The hype that came to this reviewer with The Angel and the Dark River, the latest recording from goth daemons My Dying Bride, characterizes Aaron as "the band's carefree vocalist." Here are some of the carefree lyrics to which Aaron gives voice: "I will make them all lie down / Down where hope lies dying / With lust, you're kicking mankind to death / We live and die without hope..."
I guess it's a matter of interpretation.
Throughout this album, the band strums epic sturm and drang, whipping up a Wagnerish and cinematic mix of storytelling and a muscular blur of guitar-laden noise. It could be good, but it's a little short. Lacking the dynamic range of ancestors like Sisters of Mercy, and the lyrical facility of the likes of Metallica, My Dying Bride fall back on their one strong point, endurance.
In a few shining moments, the explosion of sound works. Aaron sings "This terrible journey, oh, that no-one knows" against a backdrop of tortured guitars and, for a moment, the band wrings a little more pathos from the sound -- taking us into their angst. In "Your Shameful Heaven" some primitive, but effective violin coaxes meaning from each note. The plaintive violin is subjected to a predictable, brutal assault by the other instruments, but while it struggles to survive the onslaught, the violin becomes an instrumental metaphor for the lyrics.
On drums, Rick seems to rouse armies of the dead and set them to war again. The war is for a single soul and all the soldiers are the tortured and divided personalities of a single man. A storm, if not present, is always on the horizon. Sometimes this is good, but other times the repetition comes close to boredom.
Best recommended for the goth/metal fan, who wants to angst in a bash 'em, slash 'em world.
