Antmatter
„Saviour“
Dark-Gothic Rock, a bit Ambient, Trip-Hop Vibes, Downbeat. CD, Reissue 2019 (2001).

Mick Moss and Duncan Patterson (former bassist of Anathema, now defunct) founded Antimatter in England in 1998. The style of their first two albums was dark rock/art rock blended with trip-hop vibes. Saviour, their debut album, was released in 2001. It's noteworthy that, besides Mick Moss, the vocals on the tracks were primarily provided by singers Hayley Windsor and Michelle Richfield. This decreased significantly after their third album, Planetary Confinement, with Mick Moss increasingly taking over the vocals himself. Duncan Patterson left Antimatter in 2005 after the third album to pursue his own career. The 2019 reissue discussed here includes one additional track, "Over Your Shoulder", featuring Danny Cavanagh (also of Anathema). Duncan Patterson wrote four songs (2, 5, 7, and 9) and song 6 with Moss. Moss himself contributed 5 songs (1, 3, 4, 8, 10).

"Saviour" is dark rock at its finest. "Holocaust" is significantly more electronic and could have come straight from Portishead. But it's not just trip-hop; psychedelic prog and, of course, dark rock also shine through. Patterson has done a fantastic job here. "Over Your Shoulder" again delivers trip-hop vibes, with Mick Moss and Richfield singing together. That's three very good songs already, and "Psalms" doesn't disappoint. Portishead and Massive Attack are clearly present. "God Is Coming" is surprising. Very dark. To me, the background noise sounds like the ping of a sonar device. And I'm reminded of the film "Das Boot." Whispered vocals, very electronic, psychedelic. "Angelic" begins like later acoustic Antimatter tracks, but transitions to electronic sounds halfway through. "Flowers" is a poignant, tranquil gothic song. It exudes a very special, dark atmosphere. "The Last Laugh" is dark rock, sung by Moss/Richfield. His trip-hop influences are undeniable. "Going Nowhere," at almost eight minutes, is the longest and final track from the 2001 master release. It features extended instrumental sections, with a ticking clock in the background. Very psychedelic, with a prog edge. Despite the sparse vocals, it's never boring. Nine good songs? Yes, and this reissue even has ten. It includes an acoustic version of "Over Your Shoulders", sung by Danny Cannagh. What could possibly go wrong?

For me, this is one of the best debut albums of 2001. Trip-hop elements blended with art and dark rock, a touch of psychedelia, and hints of prog. What could have gone wrong was brilliantly achieved here. All nine (ten) songs are really good; not a single one is weak. The choice of the two singers and the other musicians also demonstrated excellent judgment. 

Credits

Artwork – Mark Kelson
Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Programmed by – Duncan Patterson
Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals – Mick Moss
Lead Guitar – Mags (Track 9)
Samples – Brian Moss, Les Smith
Guest Vocals – Hayley Windsor (Track 5 to 7, 9), Michelle Richfield (Track 1 to 4, 6, 8), Danny Cavannagh (Track 10, Reissue 2019)

Antimatter – Saviour (2001)
Antimatter – Lights Out (2003)
Antimatter – Planetary Confinement (2005)
Antimatter – Leaving Eden (2007)
Antimatter – Alternative Matter (2010)
Antimatter – Fear Of A Unique Identity (2012)
Antimatter – The Judas Table (2015)

The photos are all from my CD. The rights to all motifs, logos, texts and fonts that can be seen in the photos are of course owned by the copyright holder.

No AI was used in the making of this Review.
©25.August.2026