Daniel Cavanagh

Daniel Cavanagh
Daniel Cavanagh, 2010
Background information
Born	6 October 1972 (1972-10-06) (age 39)
Origin	England
Genres	Progressive rock, soundtrack music, acoustic rock, death/doom (early)
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	guitar, vocals, piano
Years active	1990–present
Associated acts	Anathema, Leafblade, Antimatter, Agua de Annique

Daniel Cavanagh (born 6 October 1972) is an English guitarist and singer who formed the British band Anathema in 1990 with his brother Vincent Cavanagh.^[1] He is responsible for much of the songwriting and production behind the band.

Cavanagh has been involved in other projects including Leafblade, an acoustic & Celtic rock band, (guitars and vocals), and Antimatter, the former band of ex-Anathema member Duncan Patterson. He also played guitar on the album In the Mushroom with Lid. Cavanagh also provided vocals on an album by French post rockers Spherical Minds and was a guest on the album Pure Air by Agua de Annique, providing vocals and guitar on "The Blowers Daughter".

Biography

Background and early years

Raised in Anfield, Liverpool, Cavanagh's family typified the working class model of 1970s North West England. He entered his teens when the world was in the midst of the cold war and England in the height of Thatcherism yet unusually for most boys his age Daniel was drawn more towards music than football. He has mentioned that Dire Straits and in particular Mark Knopfler were his first love and along with Queen were responsible for leading the young Cavanagh towards learning guitar. The seed was cemented in 1985 with the Live Aid concert and this is an event that Cavanagh still mentions as being what he regards one of the finest moments in the history of music and of mankind. The teenage Cavanagh discovered Iron Maiden and this led on a path into the worlds of more extreme Metal with bands like Metallica, Celtic Frost, Slayer, Bolt Thrower and later Paradise Lost making an impact. Although in later years have seen Daniel form a deep love for the music of Radiohead, Sigur Rós, U2 and above all The Beatles he still cites Iron Maiden as being one of his favourite bands and has massive respect for bands like Bolt Thrower and Paradise Lost for their contribution towards their respective genres. Cavanagh has been praised for his ability to combine these left field influences gracefully into his own sound without alienating his core fanbase.

Formation of Anathema

Cavanagh started Pagan Angel in 1990 with his younger brothers Vincent and Jamie, after a name change to Anathema the band quickly made an impact on the public and have become one of the bands credited with the creation of the British Doom/Death Metal sound that changed the face of underground music. Anathema have become known as a band who are more than happy to take risks musically and are one of the few bands to have diversified heavily yet managed to retain the bulk of their old audience. 2010 saw the release of their comeback album after a seven year hiatus to huge critical acclaim. Beginnings of Anathema/The brothers Cavanagh team up

After two demo tapes ("An Illiad Of Woes" and "All Faith Is Lost") and a 7" single on Witchhunt Records ("They Die") Anathema were picked up by Peaceville Records and released their debut mini album "Crestfallen" in late 1992 followed by their full length debut "Serenades" in early 1993. During this time Daniel's brother Jamie had vacated his position as bassist to be replaced by Duncan Patterson. Both releases were met with rabid fan response and immediately cemented Anathema as one of the big three of the UK Doom/Death scene along with labelmates Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride. May 1995 saw "Pentecost 3" being released, with a sound already showing itself veering away from that of their peers the mini album is remembered as being a pivotal Anathema release and also as being a watershed. The public was beginning to see Cavanagh as the driving force of the band along with Duncan Patterson. At this early stage of his career he had already shown himself to be something of a lone wolf when it came to songwriting and vision, with an understanding of sound and instrument that were early indicators of the growth that was to come.

Beginning of line up changes in Anathema

"Rise Pantheon Dreams" was the original title of Anathema's follow up album. During the sessions it became clear to the band that vocalist Darren White was not performing the vocals as the rest of the band had hoped and was asked to leave. Daniel's brother and co-guitarist Vincent stepped in on the spot without any experience and has kept the position until this very day, today being regarded as one of the finest singers to have emerged from the genre. Eventually being released as "The Silent Enigma" in October 1995, the album cemented Anathema's status further and it was just one year until album number three "Eternity" was released. Showing a sound moving further from Metal and towards something more ethereal, "Eternity" is an album held in high regard by many who cite the early Anathema sound as some of the most important 1990s Metal.

"Alternative 4" era and family tragedy

John Douglas left the band for a short time for the release of "Alternative 4" to be replaced by former Solstice/future My Dying Bride sticksman Sean Steels. The release of "Alternative 4" was a huge moment for Cavanagh and the band. Showing a sound that was basically transformed into something that propelled the band to the forefront of their scene and a collection of songs that touched almost all who heard it.

"Alternative 4" was an album of dark beauty that was heavily moulded by Cavanagh and Duncan Patterson at a time when neither would speak a word to the other, making the feat that is this album even more stunning. Cavanagh and Patterson eventually patched things up and remain close friends today. The album was met with absolute universal adoration from both the media and listeners and is considered today as true Rock/Metal classic. First song proper "Fragile Dreams" has become an undeniable classic of its time.

Just after the album's release disaster struck. First, the Cavanagh brothers tragically lost their mother and then Duncan Patterson left the band. Despite all of this the band put their heads down and got to work. John Douglas rejoined the band in time to tour the album and it took only a year before "Judgement" was released. "Judgement" was again lauded by all and sundry and was the perfect follow up to its predecessor's success.

Vincent Cavanagh shone as he had done on "Alternative 4" with vocals that had improved to such a degree that he was almost unrecognisable. Lee Douglas, younger sister of drummer John, made her debut appearance on the album and was eventually installed as a member of the band. Worth mentioning is "One Last Goodbye", a song penned by Daniel and sung by Vincent as a tribute to their mother, Helen. The brothers were very close with their mother and the song is generally seen as an incredible, heartfelt tribute to her. At this stage with Patterson gone, Cavanagh was in the spotlight as the driving musical force in the band and was rapidly being seen as something of an icon by the growing legion of Anathema fans - affectionately known as Anathemaniacs.

All change in the Anathema camp

2001 saw "A Fine Day To Exit" and a shift in sound by the band. With a big video and lead single in "Pressure", the album was met with mixed response. Today the album is seen as being misunderstood by many and "Temporary Peace" is regarded as an Anathema classic to be mentioned in the same breath as songs like "Deep" or "Empty". This album was important in that it was the debut of Les Smith who has become a very important part of the band today. It was also the album where John Douglas became noticed as a songwriter of considerable importance for the band, he remains so to this day.

Early 2002 saw Cavanagh announce his departure for the band to reunited full time with former band mate Duncan Patterson's Antimatter project. This caused huge waves amongst Anathemaniacs worldwide as many felt Cavanagh was impossible to replace. The split was short lived thankfully as Cavanagh was back in the fold in time for the festival season that summer.

"A Natural Disaster" was the result of a reunited Anathema with Daniel realising a long term wish in having his brother (and Vincent's twin) Jamie join the band on bass (a position he held in the early days of the band). The resulting album was one penned entirely by Daniel (with blessings from the rest of the band) marking the end of a traumatic episodein his personal life. "A Natural Disaster" was overlooked in part due to Anathema's longtime label Music For Nations deciding to fold - with no real gain to be made for a company that would soon be defunct, MFN did little to promote the album. Despite this, the touring for the album was successful and the seven-year gap that followed until the next album saw the band finally emerge as a professional touring outfit. "A Natural Disaster", despite the odds, has become somewhat of a cult hit amongst Anathamaniacs, containing some of Cavanagh's best songwriting ("Closer") as well as seeing him hit new levels in raw open emotion ("Electricity").

Solo and acoustic

Around 2002 Daniel began to play solo shows throughout Europe. The setup was basic, just himself and the guitar/piano, and has proven to be a very popular amongst fans of the band and those curious. Recently he has begun a successful partnership for these shows with former The Gathering vocalist Anneke Van Giersbergen. A short Norwegian tour in 2006 led to Cavanagh meeting Haavard from Aftermath Music in Trondheim, the result from this was that Haavard has become Daniel's main booking agent for his solo jaunts ever since, a partnership that remains to this day. This trip was also of considerable importance as it began Cavanagh's love affair with Norway, something that has had a massive impact on his life ever since.

Increased Anathema touring and path towards comeback

Anathema took massive steps towards becoming a professional live act during the seven years between albums with high profile tours supporting HIM and Porcupine Tree expanding their fanbase to the point that each successive headline tour seemed to outdo the previous in terms of attendance. Cavanagh began to preview some new Anathema material during his solo shows, this was followed by the band recording and releasing demo versions of future album songs for free on their official site. All of this led towards what many people had been waiting for since 2003 - a new Anathema studio album.

"Hindsight"

In late 2008 Anathema's new label K-Scope released a collection of old songs re-recorded in semi acoustic fashion with one new track "Tales Of The Unexpected" included. Despite Rock fans being notorious for rejecting change, there was generally favourable reaction to the re-worked old songs. This was an important step towards Anathema deciding on K-Scope as their new label.

"We're Here Because We're Here"

Finally, in May 2010, almost seven years after their last studio effort Anathema released their self-produced "We're Here Because We're Here" mixed by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree. The album has received massive response from all corners of the press and fan reactions have been ecstatic. It has received the Prog album of the year award from media titan "Classic Rock".

Change in lifestyle and move to Norway

In 2005 Cavanagh decided to quit alcohol/drugs and has pursued a more spiritual approach in his day to day life. He has touched upon the subject in interviews in stating that he is far happier now. In late 2010 he also decided to move to Norway. The move had been on the cards for sometime after he had developed a deep appreciation for Norwegian culture, nature, lifestyle and language. Cavanagh has said that it was a move he had to make, that even if it did not work out for him he would rather know that he had at least tried it. Reports are that he loves life there thus far and has even begun a collaboration with Tristania vocalist Mariangela Demurtas who herself moved to Norway from Sardinia in 2007.

References

1. ^ Huey, Steve. "Biography: Anathema". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/anathema-p45081/biography. Retrieved 17 February 2011. 

External links

• Anathema official site
• Anathema fan site with useful information and resources
  
• Leafblade on Myspace

Persondata
Name	Cavanagh, Danny
Alternative names
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Date of birth	October 6, 1972
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death