My Dying Bride "Songs of Darkness, Words of Light" CD
[Peaceville]
I must say, you'd think a band of this nature would just sort of fizzle out and lose their momentum after all these years, and admittedly I really did stop caring about the band for a good chunk of time, but damn, these last few records have really put them back on the map, and with good reason. I think this is even better than "The Dreadful Hours" was, heading in that same direction of blending the band's patented doom with atmospheric and dramatic clean passages. As usual the tracks run between six and nine minutes, but never really drag on or get tedious, and the songs are definitely similarly structured to what the band is known for, using generally slow tempos and plodding rhythms with vocals that shift between various forms of growling and singing/speaking, but in a sense this record is more consistently bleak and sinister, at times venturing into curiously new territory. The start of "My Wine in Silence", for instance, with its reverberated clean guitars and flowing melodies almost comes off as sounding similar to Coldplay or something like that!? And it's superb! Several tracks make use of eerily sustained notes, while pieces of "And My Fury Stands Ready" get into some really twisted dissonant lead lines over destructive chord progressions to create a real sense of intensity. I think part of the reason this album feels more forceful is the recording. Everything is well mixed and heavy, with great texture and a lot of natural density. The guitars are crisp and clear but definitely encompass a lot of thickness, the percussion sounds strong, the vocals hang in with the instruments, etc. I tend to have a little bit of a hard time isolating the basslines, but they're there, and the keyboards, when used, are appropriately placed behind the core of the mix. Very nice. The disc comes in a large digipack with a pretty decent sized booklet inside the first panel. I have to say that as the band's music gets stronger over time, their visual aesthetic has taken an enormous nosedive. This is probably the band's worst looking album to date, as the artwork is just boring and the cover is completely cheesy. Had they omitted the nude torso and just gone with the bleak, dimly lit landscapes it would've looked a lot better. Not exactly good, but certainly better. I'm not sure what they were thinking. The lyrics are a little too poetic at times as far as rhyming and such, but they still hit on some curious moments: "All hell did fill with the screaming souls of dead men. The mighty army of god did stand and wait hoping our lord would unleash them all. Chaos ensued, screaming from the dark. Observing his darkened child, in the miserable corners of the earth, the great heart of god will heal up the earth. The lord watched as his beloved slipped silently back into the darkness below." All in all this is just a get set of songs, and there's no doubt in my mind that some of the finest compositions the band has penned to date are on this very CD. That's all there is to it. If you know My Dying Bride, you have a very good idea of what to expect. It's a bit of the band's classic style, a few new twists, and an excellent exhibition of songwriting - and that's what truly matters here. Very recommended. I'm really impressed by how moving some of this material is. (8/10)
Running time - 59:13, Tracks: 8
[Notable tracks: My Wine in Silence, And My Fury Stands Ready, A Doomed Lover]
Peaceville Records - http://www.peaceville.com

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