MY DYING BRIDE - Songs of Darkness, Words of Light
1. The Wreckage of My Flesh
2. The Scarlet Garden
3. Catherine Blake
4. My Wine In Silence
5. The Prize Of Beauty
6. The Blue Lotus
7. And My Fury Stands Ready
8. A Doomed Lover
Label: Peaceville Records
Release date: 2004
Artist site: http://www.mydyingbride.org/
GRADE: 8/10
It's been twelve years since their debut As The Flower Withers, and MY DYING BRIDE are still going strong. Very strong. In fact, they've been on a roll since the release of 99's The Light At The End Of The World and continuing with it's followup, The Dreadful Hours. Such an enveloping blanket of heaviness has not been heard in some time. I have always loved how this band can be somber one moment and bombastic the next. They are a unique unit within the extreme metal genre and most of their peers only dream of writing such accomplished material.
Yet, MDB are a band you either love or hate, I can only think of a handful of people that when asked have responded with "oh, they're ok..." Many purists do not like some of the directions they've gone in, but personally I've always found those directions to be inherently MY DYING BRIDE. From the death growls on the first two albums, to the gothic moans of The Angel and The Dark River, to the current blend, they've managed to consistently challenge the listener.
Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light opens with "The Wreckage Of My Flesh," an epic of grand proportions. It's one of those tracks you can easily lose yourself in. "The Scarlet Garden" begins with a riff that would make Iommi envious and vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe begins his sermon of misery and woe. The growl returns and it's in top form. The string section is nice, not sure if it's a keyboard or a violin, damn cardboard promos! That is definitely one facet that I miss, Martin Powell. Yes, he's great in CRADLE OF FILTH, but his violin and keys were an integral part of early MDB.
Check out the Dani Filthisms on "Catherine Blake," Stainthorpe's shrieks and growls sounding a bit like the evil dwarf. "My Wine In Silence" starts off a creepy dirge and then transforms into an uplifting, atmospheric crash, resulting in a musical embrace.
My personal highlight, however, is "The Blue Lotus." There are many reading this who are probably smiling, knowing exactly what I'm talking about. This is just one of those songs, one where everything, every last little detail, is absolutely perfect. The arrangements, performance, production, etc., etc. I'll bet this one goes over exceptionally well live.
And then, just when you think they're going TYPE O towards the end of the record, they bring in "And My Fury Stands Ready." What a beast of a track! Think MDB, MAIDEN (i.e. "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner") and you're somewhere in the ballpark. Quite doomy, and the title is very fitting. Excellent headphone music.
And it all comes to a snail's pace for "A Doomed Lover," the final track. My favorite part of this one is the last riff and melody, which work well together, almost giving off a feel good vibe. Make sure and crank it!
To wrap it up, I only have one truly negative thing to pick on and that is the atrocious, horrendous, despicable cover art. The color choices are good, but the artwork itself is the worst computer animated pile of dog shit I have seen in recent years. The fact that both the band and the label allowed it to see the light of day is unbelievable. That being said, the album really is another highlight in MY DYING BRIDE's career and Peaceville should be proud.
PJ
1. The Wreckage of My Flesh
2. The Scarlet Garden
3. Catherine Blake
4. My Wine In Silence
5. The Prize Of Beauty
6. The Blue Lotus
7. And My Fury Stands Ready
8. A Doomed Lover
Label: Peaceville Records
Release date: 2004
Artist site: http://www.mydyingbride.org/
GRADE: 8/10
It's been twelve years since their debut As The Flower Withers, and MY DYING BRIDE are still going strong. Very strong. In fact, they've been on a roll since the release of 99's The Light At The End Of The World and continuing with it's followup, The Dreadful Hours. Such an enveloping blanket of heaviness has not been heard in some time. I have always loved how this band can be somber one moment and bombastic the next. They are a unique unit within the extreme metal genre and most of their peers only dream of writing such accomplished material.
Yet, MDB are a band you either love or hate, I can only think of a handful of people that when asked have responded with "oh, they're ok..." Many purists do not like some of the directions they've gone in, but personally I've always found those directions to be inherently MY DYING BRIDE. From the death growls on the first two albums, to the gothic moans of The Angel and The Dark River, to the current blend, they've managed to consistently challenge the listener.
Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light opens with "The Wreckage Of My Flesh," an epic of grand proportions. It's one of those tracks you can easily lose yourself in. "The Scarlet Garden" begins with a riff that would make Iommi envious and vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe begins his sermon of misery and woe. The growl returns and it's in top form. The string section is nice, not sure if it's a keyboard or a violin, damn cardboard promos! That is definitely one facet that I miss, Martin Powell. Yes, he's great in CRADLE OF FILTH, but his violin and keys were an integral part of early MDB.
Check out the Dani Filthisms on "Catherine Blake," Stainthorpe's shrieks and growls sounding a bit like the evil dwarf. "My Wine In Silence" starts off a creepy dirge and then transforms into an uplifting, atmospheric crash, resulting in a musical embrace.
My personal highlight, however, is "The Blue Lotus." There are many reading this who are probably smiling, knowing exactly what I'm talking about. This is just one of those songs, one where everything, every last little detail, is absolutely perfect. The arrangements, performance, production, etc., etc. I'll bet this one goes over exceptionally well live.
And then, just when you think they're going TYPE O towards the end of the record, they bring in "And My Fury Stands Ready." What a beast of a track! Think MDB, MAIDEN (i.e. "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner") and you're somewhere in the ballpark. Quite doomy, and the title is very fitting. Excellent headphone music.
And it all comes to a snail's pace for "A Doomed Lover," the final track. My favorite part of this one is the last riff and melody, which work well together, almost giving off a feel good vibe. Make sure and crank it!
To wrap it up, I only have one truly negative thing to pick on and that is the atrocious, horrendous, despicable cover art. The color choices are good, but the artwork itself is the worst computer animated pile of dog shit I have seen in recent years. The fact that both the band and the label allowed it to see the light of day is unbelievable. That being said, the album really is another highlight in MY DYING BRIDE's career and Peaceville should be proud.
PJ
