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.
