My Dying Bride
The Barghest O’ Whitby
Rating
Style: Doom Metal
Release date: 7 November, 2011
Playing time: 26:00
 

25 minutes? Right, so this is an EP. Wait, just one song?! A 26-minute song?!? WTF?

Indeed, 'The Barghest O’ Whitby' is not only the title of the new EP from Britain's finest doomsters, it is also the title of the only, yet epic track of the EP. And what a track!

Since 1992, MDB have been a defining element in a genre. I daresay they brought life to a genre which was wellnigh flatlining. They took the genre to its borders and beyond and thus revitalised it. They used violins, death metal, female voices, trip-hop sounds and what not in an ongoing quest to challenge the fans.

The name Barghest O'Whitby comes from a legend of a monstrous black dog which haunts the north of England (read more here), and who's more suitable to tell this grim tale than My Dying Bride? And grim it certainly is. During the 26 minutes this track lasts, Aaron and his gloomy men drag us through anguish and torment on a stormy night in Northern England.

From the outset, the doomy twin guitars of Hamish and Andrew along with Shaun's violin carve a dark foundation for the darkness to come, and Aaron sets the scene with a snarling voice from the other side. Creepy, haunting and exactly as it should be. This tempo doesn't last, though. Six minutes into the gloom, the tempo is raised and Aaron uses his clear voice.

The song goes through several stages, the violin comes and goes, the tempo is varied between slow doom to the faster, MDB style death metal, Aaron changing his vocal style throughout - snarling, growling, singing.

With this one song, My Dying Bride so clearly demonstrate just how brilliant they are at handling both the beautiful and the grim. When the twin guitars, the violin and Aaron's clean voice work together, something clicks and goes right in. On the other hand, when they want to, My Dying Bride can create the music nightmares are made of; haunting, grim and disturbing.

This is when music becomes art. Wonderful piece.


Tracklist

01. The Barghest O’ Whitby

 


 

Label: Peaceville
Distribution: Target (Denmark)
Artwork rating: 80/100
Reviewed by: Thomas Nielsen
Date: 6 November, 2011
Website: www.mydyingbride.org