. The album is composed of some sad ballads, a bit like with some songs like "Forgotten Hopes" or "Make It Right" of "Judgment" (Anathema) if you see what I mean. With a lot of acoustic guitars, piano, but also with cello, and electric guitars, "Leaving Eden" is really emotive and I'm quite sure that you'll have shiver when you'll listen to the songs. Also, note that we don't have any female vocalists here, this is Mick who sings on all the tracks and his beautiful bluesy voice fits perfectly to his music. All in all, it's a matter of atmosphere with "Leaving Eden" and trust me, Mick managed to write songs that have a heart, a spirit. It's maybe sad but it's touching and if you like Antimatter's previous CDs or the best Anathema releases you'll simply love this album.

Talking about Anathema, I have to add that the lead guitarist on the album (among other guests) is Mr Danny Cavanagh. The two musicians are good friends and Danny (as always) accepted without any problems to play the guitars soli that you'll be able to find on the majority of the songs. One more time, his guitar play is wonderful and yes, it adds something more to the music of Antimatter. With a perfect production "Leaving Eden" is one of the best releases of the beginning of the year, especially if you like slow melancholic Prog Rock of course.

"Leaving Eden is a must. I say it one more time but this is the best release of Antimatter and I don't even understand how you could miss this album. This is beautiful, sad on a side right but so emotive and with a such perfect music that it's simply perfect. A must for the fans of the British dark Progressive(ex: Doom) Metal scene…

9/10
 

live4metal.com

 

I've seen the name Antimatter bandied about plenty of times, normally with the word Anathema tagged alongside it. Duncan Patterson was one half of Antimatter's core, alongside his partner in crime Mick Moss. Also aided at various times by both Danny Cavanagh, who took an occasional interest and Les Smith, who made one guest appearance. Studio album number four heralds the departure of Duncan Patterson, leaving Mick Moss firmly at the helm, with the Anathema connection still alive thanks to Danny Cavanagh being listed amongst the session musicians. Now I've got that info out of the way, I can take a deep breath and tell you that this album is absolutely stunning. Leaving Eden is a gentle, thoughtfully constructed work of genius. It's mellow, yet completely absorbing and I want to rush out and buy their complete back catalogue. Before I go spending my hard earned cash, I better try and sell this one to you. Now please forgive my comparisons with other bands, as this album really needs to be held aloft on it's own merits, but a couple of comparisons will make my job a whole lot easier. Pink Floyd's an easy call to make, especially with Danny Cavanagh's warm leads on opener Redemption, not quite up to Dave Gilmour's ripping solo on Comfortably Numb, but the quality is of a high enough standard to be worthy of the comparison. Mick Moss' voice is a mixture of Eddie Vedder at his most mellow and perhaps with a touch of Chris Cornell's dulcet tones, both at their very best on the Temple of The Dog opus, way back in 1990. With that as an outline to Antimatters make-up, how can you not fall in love with this album?
Start of paragraph number three and I can't believe I've not used the most important word that's needed to describe this album: Atmospheric. Leaving Eden is a moody album, but not in a downtrodden way, the acoustic guitars keep it, not exactly happy, more they maintain a certain level of warmth. I suppose Dark Ambient could be another description to throw into the pot, yet I don't find any depression in the mood, nor on the other hand do I find anything uplifting. There is just a very special aura that draws you in and lets you drift off into your only little world. Kind of the same fuzzy feeling you get after drinking a nice bottle of red, except without the nasty after effects of the alcohol.
With so many bands still to be discovered, it's been a joy listening to Leaving Eden and realising that I've yet again come close to missing out on a great band that could have easily passed me by. Don't let it happen to you.

 

 

virus-mag.com

 

After the departure of his writing partner and founder member Duncan Patterson, Mick Moss found himself with a dilemma: put an end to Antimatter or to try and carry on with the name, and then see what comes of it. He has decided to give it another go, and frankly it's good news.

Since the beginning, the project has suffered from the never ending comparison to Anathema, Patterson's former band. The links are not severed though on this new album, as Anathema's Danny Cavanagh has contributed lead guitar and piano parts. 
If Patterson's mysterious new project Íon takes us to a mystical world, Mick Moss has kept Antimatter on a resolutely human level. "Leaving Eden" is a stripped down, more acoustic proposition than Antimatter's previous offerings. I would not call the album dark per se, but there is most certainly a definite atmosphere to it. 
Much like opening track "Redemption", the songs are slow, thoughtful, and contribute to the overall feeling of intimacy that suffuses each and every song. 
You will need to listen to this album in a calm frame of mind, because you will have to be able to absorb the deep melancholy of the melodies, and Moss' arresting vocals: his voice carries a mixture of warmth and determination that suits the music wonderfully. You stop and listen, as he tells you stories heavy with the weight of human experience and maturity. 
Music hasn't got to be loud, overblown or theatrical to be powerful, and Moss demonstrates this craftily. Some long, resounding guitar breaks feature in a few songs and give them a certain 'rock' feel, whereas others are dominated by Mick Moss' voice, the acoustic guitar accom- panying him as discreetly as possible ("Conspire", "Fighting For A Lost Cause"). 
On "The Immaculate Misconception", the instruments (guitar, piano and violin) makes the track as epic as it is possible to be on such an album. The atmospheric "Another Face In The Window" features the wail of Rachel Brewster's violin, a chilling, unexpected touch. My personal favourite though remains "The Freak Show", its poignant beauty paying once again tribute to the fragility of the human mind and to the underdog. Very moving. 
"Leaving Eden" is music for people who want to go that extra mile; the ones who are not looking for catchy hooks or cheap thrills. As I am writing this, the temperature is rising and people stay outside late, not wearing a lot of clothes, an indication that the exuberance of the summer season is once again upon us. "Leaving Eden" is a winter album, for those evenings when all you need is some soothing music you can listen to in your little cocoon. A music that will enable you to indulge in the exquisite pleasure of melancholy.
Fabienne T., 19 Jun 2007
8/10

 

metalreleasedates.com

 

This is Antimatter's fourth album and the first without Duncan Patterson who left Antimatter in order to focus on world music in Íon. Despite the departure of half of Antimatter's creative core, Leaving eden is a natural continuation of its predecessor, Planetary confinement from 2005. Sole remaining member Michael Moss presents nine melancholic and quiet, mostly acoustic, rock songs. The electronic elements found on especially the first two albums (2002's Saviour and 2003's Lights out) are nowhere to be found on this album and neither are the female vocals.

Duncan Patterson's former colleague in Anathema Daniel Cavanagh is session musician (on guitar and piano) on this album. Speaking of Anathema, most fans of the English men's softer albums will most likely enjoy Antimatter as well. But Leaving eden is both darker and better than the last couple of Anathema albums.

In conclusion, this is a really good and coherent album which almost meet the high expectations set by its predecessors. It is hard to accentuate specific songs, since they are all of very high quality. Antimatter remains one of the best bands in the genre, and Leaving eden is highly recommended.

 

 

chroniclesofchaos.com

 

With Mick Moss now left as the sole member of Antimatter following the departure of Duncan Patterson (who is now concentrated on his own project Íon), _Leaving Eden_ is an album that might hold the key to the future of this project. Although I had initially been drawn to Antimatter with the purpose of finding out what ex-Anathema bassist Patterson was doing, it turned out that it was the songs penned by Moss that captured my interest and made me enjoy their previous album, _Planetary Confinement_. Patterson's debut solo effort with Íon, meanwhile, struck me as only pleasant but not very captivating. I therefore picked up this new Antimatter record with considerable enthusiasm.
Of the four guests Moss has with him on this record, one name is bound to draw most of the attention: Danny Cavanagh, of Anathema fame, helps out with lead electric guitar (and also piano on one track). Moss does all the vocals and acoustic guitar, with three other guests on violin, bass guitar and percussion. The songs tend to incorporate both acoustic and predominantly electric guitar led passages, and these are usually meshed together very well. The songs follow their course with great character, rather than sounding like they were built with the purpose of getting a certain chorus across, for instance.
The nine songs on offer are unfailingly good; the one thing that prevents me from giving the album a 9 out of 10 is its difficulty to reach quite the level of brilliance found on "The Weight of the World" and "Epitaph" from _Planetary Confinement_, even though it has some really outstanding moments of its own. Having said that, this is an excellent album that I've enjoyed more than anything Anathema have put out in quite a few years. Moss's Antimatter seems to have a very bright future ahead.
by: Pedro Azevedo (8.5 out of 10)

 

centralspine.com

 

 

Antimatter came to being in the year 1998 as an offspring of Anathema's ex-bassist Duncan Patterson. With the album 'Antimatter - Saviour' of the year 2000, Antimatter cornered themselves as an instant classic in the field of Dark Ambient/Rock.

'Leaving Eden' differs quite a bit from Antimatter's previous releases, relying more on an electrical guitar, and incorporating contrasts between an acoustic and a distorted guitar. As a result, 'Leaving Eden' is the most metallic album Antimatter has so far created. Another difference is the complete absence of female vocals, which were fairly dominant in the previous release 'Antimatter - Planetary Confinement'. Personally, this change comes as a positive one, as 'Planetary Confinement' felt somewhat outbalanced because of female vocal use.

The sound and the lyrics are superb as always with the latter part (starting from 'Conspire') climaxing with the heaviest song of the album 'Leaving Eden' and the epic outgo 'Fighting for a Lost Cause', which is, without the doubt, the best piece of the album.

So despite Patterson's departure from the band, Antimatter has come off with a superb release, which faintly takes the band towards a newer Prog-Doom direction.

 

 

olethros.com

 

Last weekend, the weather was beautiful, the days are rapidly getting very long and spring has been quite nice over here so far, warmer than I expected, with quite a few lovely days, where the sky is azure and cloudless. It's actually been like that since Friday, and I tried to take advantage of this as much as I could over the weekend. Should have called in sick today as the weather is still fantastic!
Yesterday afternoon was mostly spent sitting out on the balcony (and later in the garden) following the sun, drinking whisky and reading a book.
I was also listening to a new album, Leaving Eden by Antimatter. This is the first release from Antimatter since the band split in half in 2005, with ex Anathema bassist Duncan Patterson leaving Antimatter to work on solo material.
The other half of Antimatter Mick Moss decided to release at least one more album under the Antimatter brand before maybe putting the project to sleep. Originally promised for 2006, Leaving Eden only came out a week or two ago.
I've only listened a few times, but the impression I have got is this is the most consistent and strong Antimatter album yet. Danny Cavanagh (Anathema) guests on this album extensively, playing guitar and piano. Danny's presence brings a lot to the release. However it's Mick's fantastic voice and great compositions that really shine on Leaving Eden. 
Stylistically, it's less electronic, more rocky and for the first time completely lacking in the female vocal department. Mick's got such a great voice that I really think this is an improvement.
Having only just got my hands on this release I need more time for it to sink in, but so far it looks like a solid winner.
Lets hope Mick does not decide to kill off Antimatter after this release, if he does however, Leaving Eden provides a fitting farewell.

 

 

memoriesofobedientnaenia.com

 

"Leaving Eden" continues the disturbing and sensual musical voyage that has offered Antimatter for a few years and is thus directed towards an atmospheric rock'n'roll influenced by the 70' S and Pink Floyd. However, under the impulse of Mick Moss, the music of Antimatter wants to be darker and tended ("Leaving Eden" and the sumptuous anny Cavanagh's leads).Hypnotic and planing, "Leaving Eden" proves that Mick Moss does not have anything to envy to Patterson. A great album.

 

darkdose.com

 

Back in August 2005, I wrote that I wasn't a huge fan of Britain's Antimatter, but that I found a number of songs I enjoyed off of their "Planetary Confinement" album. I was surprised to learn back then that all the songs I liked were written by Mick Moss, not Duncan Patterson (considering I revere Anathema's early material). So I was excited when I heard Moss would be writing all the material on the latest Antimatter, "Leaving Eden." 
I was not disappointed. All of the songs are basically like my favorites off of "Planetary," - which means exceptionally well structured melodic rock songs, brooding in their own misery. I'm glad to see the highly electronic elements of previous albums thrown out the window for a simple rock approach. Moss' excellent Eddie Vedder-esque vocals melt right into David Gilmore influenced guitar leads screeching with beautiful melancholy. 
While there's nothing particularly new or innovative being presented here, the material is extremely strong. I'll admit I sometimes find this album (and Antimatter in general) slightly contrived due to some of the subject matter. It can be a bit grandiose - 'woe is me.' Despite this, I usually find it emotionally convincing and react with goose bumps to moments such as the guitar lead which begins at 4:23 in "Leaving Eden" and works it's magic until the end of the song.

 

 

metal-revolution.com

 

The Englishman, Mic Moss' Antimatter has just released their fourth album, called Leaving Eden, this time with Mr. Moss doing all the vocals and playing various instruments such as piano, organ, acoustic and electric guitar etc. It is obvious from the very first sound that Mick's vocals are sounding self-confident and melancholic at the same time. The lyrics are mainly about Mick's own life, very personal with introspective focus. The music is what I would call acoustic & alternative rock with very atmopspheric parts, but with many also rockier tracks. All nine tracks are somehow dark, mysterious and laid back making it as true pleasure to listen to. The production is excellent and the best things are those above mentioned haunting atmospheres. I will reccomend this album to any hard rock/soft metal fan, esp. the likes of Roger Waters, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Leonard Cohen, Tracy Chapman etc..

magazine

The band that bagan as a collaboration between Mick Moss and ex-Anathema bassist/main songwriter Duncan Patterson, is now reduced to just Mick Moss. It was evident on the last Antimatter release 'Planetary Confinement' that the songs between Moss and Patterson were quite divided, even though they tried their best to give a nice flow to said album. And as much as I respect Patterson as a musician (he was the one who pretty much wrote Anathemas amazing Alternative 4 release, and definitely check out his new Ion project), it was Moss's songs that were the highlight of Antimatter's last album. So naturally seeing that Leaving Eden was going to be purely Mick Moss, it is evident that it would be the best Antimatter release yet. Gorgous, emotive, subtle, dark, atmosperic, stripped-down dream rock that's pretty damn incredible. Moss brings up the rock a bit more with this album, while still harbouring that very sad yet chilling and touching vibe that has always defined Antimatters character. And it's not all Moss on this. He does get help from several guest musicians - the one that makes the greatest impact of course is Anathema guitarist Daniel Cavanagh.

 

 

terrorizer magazine uk

 

Four albums into their career, 'Leaving Eden' is a definite crossroads for Antimatter, being the first without founder member Duncan Patterson of ex-Anathema fame. The harrowingly bleak second effort, 'Lights Out', both established the band as a force to be reckoned with and marked the beginning of an unexpected turn of events, wherein Patterson's hitherto-unknown songwriting partner, Mick Moss, revealed himself as unsung hero and proceeded to steal album #3, his songs carrying a dignified, expressive gravity far removed from Pattersons increasingly introverted and brittle compositions. With Patterson now seemingly finished with his demons and back on form with the lovely Ion, Moss has stepped up to the plate alone, delivering the most consistent album under the nale thus far, by degrees haunting and intimate, soaring and triumphant. A helping hand from Danny Cavanagh on lead guitar fills out the material, but blends pleasingly into Moss's songwriting character to be unobtrusive. If, as the word on the street has it, this could be Antimatter's swansong, at least they go out having attained the heights they'd promised from day one. Get to know.
8/10

 

 

gothtronic.com

 

After the quiet 'Planetary Confinement' sounds 'Leaving Eden', after the departure of Duncan Patterson, more in the direction of Anathema than ever before. Probably it's because of the input of Danny Cavanagh (indeed, Anathema), because he plays piano and guitar on this record. Antimatter sound now is a quiet alternative of the earlier-mentioned band, although there are also electric-guitar eruptions present. Listen for instance to 'Redemption'. Antimatter however remains also faithful to their own sound (although the band on almost every cd has a different approach). Of course there is the great voice of Mick Moss and there are sufficiently beautiful quiet songs like 'Ghosts' (that ends more powerful, something that regularly returns on this album) and 'The Freak Show'. 'Leaving Eden' is enjoying the moment.
8.5 / 10