"After releasing the gorgeous symphonic/new age "Evinta" earlier this year, My Dying Bride comes back with more "classic" doomy EP "The Barghest O' Whitby". And a very challenging EP... consisting of only one song, but a 27+ minute epic!
My first impressions were mitigated... More harsh vocals than usual (and Aaron's harsh vocals don't sound as good as they were in the past), melodies similar to stuff they already did in the past, and even a pure death metal passage at the end.
But after a few listens, this EP really grew on me. It is like a longer version of one of my favorite songs from the early days "Symphonaire Infernus...", with everything from the old days -- doomy riffs, very slow pace, violin, growls -- mixed with the melancholic melodies of the most recent albums.
Highly recommended."
"An unbelievable album... There is no trace of metal here. Just piano, keys, cello, Aaron's (mostly spoken) voice, and a female operatic singer. Of course you will sometimes recognize some of MDB's most well known melodies, but they are rearranged in a completely new fashion. If you liked MDB's most quiet songs, like "For My Fallen Angel" or "Le Cerf Malade"... then this album is for you."
"One of the good surprises of the year 2006.
Continuing on the same doomdeath style that made them so popular, My Dying Bride releases here an album considered by the band as their best work to date. And I would tend to agree, as I would rate this album equally to their two other masterpieces "Turn Loose The Swans" and "The Angel And The Dark River".
Compared to the last few albums, the band decided to use less death metal growls (as they simply didn't fit the music they wrote for the album), so you'll only get 3 lines of growls in "Love's Intolerable Pain" (mixed with clean vocals too), 4 in "Deeper Down" and a small passage at the end of "The Blood, the Wine, the Roses" (speaking of which, it's the most extreme stuff they wrote since their debut album... but it's only 30 seconds long).
The clean vocals have also improved, with a more emotional high pitched tone mixed with more spoken/whispered words.
Highly recommended."
"Revolutionary.
Turn Loose The Swans , the sophomore effort by My Dying Bride is an extremely unique album when considering its historical importance and the mind-boggling progression between this record and the debut As The Flower Withers . A dramatic change can is easily noticeable in that the group no longer plays the powerful Death/Doom exclusively, and has implemented such features that make their sound truly uncategorisable and impossible to put in whatever box you have got prepared for them. Martin Powell, now a full group colleague of the musicians, plays a greater role on this record, two of the seven total tracks lacking any heavy metal expression and consisting of gentle and melancholic violin and piano composition. In addition, he has become more brave in taking part in heavier sections, with the screeching, weeping violin sound that has been copied numerous times by now.
The album is surrounded by a tragic, fatal aura, and the lyrics are extremely bleak and depressing, much like the music itself, dealing with loss, hatred and despair. Conversely, it is drastically different from the debut in that way that there is so much variety in the songwriting in virtually every single track that the listening experience becomes absolutely breathtaking, as there are all the moments that make the music worthwhile. The track lengths and compositional structure are very progressive, with the average song being roughly nine minutes long. A large number of tempo changes and unpredictable song progressions are involved, making the listening fascinating. If you add sincere emotion and almost a surrealistic, unconventional approach to expression and a unique aesthetic, it becomes less surprising that this album has such value.
The album has its intro Sear Me Mcmxciii and outro in Black God , both of which lack the extreme tendencies and consist nothing but vocals, violin, piano and synth. The last track sounds like a requiem, with the minimalistic melody being repeated for around four minutes with spoken word, accompanied by a guest female vocalist. There is one particular line that stands out, which inspired a name for another project ( Until Death Overtakes Me ), and it is, in fact, so memorable that I feel like naming something after it as well. Other tracks combine crushing riffs with guttural growls complemented by vital parts with clean, moan-like singing and expressive, emotional instrumentation. Each track is solid and impressive for what it is, however, two songs deserve to be highlighted, that being Your River , that starts slowly and builds up until only around five minutes in the song vocals kick in and that is where it becomes even more fascinating. Another personal favourite is the 12-minute long The Crown Of Sympathy , containing no harsh vocals and having a very obscure, dark ambient-like section in the middle.
Turn Loose The Swans is one of the most powerful and intense musical experienced that can ever be suggested to anyone, and is not too inaccessible to avoid. It is a revolutionary album and without its existence, we would probably not have any exposure to such amazing Progressive acts as Opeth , Novembre , In The Woods... , Agalloch , maudlin of the Well , as well as other Toby Driver's projects, and countless other groups, who wouldn't have reached their respective culminative album if this album never existed. Its influence is not the main motive to buy it, however, as it does not sound dated and is still an urgent addition to anyone's collection."
