Antimatter
„Saviour“
Dark-, Gothic Rock, a bit Ambient, Trip-Hop Vibes, Downbeat.

• Jewelcase, CD. 2019 (2000)
• Reissue
• Prophecy Productions
• pro 051
• new

Mick Moss and Duncan Patterson (former bassist of Anathema) 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 2000. 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 vocal duties himself. Duncan Patterson left Antimatter in 2005 after the third album to pursue his own career. The 2019 reissue discussed here has one more track, “Over Your Shoulder”, featuring Danny Cavanagh (also from Anathema). Duncan Patterson co-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" delivers more trip-hop vibes, with Mick Moss and Richfield singing together. That's three excellent 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. "The Last Laugh" is dark rock again, sung by Moss and Richfield. The song's trip-hop roots are undeniable. At almost eight minutes, "Going Nowhere" is the longest and final track on the original 2000 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 boasts ten. It includes an acoustic version of "Over Your Shoulder" sung by Danny Cavanagh. What could possibly go wrong?

For me, one of the best debut albums of 2000. 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 ten songs are really good; not a single one is weak. Moss and Patterson also had excellent taste in choosing the two singers and the other musicians.

Credits

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 Cavanagh (Track 10, Reissue 2019)

Antimatter – Saviour 2000
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.

TheProgThief
©25.August.2026
Mk 2