Your humble reviewer was clearly a very good boy this week because not one, but two fantastic releases arrived courtesy of the good folks at Peaceville. The first is the new EP form My Dying Bride: ‘Bring me victory’ and the second the debut EP from Barren Earth (‘Our twilight’) a mouth watering project featuring members of Swallow the sun, Moonsorrow and Kreator.
Certainly anyone who has a passing knowledge of the British metal scene will have heard of My Dying Bride, the chief architects of sonic gloom who recently released the blistering ‘For lies I sire’ and who return here with a brand new EP featuring a choice cut from the album (‘Bring me victory’) a none-more-gloomy cover of ‘Scarborough fair’ which sees the band expand upon the folky elements that have always existed deep within their bleak melodies to create something that is both darkly beautiful and exquisitely poignant, a cover of Swan’s ‘Failure’ (from ‘White light from the mouth of infinity’) which works perfectly, in no small part because Aaron Stainthorpe shares vocal similarities with Michael Gira, although MDB make the track unarguably their own and a live version of ‘Vast choirs’ (from ‘As the flower withers), not to mention the video for the title track. Like all MDB releases, ‘Bring me victory’ is immaculately packaged and presented and strict quality control has been enforced to ensure that the extra tracks are no mere studio off-cuts, the covers being magnificently re-worked to suit MDB’s own inimitable style and the live track providing an energetic close to proceedings.
While MDB are a known quantity and, indeed, a band who rarely disappoint, Barren Earth are a new prospect who have yet to unleash a full album. However, if this four-track EP is anything to go by Barren Earth not only lives up to the impressive legacy of the members’ past projects but actually surpasses expectations that one may have. Part doom, but with a much more death metal vibe than MDB employ, ‘Our twilight’ oozes quality and offers a tantalising glimpse of the treasures in-store for us when the band release their full-length offering sometime in 2010.
Opening with the title track, a pounding track with melodic guitar lines and a suitably sombre rhythm section it brings to mind Katatonia before Mikko Kotamaki unleashes his deathly roar. Incorporating elements of jazz and progressive rock into its structure as well as close vocal harmonies which lend a folky vibe to the soft passages Barren Earth clearly have a surfeit of ideas to throw into the melting pot but, like the aforementioned Katatonia or the excellent Opeth, it never sounds forced or contrived and the band move between passages with a deftness which belies the fact that this is a debut release.
Second track, ‘jewel’ opens on a piano line which then opens up to a funereal march fuelled by blazing guitars before turning into a stately, mid-tempo march. Dan Swano’s production, here and throughout, is a revelation helping to place Barren Earth up at the top of the pile and affording clarity to a multitude of instruments. Keyboardist Kasper Martenson also shines on this track as his piano takes the lead at various points, offering a dimension rarely seen in doom bands where the keyboards often take a lesser role in proceedings, and lending a sixties vibe to the track. ‘The flame of serenity’ is, apparently, based upon Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (1048 – 1123) a Persian Poet who was later translated by Edward FitzGerald which is a suitably grand subject matter for a band such as this to tackle.
Final track ‘Flooded’ veers between outright aggression and a striking beauty that once again takes every opportunity to display the versatility of this amazing band.
Both EPs stretch the boundaries of the format as far as possible, covering almost thirty minutes of music in both cases and presented in super-jewel cases with custom designed artwork. In the case of My Dying Bride it is a must-have for fans of the band and also serves as a decently-priced taster for those somehow unfamiliar with their charms. In the case of Barren Earth this is an astonishing debut which packs more invention into four songs than many bands manage on a whole album. In both cases there isn’t a duff track in sight and I would recommend both wholeheartedly as beautifully crafted pieces of dark art.
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