2004-03-11
If asked to state a name of a Doom band which started its way in that genre and evolved through its existence, still adhering to its roots, its sure to be My Dying Bride, for they truly sound authentic and true to that genre, even after so many albums and years that have passed.
Their vocalist weeps ever so gently, leaving the soul trembling in melancholy (it’s hard to shake the oppressive feeling this albums leaves in you),a registered trade mark of the band since his growling days.
The album’s sound and production values elevate it onto massive proportions, no less.
If Turn Loose The Swans made you want to seal yourselves inside your deepest sorrow, than add to it a nice, round, fat sound with incredible depth, tightened by an album cover which holds your eye and doesn’t let go.
Vocal wise, its part clean, depressive mourning singing, delivering some of our world’s sadder moments, at times accentuated by sudden bursts of growling, filled with hate and anger.
Rhythm wise, the band does tend to the mid-tempo rhythms, but at times gets some extra drive and goes into a Lighter Mid Tempo.
The sound is a definite bonus, a fat, well produced sound, which still manages to contain that rough feel which always characterized the band, some keyboards are interwoven through, which elevate the energy in the music to some higher levels.
The first track, the wreckage of my flesh, opens the albums with tons of extra feel to it,
A precise blow, it leads you on to the rest of the album as a definite atmosphere barometer, an atmosphere that becomes more evident as we proceed.
The third track, Catherine Black, puts on some more upbeat tempo, and contains some serious voice raising and spoken bits, which create quite a maelstrom as the song comes to a head.
The fourth, The Prize Of Beauty, starts with some short bursts, then flowing more easily as the track progresses, the vocals reminded me of Black Metal at first , then going into a more force-driven vocal style, the song is heavily reminiscent of the Gothic Black/Doom metal genre.
Dynamically speaking, the one thing I can compare this album with, is the result had Devil Doll made Doom Metal…
In surmising, a great album contains 8 tracks that justify its purchase in an melancholic, diverse fashion!
Maor Appelbaum
