My Dying Bride – A Line of Deathless Kings
Granted, I don’t listen to My Dying Bride half as much as I used to, but I’m still continually impressed by their new releases and tend to really enjoy them during the short period of time I dedicate to spinning them. “A Line of Deathless Kings” is no exception. The brooding weight in their music maintains a consistency that is undeniably a style all their own and if anything, this album breaks up the bands usually doom laden mid-paced drawl, for a lot more tempo variety. The leadoff track, “To Remain Tombless” is easily one of the 5 most excellently constructed songs the band has put together in ages, starting off typically melancholic with a touch of double bass death metal bite, slowly building steam into a very passionate chorus and bridge that soars with vibrant melodies and an underlying sinister aura that sounds musically just as viable as the band did on their debut MCD “Symphonaire Infernus Spera Empyrium”. My Dying Bride have maintained their identity after all these years and that is very commendable. When Aaron initially started shedding the deep death growls in favor of more of a gothic croon, his voice used to be a bit sketchy as if the transition was an awkward strain for him. The power in his growling vocals was sadly lacking with his pitch singing, if not sounding overly whiney/weak. Over time, he has perfected this delivery and I would say that this and the 2 albums before it, were the first where I actually never really though much about his old style, which does finally make an appearance on this albums closing track, “The Blood, The Wine, The Roses” for a bit of gut wrenching bliss as if to hint at what’s to come. I typically avoid any band that champions romantic misery in their music simply for the cheesy qualities that are often a part of such commercially viable drivel, but My Dying Bride have always been an exception to this rule, because they have the interesting musical content to offset the “woe is me” lyrical concepts. Whether it is a simplistic power chord riff, or those soul crushing, note based harmonies that weep along to the progression, MDB spins an all consuming tale of musical drama. With “A Line of Deathless Kings”, it seems that there’s more musical exploration on display, from clean guitar passages, to interesting little synth/harpsicord/sequenced sections that add color to the over all picture created by MDB. It’s the little things that speak volumes and it’s good to hear a bit more layering by the musical minds of this band. This has been one of those albums that has felt right to play in back to back succession. Attribute this to my somber mood as of late, or perhaps the feeling of MDB nostalgia, but I have thoroughly enjoyed this album and have even been inspired to dust off the MDB classics to be reminded of this bands past and future greatness. It’s good to have them back in my listening rotation again. – Marty
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