My Dying Bride
The Angel and Dark River
[Peaceville]


The first time I heard My Dying Bride was on their impressive hand-numbered 7". That blew me away, since they were at one time one of, if not the heaviest doom/death band in the scene. So what happened? The metal media calls it evolution, I call it shite.

'The Angel and the Dark River' was another step into the fires of commercialism for the band. 'Turn loose the Swans' gave hints of this, but it wasn't until this album, followed by the awful "Like gods of the Sun" that really proved it.

Do black tears fall from your pale, sorrow filled face? Does the rest of the world not understand you, your unique style, and the pain you must endure? I hate goths, really do, and this will appeal to them. It's ludicrous, almost farcical gothic 'doomy' music that appeals to the weakest members of the music scene.

My point, entangled in a pseudo-review:

It's such a trend, when bands take experimental quick turns, to pick fun at their critics. Calling them 'closed-minded', 'childish', and other laughable insults simply takes away from the truth. Bands that change their style, without denouncing their past through name changes, etc. bring insult to their fan base. Can you imagine hearing the first EP, loving it, disappearing from the face of the earth, only to return to this smoldering lump of feces? It's pathetic.

And the worst thing about this is tagging on "The Sexuality of Bereavement", a track that showcases how they could combine melancholy with brutality onto the end of the disc. A bonus 4-track disc of the band playing at the Dynamo can be found on some versions for those who actually care.


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