My Dying Bride
A Line Of Deathless Kings
Peaceville


I'll be honest; at first I wanted to slate this release. After a moment of fleetingly high hopes, I promptly wrote it off as bland, uninspired and forgettable. That singular moment was the opening riff to To Remain Tombless, which marries slightly venomous, chord-driven guitars perfectly with a powerful drum intro. But it all seemed to go downhill after that, up until the very end of the somewhat irksome closer, The Blood, The Wine, The Roses.

If you recently heard the impressive Deeper Down single and were heartened by the aggressive musical direction displayed in the b-side, The Child Of Eternity, be prepared for disappointment. The death metal influence, which has waxed and waned throughout My Dying Bride's esteemed career, is only an occasional highlight on the album proper. This mellower, more introspective opus will definitely divide fans. For many, it'll initially lack the intensity of their old favourites, but, slowly, it does open up and the highlights work their way to the fore. At times, Stainthorpe's cleanly sung vocals are the best I've ever heard them and the opening lines to Thy Raven Wings will stay with many listeners for a long time.

There's no shortage of melancholic and depressing moments, though it definitely lacks that cohesively heavy, oppressive atmosphere of earlier releases and I feel some of the songs are a little too catchy and listener-friendly. After all, the doom genre is intended to communicate a sense of despair, misery and loss, which remains Stainthorpe's singular lyrical concern (I still cannot bring myself to believe that a grown man has written some of these nauseatingly lame lines).

Occasionally, it all works admirably here, but all too often I find myself faced with the urge to bop away to one of the many catchy, cheery sounding guitar lines. It's immensely enjoyable to listen to, for better or worse, and may prove an excellent introductory album for anyone with softer tastes looking for a way to approach the band and genre as a whole. Anyone with any courage should definitely plunge straight into the back catalogue, however.

Mike Cross