|
|
Far from their greatest effort, but a nice conclusion to their anniversary.-
|
| My Dying Bride: The Barghest O' Whitby |
Doom Metal, Gothic Metal
Peaceville Records
November 7th, 2011
- The Barghest O' Whitby - 27:03
|
| Links |
| Review Information |
Release length: 27:03
Review posted on November 23rd, 2011
- |
|
| | Overall Score: 7.5/10 |
 
|
|
|
| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
As the Floor Withers (1992) • Turn Loose the Swans (1993) • The Angel and the Dark River (1995) • Like Gods of the Sun (1996)
34.788%... Complete (1998) • The Light at the End of the World (1999) • The Dreadful Hours (2001) • Songs of Darkness, Words of Light (2004)
A Line of Deathless Kings (2006) • For Lies I Sire (2009) • Evinta (2011)
|
| EP(s): |
Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium (1992) • The Thrash of Naked Limbs Am the Bloody Earth (1994) • Bring Me Victory (2009)
Excerpts from Evinta (2011) • The Barghest O' Whitby (2011)
|
| Single(s): |
God is Alone (1992) • Unreleased Bitterness (1993) • The Sexuality of Bereavement (1994) • The Cry of Mankind (1995)
For You Sampler (1996) • Deeper Down (2006)
|
| Demo(s): |
Towards the Sinister (1990)
|
| Compilation(s): |
Trinity (1995) • Meisterwerk 1 (2000) • Meisterwerk 2 (2001) • Anti-Diluvian Chronicles (2005)
|
| Live CD(s): |
The Voice of the Wretched (2002) • An Ode to Woe (2008)
|
| DVD(s): |
For Darkest Eyes (VHS) (1997) • For Darkest Eyes (2002) • Sinamorata (2005)
|
|
| - |
| Review |
After the rather stunning collection of re-recorded tracks from throughout the band's history on Evinta, My Dying Bride actually made it back into the studio to record more material. Later on in 2011, the group recorded a twenty seven minute long track for an EP titled consisting only of it's title track, The Barghest O' Whitby. This conceptual piece seems to tackle a tale of superstition and folklore according to the press release, all stemming to a "supernatural entity hell bent on revenge" style storyline. But, after the quite extensive two disc effort that marked the band's twentieth anniversary, does The Barghest O' Whitby leave a tarnished mark on this celebration, or does this possibly hastened release make a nice closing to the festivities?
The Barghest O' Whitby is far from a top-of-the-line sounding album. The group definitely tackles this one with a much rawer sound. The guitars here feel bleak and dismal as they should for a bad such as My Dying Bride, and the bass manages to come through nice, though both guitars feel a little lower in volume then they should be. The drumming here can often just feel like there's a bit too much feedback. The snares sound alright for the most part and work with the music to create a really depressing atmosphere to the track with a natural sound against a deep thud from the kicks and cymbols crashing at a decent volume. The violin here is a bit a letdown as well. Given the overall melancholic feel of the music, I expected a little more from this instrument. Instead it came off more like it bordered a Burzum-esque .midi file then an actual violin. Between that and the noise on the drum kit compared to the clarity of the other instruments, and how well they worked to set the atmosphere to the track, it can actually be a bit hard to get into. Vocally, it's a bit off-the-wall, as well as a little hard to get into despite how well it works. The approach here is more of a cleaner, back-of-the-throat singing performance which tries to act as a spoken word approach with varying other elements thrown in like more energetic rhasps that echo against the singing, and it's all done in a manner that seems to encompass the concept of the character the singer is portraying as losing his or her mind, gradually going insane due to the concept of the song.
But, in the long run, "The Barghest O' Whitby" just isn't the most impressive song the band has ever done, and it really takes a long while for some of the ideas to kick in as much of what makes the song enjoyable doesn't really start until a good couple minutes in, and even then it varies on occassion. The rawer quality honestly seems to hold it back a bit thanks to some instruments not sounding right, as well as in the background. The pace is expected and for the most part the Doom Metal funeral atmosphere is there with the slower section, creating a very haunting sound to the EP. The problem is that the music is just not that good. It feels too overly simple at times, creating a rather bland sound that simply doesn't create a rich enough atmosphere for what the band is going for here. The vocals overpower everything, which is also a bad move until the music picks up and becomes heavier later on and incorporates rhaspier vocals at lower volumes and even some gutturals against pounding drums and really driving guitar work.
Does it mean The Barghest O' Whitby is a bad release? Absolutely not. While it does suffer from plenty of complications, the song itself is still enjoyable for what it is, and given it's twenty seven minute lifespan, it does a good job at keeping the listener attentive, never really going into a lot of repetitive or filler material that will leave you wanting to just walk away, though at one point you can distinctly hear what sounds like one song ending and another picking up after a brief moment of silence. The tone of the song may not be as richly haunting as one would want, but when the band really slows things down, such as around the eight and a half minute mark, you can really feel the despair in the music, as well as see how the audio levels of the drums, as well as the vocals really seem to wreak havoc with the release. The faster, pounding moments on here really do take center stage though and cement the Death Metal intensity of the band that looms in the Gothic Doom Metal and environments of the band's recordings, but again the feedback on the drums hold things back a bit due to the noise accompanying the kit. This ends up causing those parts to lose the impact or bite that the cleaner notes would have had, especiallys ince that distortion on the kit ends up kind of covering the guitars at times in these assaulting passages.
If you're a My Dying Bride fan, chances are good you won't be put off by anything this review, or any other review has to say. You'll still pick up this release. And by all rights, it's a good song worth checking out that has enough solid material to keep you coming back here and there. However, it is far from one of the best recordings the band has ever put out. The Barghest O' Whitby does a good job offering up some solid music throughout the release to keep the listener entertained, but not all of it is that great. There are some times where the music does feel lacking, the atmosphere simply is not the greatest, and the instruments can come through horribly at times through a rawer production quality that simply didn't have to be. This isn't really a tarnish on an otherwise spectacular anniversary for the band, and it's honestly nice to have another effort put out by the band the same year as Evinta, as well as it being an original composition compared to the earlier re-recorded works that came before. The Barghest O' Whitby is still worth looking into, just don't go into it expecting the most amazing My Dying Bride release since The Angel and the Dark River, or even the more recent Songs of Darkness, Words of Light.
| Submit to Social Networks |
Donater/Ethic Info |
|
Digital review copy of this release provided by:
Peaceville Records
via Fresno Media. |
|
| |
