In the early 90's, along with Paradise Lost and Anathema, My Dying Bride were a major force in the first generation of the Atmospheric/Gothic Doom Metal scene that flourished in England, and with their first two albums, 1992' s As The Flower Withers and 1993's Turn Loose The Swans, orchestrated dark, funereal Doom which was the foundation of expression for complete and utter misery, often with a flair of Romantic Tragedy. At the other extreme were blast beats and Death growls that offset the slow, morose atmosphere with venomous aggression. These first two releases were a huge influence on future acts of the scene and hailed as classics. Their third album, The Angel And The Dark River saw vocalist Aaron abandoning the Death growl for his mournful croon as the band centered their efforts on atmosphere and ambiance, pushing the keyboards and Martin Powell's violin in front of the guitars, while their fourth, Like Gods Of The Sun, saw a reversal in this aspect, with the guitars given more of a frontal role again while the violin was reserved for certain sections of the particular song. Like Gods Of The Sun was the band's most accessible material to date, with a more direct approach to the songwriting and some of the shortest compositions they had ever written, which by their standards were 5-7 minute songs instead of the usual 6-12 minutes. Their fifth release, 1998s 34.788%....Complete was a drastic change in sound and direction, with viloinist/keyboradist Martin Powell departed as well as original drummer Rick, as the mournful, Romantic Gothic Tragedy that had become their trademark was forsaken for a more urban approach sprinkled with electro/techno/trip-hop/ influences that, while still avant garde in structure, possessed none of the elements that identified the band's original sound. Most fans, myself included, could not help but feel a little betrayed and confused, not that the album was bad in its own right, it just was not My Dying Bride, not the My Dying Bride that I knew at least.

So where were the band to go from this point? In a somewhat surprising move, My Dying Bride have gone back to their past, even as far back as their first album in fact, with Aaron returning to the venomous Death vocals for the first time since Turn Loose The Swans...nearly 7 years back. A very rare move as most bands who have progressed their sound hardly ever regress back to their past work and a move that will ultimately have many people questioning their decision...Did they go back to what was successful for them in the past in hopes of regaining favor with its fanbase, or did they really feel this inside of them, genuially desiring to return to their roots? I choose the later, as I cannot imagine an album with this much feeling, this much power to be fake. It's just too real. You can feel it. The Bride are back.

With the departure of longtime guitarist and songwriter Calvin, only three remain from the original six piece lineup. Andrew now handles all guitar work as well as the bulk of the songwriting as original bassist Ade lays down the rhythmic foundation along with new drummer Sean Steels (ex-Solstic and Anathema). Within the first minute or two of opener "She Is The Dark", Aaron's Death growl makes its return for the first time in three albums, sounding every bit as venomous as it did before, maybe even more so now. This song is classic Bride and one of the best the band has penned to date. "Edenbeast" opens with a middle eastern flavored riff harking back to The Angel And The Dark River a bit, before they launch into the song's torpid, mournful yet bitter soul. The title track is an over 10 minute dark epic, possibly their most over the top creation featuring Aaron's most elaborate lyrics yet. He's always been a poet at heart and this album contains some of his best work ever. "The Fever Sea" is a vicious beast, definitely the most aggressive song on the album, and since the debut. My personal favorite here is "Into The Lake Of Ghosts", with its utterly mournful guitar harmony and Aaron's woeful moan...this song takes me to my knees and reveals the secret of life to me within the blackest void of hopelessness...all is for naught...everything is nothing....any attempt to make things right again are completely useless...The spirit of this song alone is reason why I have been a slave to this band's dark spell over these years. "The Isis Script" could be a part two of "Into The Lake Of Ghosts" as it follows the same musical vision and harbors a similar emotion. Closer "Sear Me lll", the third chapter in the "Sear Me'" series, is beautiful melancholy, Romantic Misery as only My Dying Bride can orchestrate.

The Light At The End Of The World is My Dying Bride returning to what they do best, while in turn showing all the imitators how it's done. Of course, there are some uninspiring moments where it seems that they are going through the motions, and certain riffs sound quite similar to past works, mainly within "Christliar" and "The Night He Died", but these are far overshadowed by the geniusness that saturates the rest of the album. Indeed, this is the album that should have followed Turn Loose The Swans, and had this been the case The Light At The End Of The World would have made an even greater impact. The old classic logo even makes its appearance on the album sleeve....It's time to bring out the candles and incense yet again...My Dying Bride have returned.

This review is credited to:
palewake