Search - My Dying Bride :: For Lies I Sire

A Chapter in Loathing

Murat Batmaz | Istanbul, Turkey | 04/21/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"So how does the new album, For Lies I Sire, compare to the previous My Dying Bride efforts? Is it more of the same or does it incorporate anything new into their songcraft?



On the whole, the album tries to blend their earlier songwriting characteristics with the material that dominated their previous releases, most notably in the vocal department. To claim that it breaks new ground would be an overstatement, but there are certain areas where they have branched off a bit, employing violin and more multi-tracked vocal parts and death vocals this time around. That said, neither the violin nor the deathy growls are used excessively. Rather, Katie Stone's morose violin sections are subtly integrated into the compositins, while Aaron Stainthorpe goes for the growls on just a few of the tracks without overdoing it.



Some of the highlights include the excellent "My Body, A Funeral," where the addictive vocal melody is slowly repeated by the guitar and violin respectively, whilst the drumming beneath the mix is heavy and crushing. Likewise, the militaristic drums are also fiercely prominent on "Fall with Me," which gives a nod to the band's past. The vocals, however, carry on in the style of the previous album, A Line of Deathless Kings, although the singing sounds more inspired and emotional on this one.



Among the album's finest moments are the piano-based dirge, "Echoes from a Hollow Soul," and the title track. The guitar themes that preoccupy these tunes sound like they were readapted from the material on The Dreadful Hours, arguably My Dying Bride's last essential album, in that they are gripping and unbelievably sad sounding. It is moreso a similarity in the way the guitars are arranged rather than a musical similarity.



There are some extreme vocals to provide contrast on "Bring Me Victory," with an epic intro and tribal drumming, but honestly, Stainthorpe does seem to strain while doing the growls. It doesn't sound as powerful as his work on earlier albums. Similarly, when he opts for some growls on the comparatively whacky "ShadowHaunt," his singing recalls Black Metal type of singing, which does not quite suit the song. Add to this the somewhat experimental direction the band has taken, starting in a very stripped down way with violins and strummed acoustic guitars and morphing into a guitar-driven onslaught of riffs with eerie synth patches and harsh vocals.



The band further experiments in "A Chapter in Loathing," a track that contains plenty of blast beats, tense silences, and a storming mix of synths, violins, and gritty vocal stylings. The final track, at over eleven minutes, sees them expanding on this aesthetic, with strange results. Fast, rolling drums dominate the track in the beginning before Stainthorpe's spoken part emerges as eerie, desolate doom riffs are also introduced slowly into the mix. Then there is again some silence, and then some more riffing. It ends on a creepy note, as the song abruptly ends at the nine-minute mark -- the last two minutes of it is complete silence, thus making it one of their longest songs to date.



Besides the doomy material highlighted by dark guitar themes and excellent clean vocals, there are also relatively catchy tracks like "Santuario di Sangue" (Sanctuary of Blood), which also brings forth weird non-musical elements (deep breathing and horse sounds), some melancholic doom riffs, and powerful vocal harmonies. Also this track has the best bass lines of all.



Overall, while For Lies I Sire may be slightly better than the band's previous two studio albums, A Line of Deathless Kings and Songs of Darkness, Words of Light, but some of the tunes suffer from over-experimentation and the forced brutal singing does not really gel with the clean parts all the way through. That's why I still consider The Dreadful Hours their most accomplished and cohesive work in their last ten years.



By the way, the artwork of the album is very different from their other albums, possibly because it was created on a computer. I do miss the band's own drawings though. The booklet is also interesting as it contains tabs to some of the tunes, including "My Body, A Funeral," "Fall With Me," and "Bring Me Victory.""

Doomful Glorious Lies

Mad Reveller | Delaware, OH USA | 06/17/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

""For Lies I Sire" is another excellent album in the almost unprecedented line of albums by the best in the genre.



Some people obsess about My Dying Bride's music always comparing new albums to earlier albums, etc. While this is understandable and hard to avoid, I've always thought doing so was senseless. This album does't sound like "A Line of Deathless Kings", but it sounds like My Dying Bride, and that's a good thing; it's the whole point. After all these years, they still sound like My Dying Bride; yet the music still sounds fresh...far fresher than most bands who've been around this long...or even half as long. These songs feel like new and different compositions to me.



Either you get their music or you do not.



Even though the line-up has changed; it's still My Dying Bride mostly because of Aaron, Andrew, and Hamish [incidentally, Hamish has been around long enough he should be considered a TRUE member by now; that is, he's not just a replacement guitarist; he is My Dying Bride].



If you've never heard their music before, you could easily start here; it's a great album. It has a lot to offer.









"

Bringing victory again

"Giles The Axeman" | North Carolina | 05/07/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"my dying bride another down to earth gothic doom metal band, my dying bride has always caught my attention while listening too in my cd player. this album yet another slow tempo with catchy guitar riffs and hooks,here and there they speed up a little at times ,aarons voice is still the same but somewhat different in a way the drums are awesome . the thing with this album is you don't know when the change up is coming in a song, and when it does it grabs you. listen to this album with patience or else you won't hear it right the first time."