The last EP of My Dying Bride’s happens to have the same duration, however that was a single track, while this EP contains four. Both are brilliant examples of their song writing skills, be they 27 or 4 minutes long.
“The Manuscript” opens with the title track played in their solemn style – slow morose guitars, haunting violins and vocals that range from a rueful whisper to disconsolate but oh so melodious singing, it even fades out with some acoustic guitar – letting you know that you shan’t be disappointed by this at all.
Right from the get go, “Var Gud Over Er” is a harsh reminder that they are still perfectly capable of creating beautiful brutality. Initially Aaron’s vocals are his anguished death growls over Hamish and Andrew’s powerfully heavy guitars overlaid with a pretty melody only they can produce. When Aaron starts using his vocals, the heavy guitars are completely replaced by the melodic ones, but thankfully the heaviness and melody ebb and flow and intertwine in the way emotions always do, leaving you feeling a little battered and bruised, but soothed by the calm simultaneously and since I’ve always found My Dying Bride’s music to be very emotive, none of this is unexpected.
Far more sombre is “A Pale Shroud of Longing”, with Lena playing a bass melody which allows Shaun’s violin to play complement as the two instruments are accompanied by a simple drum beat for tempo. This bridge is repeated later in the song with Aaron speaking with a hint of happiness in his voice. The song also has an uplifting quality to it that the steady rhythm of the driving guitars along with Aaron’s voice brings forth.
Speaking in a melancholic fashion for that added layer of misery, “Only Tears to Replace Her With” doesn’t have the guitars raise above the occasional mournful strum and lengthy sustained notes, making it a bitter sweet finale to the EP, but perfectly so.
So while this is less than half an hour of music, it’s nothing less than exceptional. Granted, I’m a fan and a tad biased, but don’t let that stop you from grabbing this while you can.
(9/10 – Marco Gaminara)
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