Track Listing
1. The wh*re, the cook and the mother 2. The stance of Evander Sinoue 3. Der uberlebende 4. Heroin chic 5. Apocalypse woman 6. Base level er*tica 7. Under your wings and into your arms Year: 1998 Label: Fearce - Official Site |
My Dying Bride - '34.788%...Complete' - By C. Diamantis
My Dying Bride have always been among the leaders of the atmospheric metal sound and were always renowned for the fact that none of their albums were exactly the same as each other. It seems that they decided to go a little further when writing this album though. Here they seem to push experimentation to its limits and they seem willing to cut most of the ties with their past. This is the reason many people have declared that this is an extremely bad album, but in my opinion this is the reason the record is so interesting. From the first moments of the album the differences between the present and the past of the band become apparent. Some distorted vocals and some electronic parts in the first song are the first signs that this is not going to be what most expected. Right about now many die-hard fans of the band start worrying and frowning at the sound of the music. This is also the part where those not firmly stuck in the past start understanding the beauty of the album. It�s really difficult to describe the music of the album, since the band used many different elements in order to create it. The atmosphere is similar to their other albums, but the way of reaching it is quite different. The music isn�t that melancholic anymore but instead has some harsher feelings blended into it. The guitars are there but their melodies seem �dirtier� and more straightforward than before. Even Aaron has radically changed his performance to suit the mood, his vocals doesn�t sound so melancholic and sad, but angrier and more desperate. Most of the songs are still slow, but they aren�t the same style doom metal as in �The Angel And The Dark River�. The introduction of trip-hop elements in their sound reveals another aspect of the band and while it�s very interesting, it�s pretty obvious that the band doesn�t have a lot of experience in the area and the result isn�t as good as it could be. The one completely trip-hop song of the album (�Heroin Chic�) is good in my opinion but it could be much better if the band was really acquainted with the particular style. Still the effort is commendable and the result is quite good. Of course, this is another album where the violin that was a trademark of the band during its early years is absent but its absence isn�t a drawback for two reasons. First the sound of the album didn�t really need a violin and second the keyboards fill the need for some additional melodies perfectly. Even the lyrics are radically different from the bands other records. Aaron always liked to deal with subjects like love or sadness but like everything else in this album they are very straightforward and in some part even �brutal�. The poetic and more abstract style of the past is replaced here by a more or less cynic realism that seems more desperate that the melancholy of the earlier days. Some may find this annoying, but, personally, I think it�s refreshing to see an artist trying to express himself in a different way. All in all, this is probably the darker and more direct album of the band. This and the strange elements that were mixed with the traditional My Dying Bride sound are what made a lot of people dislike it. And these are the things the made the album even more charming for me. After all the sadness is always there. It seems that there are some things that will never change. If you�re considering buying the album, first try to listen some of the songs before making your decision. Whether you like the album or not is purely a matter of personal taste. My advice would be to give it a chance, you may find it as attractive as I did� Metal Obsessive Grade: 80% |