Daniel Cavanagh

Singer/guitarist Daniel Cavanagh made his name as founding member and principal songwriter of acclaimed British prog-metal outfit Anathema, but maintained a low-key solo career in parallel with the band. Born in Liverpool in 1972 into a working-class family and inspired early in life by Dire Straits and Queen, he later discovered extreme metal acts like Celtic Frost, Bolt Thrower, and, notably, Paradise Lost, whose early death/doom sound would greatly influence the nascent Anathema. Cavanagh formed the band in 1990 (originally under the name Pagan Angel) with his brothers Vincent (guitar) and Jamie (bass) and drummer John Douglas, a lineup that would remain relatively stable thereafter. Vincent began singing lead vocals on the band's breakthrough 1995 sophomore album, The Silent Enigma, the start of a storied career that would see Anathema gradually alter their sound to incorporate alternative and progressive elements, but never so drastically that they alienated their core fan base, which continued to grow. Cavanagh's solo career was an outlet for his more low-key acoustic material that did not fit with Anathema's style. His debut solo album, 2004's A Place to Be, consisted solely of covers of Nick Drake songs. In 2009 he released In Parallel, a collaboration with the Gathering singer Anneke van Giersbergen, who had guested with Anathema. In 2005 Cavanagh gave up drink and drugs and devoted himself to a more spiritual lifestyle. His seeking led him to American Joseph Geraci, whose recollection of his famous 1977 near-death experience Cavanagh discovered on a YouTube video and sampled for Anathema's track "Internal Landscapes" on their 2012 album, Weather Systems. Contacting Geraci, Cavanagh discovered he had written an abundance of poetry about his experience, and asked if he would like to collaborate. The result was 2013's The Passage, which saw the then-71-year-old Geraci reciting his poetry over Cavanagh's gentle, contemplative backing. In 2015, the self-released low-key Memory and Meaning was another selection of cover versions. Cavanagh's highest-profile solo album to date was 2017's Monochrome. Led by the haunting single "The Exorcist," it featured guest appearances from van Giersbergen, Ayreon's Arjen Lucassen, and violinist Anna Phoebe, another Anathema collaborator.
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