Track Listing
1. The cry to mankind 2. From darkest skies 3. Black voyage 4. A sea to suffer in 5. Two winters only 6. Your shameful heaven Year: 1995 Label: Peaceville - Official Site |
My Dying Bride - 'The angel and the dark river' - By C. Diamantis
The third album from the English doom-metallers presented a rather important change in the music of My Dying Bride. The brutal vocals of Aaron Stainthorpe are totally absent from this album which is solely based on his clean vocals. Other than that the changes in their sound are not very radical but that doesn�t mean that this album lacks anything in quality. With just six songs and a duration of 52 minutes it�s easy to understand that all their songs are long, mostly slow compositions which give a lot of importance to the emotions they emit to the listener. From the first twelve minute long �The Cry Of Mankind� with the sound of waves and other samples during the last five minutes of the song, to the last song �Your Shameful Heaven�, which is probably the fastest track this band has ever written, a deep feeling of melancholy is ever-present. Fortunately, My Dying Bride manage to sound melancholic without being mellow and that is the strongest point of the atmosphere they create. Doom metal is a very accurate description of their music but they are unlike anything else in the genre. Their music isn�t epic (like Candlemass) or groovy (like some American bands, e.g. Saint Vitus or late Trouble), it�s slow and emotional to the point of being dramatic. It seems that England has a very strong scene in the genre (although nowadays a lot of the bands have radically changed their style), probably due to the weather. Along with Paradise Lost and Anathema (both in their early days), My Dying Bride are probably one of the most important bands England has produced in the last decade. I think that there are two points about their sound that need to be mentioned. The first is the beautiful vocals of Aaron, who uses his voice as another instrument in order to add even more intense emotions to the songs. The second is the violin of Martin Powell. Sometimes along with the rest instruments, sometimes alone, the violin offers to the listener some moments that won�t be forgotten easily. My special mention of these two members doesn�t mean that the rest are unimportant. On the contrary, they are all very gifted musicians and composers. However I believe that Aaron and Martin donate many points to this band. Another very important element of the music of My Dying Bride is the lyrics of their songs. All the lyrics in the album are written by Aaron, who, during the years, has developed a totally personal style of writing, poetic and intense. It�s one of those times when the lyrics can stand alone, as poetry, and aren�t just a part of the song. Magnificent work, but I didn�t expect less from a man, who has proven his talent many times. The artwork of the album is very plain, with a simple photograph on the cover. It�s dominated mostly by the white colour and that makes a marked difference with the atmosphere of the album which is more �black� than �white�. As a final comment, I�d like to say that in my opinion this is the best album the British band has created and is a fine example of emotional music. Well, enough said, if you haven�t already gotten this album, go buy it now� Metal Obsessive Grade: 90% |