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My Dying Bride > The Dreadful Hours > Reviews
My Dying Bride - The Dreadful Hours

Experienced band forgets to write engaging songs - 47%

colin040, December 5th, 2023

I know that opinions are like assholes, but I never got the appeal of The Dreadful Hours – or this era of My Dying Bride, for that matter. There’s no doubt that is arguably the band’s heaviest album since Turn Loose the Swans, but it’s also one of their most confusing records. Trust me when I say that I've tried, but I really dislike what's going on here.

My Dying Bride continue to mix shade with light, physically heavy riffs with clean acoustics and gritty vocals with fragile clean vocals, yet rarely do they manage to pull everything together with superb results. It’s a shame, because some of the performances are quite spectacular. Aaron sounds much more vicious with his razor sharp growls than he did on The Light at the End of the World and I have no problem admitting that this is among one of his finest performances in that regard. I also get the idea that the guitarists took a good look at what made early My Dying Bride so special, as some of these riffs harken back to the forceful tremolo riff scenarios of the band’s early days. Even Shaun’s drumming makes a difference; sounding far more elastic and explosive than on the previous albums and it’s just what the heaviest bits of The Dreadful Hours require.

It doesn’t take long before you’ll hear what’s going on here. The title track’s violent scenarios are quite something and make me think that this is what My Dying Bride had in mind with The Light at the End of the World. Aaron roars over these XL sized riffs like his life depends on it, but unless you have a thing for acoustic guitars that go on and on with no emotional backbone whatsoever, the climax simply isn’t worth the wait. Speaking of Aaron, his clean vocals are pretty hit-or-miss once again and you can bet that he takes these tunes down from time to time. Listen to his pointless whining of ‘Le figlie della tempesta’ or his laughable attempt at carrying a vocal melody on ‘Black Hearts of Romance’ and you’ll hear what I mean. Now this doesn’t bother me so much on the former – given that it doesn’t progress into something interesting to begin with, but the latter introduces a sweet clean guitar motif and a killer Sabbath-esque groove; such a waste of effort, I'm afraid.

Redeeming tracks are kept to a minimum, but two tracks make a change for the best. ‘The Raven and the Rose’ proves that the formula that My Dying Bride had in mind could and should have worked. This massive doom creation leaves much room for Aaron’s throaty growls to fill the miserable room as it does to bludgeoning guitars. Granted, some clean vocals appear here and there, but since it sounds like they support the riffs of the track and not the other way around, that’s perfectly fine. Riff after riff, the tune heads into many directions; partially gothic due to its hazy mood and riff-centered once the guitars kick into high gear, it almost sounds like the prototype of the multidimensional epic that is The Barghest o' Whitby. ‘My Hope, the Destroyer’ is another track that has enough going on; it smoothly gallops towards realms of the gothics and despite losing focus by the time the guitars briefly start to chug in the dullest way possible, this is a genuinely enjoyable track and I can’t say that about most of these tunes. Of course, The Dreadful Hour also features a re-recorded version of ‘The Return of the Beautiful’ and while it’s not bad on its own, I’d rather listen to the cryptic original.

Elsewhere, you won’t find much of interest here. ‘A Cruel Taste of Winter’ and ‘The Deepest of All Hearts’ try to blend the gothic doom dramatics with heavy doom riffs, yet both fall flat on its face with no redeeming riffs, quality vocal lines or hooks in sight whatsoever. Really, with two good songs and a handful of decent moments, The Dreadful Hours resembles an experienced band that somehow forgot to write engaging songs and how this is possible, I may never know.

Needlessly progressive, yet undeniably impressive - 82%

Absinthe1979, February 11th, 2023
Written based on this version: 2001, CD, Peaceville Records (Digipak)

You often, but not always, hear the idea that while ‘The Light at the End of the World’ was a welcome return to a gothic doom style after their foray into "modern" soundscapes, it wasn’t until ‘The Dreadful Hours’ that My Dying Bride really hit their post-violin straps. There’s no question that there is a confidence and competence at work in the construction and execution of their 2001 release, and it really is a fine album, but I would argue that something of the pathos and magic is lost a little bit in the enthusiasm to constantly change moods throughout the tracks in an apparent quest to ramp up the progressive aspects and trim down the epic expansive movements.

Metal brethren are almost unanimous in the view that the title track is a triumph. Its darkly frail tones and sinister heavier sections are often praised. It’s certainly very impressive, with its subtle guitar picking and haunting melody developing into a soaring verse. The build-up into the ubiquitous heavy section is clever and effective, even if these heavier riffs don't quite live up to the song's memorable beginning. The lyrical focus here, of either an abusive father or some kind of evil spirit synonymous with a father, leaves a bit of an uncomfortable feeling with this listener, and I wish they had have gone for something a little more fantastical or early-modern. ‘The Raven and the Rose’ is a banger by anyone’s measure, and probably my favourite track here, which is ironic because I’m about to criticise the album’s obsession with up-tempo chugging. Nevertheless, the use of build-up and release in this song is fantastic, especially with the church organ sound that introduces the verses. The subtle piano moment later in the song is also quite beautiful and a moving inclusion. ‘My Hope The Destroyer’ is probably the other great tune in this collection, with a synthy introduction by Jonny Maudlin loaded with atmosphere giving way to a galloping riff that reminds a little of ‘Under Your Wings and Into Your Arms’ from ’34.788%... Complete’. Unfortunately, ‘My Hope the Destroyer’ makes the same move as almost every track here, and drops its atmosphere as it launches into less effective up-beat territory.

I’ve thought long and hard about why ‘The Dreadful Hours’ doesn’t do for me what the previous album does – and indeed what several other of their releases do. As I've been suggesting, perhaps it’s because every song feels the need to firecracker into various different moods and directions, with few songs staying in that soft emotive pocket for long. Yes, this is almost My Dying Bride's trademark, but the faster moments in this album don't seem able to carry the atmosphere that the mellower sections dutifully created. ‘A Cruel Taste of Winter’ is a classic culprit in this regard. The song begins with a gloriously emotive slow march, with an atmosphere of desolation and gothicism. Where a track like ‘Sear Me 3’ from the previous album was content to keep the listener submerged in that vibe until the very end, ‘A Cruel Taste of Winter’ blows the credit it had built by moving into a more sterile chug-fest. Where was the restraint and confidence to see that atmosphere through and really take the listener on an emotional and spiritual journey, especially when nearly every other song on the album already progresses in this way? It’s a great example of the songwriting philosophy at work here: once a brilliantly moving mellow riff has been established, they feel compelled – obligated even – to rack it up a notch and include a headbanging part. For some reason a lot of the atmosphere that is generated in the best parts of this album seems to be undermined by the heavy sections.

The inclusion of a re-recording of ‘The Return of the Beautiful’, cleverly (?) called ‘The Return to the Beautiful’ really is fairly redundant. It’s certainly adequate in its own way, but like pretty much every song that has ever been re-recorded by anyone, it’s not as good as the classic original. Fair play, though - I can understand the fun the band probably had during its making. It's a weak way to end this album, though.

After some reflection, perhaps another element that doesn’t win me over like some of their other albums is the lyrical direction, as I mentioned in relation to the title track earlier. Absent are the “Be mine tonight” and “In your arms, in your eyes” type of lyrics, which I always found really effective and congruous. The explicitly romantic lyrics of My Dying Bride have always been a favourite element. I don’t mean to over-egg the pudding here, as ‘The Dreadful Hours’ is still full of a type of romance, but it’s a different, more evasive style. It feels colder and less personal. The title of the album also speaks to this idea with its short and turgid message of unadorned depression; absent are the swans, angels and flowers of previous releases.

The album artwork, again designed by Aaron, with its orange and green colour scheme is unusual but not terrible. The knife-wielding figure about to stab the smaller (child?) underneath is disturbing and not really my cup of gothic tea. It’s certainly indicative of a move away from the romance of albums past into a more gritty and cold-hearted approach that I think matches the music although again is symptomatic of a slightly different, and in my view less effective, approach. The booklet with lyrics continues this brightly colourful scheme. It’s well presented and successful for what it is, even if what it is doesn't happen to appeal strongly to me personally.

There is no question that 'The Dreadful Hours' is a very good album and it deserves a high score. It's even great in parts and I do listen to it fairly regularly, despite what the overall tone of this review might suggest. Yet when comparing it to the best moments of My Dying Bride it's too clever by half, and I can't escape the conclusion that some of the atmosphere is compromised in the interest of excessive chug and progression. It's certainly not a dreadful hour, but it's not a perfect one either.

A fantastic if somewhat uneven album - 85%

lukretion, November 19th, 2021
Written based on this version: 2001, CD, Peaceville Records (Digipak)

Following on the footsteps of their previous album, in 2001 My Dying Bride completed their full return to form after a couple of full-lengths that had disappointed more than a few fans. The Dreadful Hours is a fantastic album, containing some of the best songs ever written by the British doomsters. Alas, it also contains a handful of songs that I struggle not to see as “fillers”. Despite its somewhat uneven track-list, The Dreadful Hours sits tall in the band’s discography as one of their best records to date.

Let’s start with the positives. The Dreadful Hours is the culmination of My Dying Bride’s slow metamorphosis from death/doom front-runners to purveyors of a hybrid style halfway between gothic metal and doom. This process of transition had started on their 1995 album The Angel and the Dark River and saw the band increasingly streamlining their songs and injecting more and more accessible melodies into the music. Songs like the title-track, “The Raven and the Rose”, “Le Figlie della Tempesta” and “My Hope, the Destroyer” are splendid examples of the musical vision of the Yorkshire band. Deeply melodic, yet incredibly dark and morose (also for the subject matters, such a child abuse on the title-track), these songs perfectly combine the slow-tempos and tortuous guitar riffs of doom with the melodic allure of gothic and dark metal.

What is even more astonishing is how different from one another these songs sound. The title-track starts with an almost post-rock clean guitar riff, before descending in doom/death territory with Aaron Stainthorpe’s cavernous growls and Hamish Glencross and Andrew Craighan’s lead-like guitars. “The Raven and the Rose” is balanced between furious (and fast!) guitar riffs and a beautifully orchestrated melodic section, with thick swathes of organ and synths and a monstrous performance by drummer Shaun Taylor-Steels, who here truly gives a meaning to the words “drum fills”. “Le Figlie della Tempesta” is more atmospheric, almost dark metal, as it dances away on a delicate guitar arpeggio and Aaron’s beautiful clean vocals. Meanwhile, “My Hope, the Destroyer” is a gothic beast that again speeds up the tempo relative to the usual sludgy pace of death/doom. All this variation makes The Dreadful Hours one of the most diverse and exciting album the band had written up to that point of their career. It makes for a truly engaging listen, which never bores and surprises again and again with new twists that are ever so tasteful and appropriate.

Alas, the second half of the album does not match the quality of the opening trio of tracks or “My Hope, the Destroyer”. “Black Heart Romance”, “A Cruel Taste of Winter” and “The Deepest of All Hearts” inhabit more traditional doom territories. There are some surprises and interesting sections (the beautiful clean guitar flourishes on “Black Heart Romance”), but the general feel is one of sluggishness and lack of inspiration. The album closer “Return to the Beautiful” deserves a word apart. This is a re-work of “The Return of the Beautiful” from the band’s debut album, As the Flower Withers, when My Dying Bride were firmly playing death/doom metal. Inevitably, this last song stands in stark contrast with the mellower and more sophisticated gothic/doom of the rest of the record. As an album closer this totally backfires as it concludes the record incongruously, with a completely different sound and atmosphere than the rest of the album.

Despite containing hits and misses, The Dreadful Hours is one of my favourite albums from My Dying Bride. Its moments of brilliance far exceed the duller episodes and the diverse nature of his tracks paint a beautiful and exciting picture of the band’s sound evolution at the dawn of the new millennium.

Rich in riffs and melody - 87%

gasmask_colostomy, January 26th, 2016

For all that My Dying Bride have been praised for sticking to their guns and always providing fans of doom metal with more of the stuff, they sure did wander about a bit in the middle of their career and continue to stagger along in zig-zag fashion rather than staying on the straight and narrow path. Of course, their sound has remained more conventional than their early '90s doom death peers such as Paradise Lost, Katatonia, Anathema - even Funeral sound like a very different kind of funeral now. However, particularly regarding the overtly experimental '34.788%...Complete', the hopeless atmospheric goth misstep of 'Songs of Darkness, Words of Light', and this album, 'The Dreadful Hours', the five guys from the North (or five guys and a lady depending which of those albums we're talking about) did everything they could to push their gothic doom death as far as it would go. What we have here really is kitchen sink doom.

I have always thought of 'The Dreadful Hours' as the most capacious MDB album, flitting about within several distinct styles without allowing the balance of the music to become compromised. It addresses the fault of 'Like Gods of the Sun' by avoiding plainness and cliche; it avoids the fault of '34.788%...Complete' by attempting to unify the disparate parts of the sound; it also improves upon 'The Light at the End of the World', which reacted to those other albums by being conventionally heavy and orthodox. What is surprising about this release is just how rich it is in content compared to those earlier releases, while it certainly doesn't lose out when stacked up against later efforts such as the recently strong 'A Map of All Our Failures' and 'Feel the Misery'. What must of course be even more surprising is just how joyous that richness and creative freedom makes some of the songs here sound, since MDB have made a name by peddling the kind of emotionally wrought and physically mournful music that would even make Vladimir Putin shed a tear. There are moments in 'The Dreadful Hours' where you might find yourself reaching for a handkerchief or your book of poetry, but by the time 'Black Heart Romance' and 'My Hope, the Destroyer' roll around you're just as likely to be up on your feet, shouting and having a cheeky headbang.

Like 'The Light at the End of the World' before it, 'The Dreadful Hours' focuses strongly on getting riffs into songs first, before any additional parts are layered over the top. By this point in MDB's career, they had worked out a riffing style that borrowed little from any other band. Those initial similarities with the other bands from the Peaceville 3 were short-lived, while traditional doom and death styles had also been discarded in favour of swirling melodic leads and two or three-footed chugs that sometimes pounded steadily forwards and sometimes lurched unnervingly into the listener's peripheral vision. Also returning to the band's arsenal on this album was a faster-paced style with its teeth in death metal's arse while its body remained in more fragrant territory, notably present in the middle of the title track, where it escalates into a bloody blastbeat section of tremolo death metal, differentiated only from pure death by a greater weight and cleanness, plus the reverence of the keyboards in the background. The following song, 'The Raven and the Rose' is an even more intense venture back into death metal realms, with Aaron Stainthorpe roaring in full voice, even if he doesn't sound as believable as he once did.

The other instrumentalists have plenty of chances to show off too, especially in the oozing flow of 'Le Figlie Della Tempesta', which remains unsettlingly placid for at least half of its 10 minutes, the bassline bubbling up and creating a smooth darkness, while Shaun Taylor-Steels provides gently avalanching percussion to keep the stagnant river moving. His best moment, however, is surely in 'A Cruel Taste of Winter', where his endless rolling fills propel the swooning romantic licks of the guitarists. I could go on about something in all of the songs, but I'll share just my two favourite moments: the first is the simply crushing doom riff midway through 'Black Heart Romance'; the second is the wonderfully buoyant and rejuvenating main riff of 'The Deepest of All Hearts', which is one of the rare type that gains from repetition, and joyfully so when it gains momentum from a glorious lick.

After I've praised the album so much for its richness, it seems a little harsh to pick fault with its excess too, but there's no denying that 'The Dreadful Hours' bears too much weight and attempts just a bit too much in terms of scope. The keyboards, while by no means ever-present, are overused and often dominate the moments when they appear instead of being used to supplement the atmosphere of the songs. They have their place here, just not so high in the mix. Besides that, there are a few songs that waste time, though none are utterly dispensable. The title track is actually the worst offender, a fact made more punishable since it is the opening of the album and thus does not introduce the listener on a positive note. 'The Deepest of All Hearts' could also stand to be cut, particularly its introduction, while 'The Return to the Beautiful' is largely inessential for any MDB fan who has the earlier version from the 'As the Flower Withers' album. Nonetheless, on the whole, 'The Dreadful Hours' is one of the best MDB albums (it's got to be top three), suits more moods than the band's standard miserable sound, and contains plenty of rewarding and interesting music.

Part one of something different... - 100%

grimdoom, July 26th, 2009

My Dying Bride is more or less synonymous with Passion, saying anything less is a flagrant lie. Few bands in the history of music have kept as true to their roots as they have and even fewer still have managed to update their sound/style while staying true to said roots. This album will take you to several different and horrible places internally and you will come back wanting more. If you don’t there is something seriously wrong with you as these masters of dejection have once again crafted an opus of hate and contempt that is so invigorating and new that you will be hooked seconds after the first few notes seductively find their way into your soul.

After the release of the bands gigantic leap backwards "The Light at the End of the World", and the annoying release of two compilations afterwards the men of My Dying Bride somehow managed to get their collective acts together and release what is by far the bands heaviest album to date. From start to finish this album simply doesn't let up going from beautiful ponderous moments to rage fueled tirades of utter bitterness. The songs and the lyrics make an atmosphere of dense and unforgiving pain and sorrow. What’s more is that the majority of the songs are ridiculously catchy to boot.

The production is tops as the band rip through vast choirs of misery and woe. The guitars are heavy, happily chugging their way through every song. There are the leads we've come to expect as well as the long dirges of emptiness. There is an imminent feeling of desperation and despair even in the more upbeat and moderate moments. There is not a solo to be found, but this doesn't hurt the songs. The bands hallmarks are securely in place but they venture into new territories, moving forward this time instead of backwards. While calling this the successor to "Turn Loose the Swans" or "The Angel and the Dark River” would be inappropriate, its certainly the album that the fans had been sorely waiting for.

The bass is more or less the standard from MDB and as such not that interesting, although it does lead the beginning of a song towards the middle of the album. The drums are fantastic and tight. They add a very welcome organic flow to the soul crushing guitars. The best way to describe them would be; original and well done. Anything less at this point would be a disservice to not only the band but the fans as MDB has always been more than exemplary in this particular field.

The keyboards (preformed by session member Yasmin) are excellent as well, but different from Martins. It does make one wonder what he would've done differently had he stuck around. They add a vast amount of oppression to the atmosphere at large. Neither as crafty nor intricate as the aforementioned masters’ they more than get the job done.

Aaron's vocals are acceptable on this album to say the least. His cleans are the best they'd ever been up to this point in their career. He actually decided to sing as opposed to sustained speaking. His growls aren't that bad either, although you can tell that they were starting to give out on him. His passionate lyrics add the final damning strike to this masterpiece of Doomdeath.

The music flows easily from song to song, almost as if the release was intended to be a concept album. The darkness and horror seethe from the notes of the players ebbing as flawlessly as blood from a damaged artery. This also seems to be the first album that shows the band updating their distortion. Trading in their tired and headache inducing sound (found on everything from their inception until this album) for something fresher and more visceral. This virginal sound adds the primal and raw feelings that seemed forced on their past efforts. This album could also been seen as the first of a trilogy of differently styled albums. The following two releases aren’t necessarily ending the ending to this new direction but rather the fleshing out and mapping of new territory. This is a great starting point for someone new to the band, or an old hat that wasn't pleased with the direction the band took after "The Angel and the Dark River ".

It doesn't get much better than this... - 100%

chaos_aquarium, July 25th, 2009

Following the release of the strange “34.788%...Complete” and the fairly standard “The Light at the End of the World”, My Dying Bride seemed to be in an almost downward spiral. With that in mind, no one was expecting their upcoming release to be a classic, but My Dying Bride proved naysayers wrong. The release of “The Dreadful Hours” saw a reinvigorated band releasing their best work in 8 long years.

The tone of the album is (like most of My Dying Bride’s material), dark, sad, and romantic. This is made quite present right off the bat when the listener is greeted with the sound of descending rain and a mournful sounding guitar riff in the album’s title track. The third track, “Le Figlie della Tempesta” has a very haunting sound, thanks to the mysterious sounding main riff, the hypnotic vocals and the tasteful use of keys.

The album keeps up this consistent level of quality throughout, with each track being an essential building block to the foundation that is this classic, but the climax of the album doesn’t truly come until the sixth track, “My Hope, the Destroyer”. Words can barely describe the pure bliss that is this song. The song starts off with very peaceful and calming sounding keys, but is eventually interrupted by blistering drums, which make way for an explosion of emotion in the form of Aaron’s pained vocals, and Hamish and Andrew’s pounding riffs.

It is a doom album, so the pace rarely picks up past walking speed, but each member performs their part so masterfully and with so much passion that it really elevates “The Dreadful Hours” to a whole new level. Aaron displays his most heart breaking and stunning performance of his career, with his mix of deep, theatric (yet oddly relaxing) clean vocals and his raw, emotional gutturals. His lyrics are also top notch and really help add to the atmosphere, with each song displaying a different tale of loss, sadness and gloom.

Although Aaron may appear to be the star of the show, that is not the case. Guitarists Andrew and Hamish do an amazing job in creating engaging riffs that are both sad and heavy, which is present from the first somber riff in “The Dreadful Hours” up until the obscenely heavy “The Deepest of All Hearts”.

The drums on the album are produced pretty high in the mix and have a deep heavy sound best implemented when preparing the listener for emotional climaxes, as can be seen on “My Hope, the Destroyer”. The keyboard and bass are both used tastefully, with their main purpose being to enhance the overall atmosphere of dread and sadness throughout the album.

The album hooks you from the moment the first riff hits your ears and holds your interest until the last one fades out. It has a definitive beginning, middle, and end that wouldn’t make sense any other way, it is full of genuine passion and emotion, and it takes time for its songs to develop and climax. Much like a classic novel or film, these are the marking of a truly special album. “The Dreadful Hours” is a classic, not just for My Dying Bride, but for metal and music in the 00’s as a whole.

ugh - 44%

Noktorn, March 28th, 2008

I'm not going to make this an involved and detailed review, because at this point in their career, it's hard to give a fuck about My Dying Bride much at all as they put out album after album of mind-numbing gothic doom/death that never seems to get better or worse, but just kind of bask in its mediocrity like an anole in the noonday sun. 'The Dreadful Hours' is an amazing achievement for the band because it manages to have two songs with memorable riffs instead of the one that the band usually averages per album. The rest is, of course, really, really boring, plodding doom/death that goes absolutely nowhere though taking enormous amounts of time to do it. This music is more static than the average The Ethereal song. Christ.

The two good songs are 'A Cruel Taste Of Winter' and 'My Hope, The Destroyer'. They're the most obviously poppy and unmetal, so they're the best. The rest of the album seems to be My Dying Bride attempting to channel the 'magic' of 'As The Flower Withers' with all the other tracks by playing a similar style of agonizingly boring doom/death, just without the unique atmosphere that made their first LP kind of worthwhile. This doesn't have atmosphere, it's just boring. Doom/death for the Hot Topic crowd. The two good songs, though, are pretty entertaining. 'A Cruel Taste Of Winter' has some charming verses and a decent main melody line, even though, in true My Dying Bride style, they decide to cock it up by throwing in a growled-vocal bridge with 'heavy' riffs which ruins the otherwise perfectly fine sad atmosphere that the track was cultivating. 'My Hope, The Destroyer' is the best because it can actually move moderately fast (yeah yeah defeats the purpose of being doom, I don't care) and comes up with riffs and silly violin lines that make me want to curl up with a teddybear and cry.

The rest of this sucks though. Amazingly, the next best track is a rerecording of 'The Return To The Beautiful', which at least has spirit even if it's musically not THAT interesting. It's somehow better than the original version; less ponderous for some reason. Anyway, a lot of the stuff here is just embarrassing: I'd say this is the point where Stainthorpe's lyrics just become unbearably fucking painful and borderline incoherent, like he just slapped as much 'sad imagery' together as he could while in the studio. They're horrible, every song. So are most of the riffs, like the band just picked some notes and made annoyingly bombastic chords out of them. The music is incoherent and has barely any structure because the musicians just don't care about making songs with actual ideas behind them. 25% listenability is a BAD PERCENTAGE.

My Introduction to MDB. - 92%

woeoftyrants, May 5th, 2007

I clearly remember my entrance to the doom metal genre via gothic metal. My Dying Bride was my gateway, and this album served as a "Doom Metal 101" to me. Even to this day, I can still say this is my favorite MDB recording that I've heard so far, and it may very well be the band's most consistent and well-honed offering. Things in MDB's camp took a triumphant return to the dreary, depressing, and ultimately epic brand of doom/death/gothic metal for this album, making it somewhat of a modern classic when looked at in the context of past albums which strayed from the band's original formula.

The Dreadful Hours is very much a doom/death album; the majority of Aaron's vocals here are either screamed or growled, tempos are stuck in the mid-range dirge, (which is a good thing) and the bottom-heavy guitars give everything a very oppressive, rainy, nocturnal atmosphere. However, the famous gothic elements that the band are known for are in full swing here, with a new breath of life; "My Hope the Destroyer" switches beautiful guitar harmonies and strings with Aaron's signature croon, and "A Cruel Taste of Winter" sees the return of the dark romantic flair in the lyrics and foreboding keyboard parts. The "gothic" aspect is written all over the band's sound, but is especially prevelant in, obviously, the keyboards, which are skillfully composed. "The Raven and the Rose" utilizes twinkling, tragic pianos at the song's end before bursting into a slug-paced passage with melancholy guitar harmonies. Many will claim that the keyboards consist of nothing more than background ambience of choirs and strings, but the synths play an essential role of the aesthetic and atmosphere behind the music.

Even more impressive than the flawless performance from the band is the seamless integration of the death metal and morose gothic metal passages. Moments of ferocity and scorn are perfectly interplayed with tranquil, almost melancholy passages. "The Deepest of All Hearts" starts with chugging death metal riffs and ominus growls before going into even deeper territory that borders on funeral doom. A huge switch-up comes, though; a shuffling drum beat enters, complimented by harmonized guitars and Aaron's seductive clean vocals. It doesn't last long, though; as the keyboards enter, everything climaxes and becomes more foreboding before falling off into melodic territory again. This is constant throughout the album, and shows the band's versatility at creating a dramatic backdrop to everything; the narrative lyrics only help this case, and the constantly winding song structures only heighten that sense of atmosphere. "Le Figile Della Tempesta" takes a totally different stance altogether, being a very quiet, eerie song that straddles experimental territory with its sparse clean guitars, spider-like bass work, and cascading drumwork. Interestingly, this album never wears itself thin; it constantly has great riffs or arrangements at hand, and Aaron's vocal performance is one of his best yet. It is constantly enjoyable and interesting, and further listening will only open up more possibilites in the sound.

As a unit, this is an incredibly tight performance, aided only by a warm, punchy production job that makes wise use of effects on the instruments. The drums are rock-solid in the album's course, and the improvised, seemingly random fills only help things out with a sense of urgency and upcoming change. All of the guitar passages are executed flawlessly, even the heavier, more technical riffs seen on the beginning of "The Raven and the Rose." Both guitarists use a wise sense of dynamics when switching gears, whether it's from bruising tremolo riffs to sustained, encompassing power chords. This adds a lot of replay value to the album, in retrospect. Each song structure is carefully balanced to play off of the lyrics, which is something you don't see often in metal bands.

Aaron offers up one of his best performances here. His growls have been fine-honed to perfection, as seen on the bitter verses of "The Raven and the Rose" and through the course of "The Return to the Beautiful." This offers a startling counter-attack to his clean vocals, which have improved considerably; "My Hope the Destroyer" sees the outpouring of one of his best clean performances, and the desperate title track is another excellent example. Lyrically, not much has changed; the majority of the themes still revolve around love, loss, death, and the occasional tale of revenge and lust. It's all good though, because this is what the band succeed at, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Overall, The Dreadful Hours may be MDB's most entertaining and best album all-around since Like Gods of the Sun or Turn Loose the Swans. Lovers of the band who haven't heard this album will thoroughly enjoy it as yet another grand opus from the band, and it proves to be a great introduction to the band, since this album in particular sees the apex of the doom/death style before the band headed into more gothic-tinged territory.

Highlights: "The Raven and the Rose," "A Cruel Taste of Winter," "My Hope the Destroyer," "The Return to the Beautiful."

The darkest of the dark - 97%

Sean16, April 9th, 2006

To get an idea of the mood of this album, just imagine you’re standing on a desolate plain by a very gloomy stormy night, looking in an old well filled with utterly dark water. Indeed, dark is the key word here. Some may praise Turn Loose the Swans as the best My Dying Bride release, but this sounds far more depressive and, in my opinion, better than Turn Loose the Swans. Over the years the band has managed to take the best of traditional doom metal (I’m referring to Candlemass or early Paradise Lost) and gothic metal without forgetting the death metal touch of their first albums, and even the avant-garde atmospheric experiments of the infamous 34.788%... Complete, to combine them into this unique piece of pure DESPAIR.

This album exhibits several tracks which sound close to the previous MDB opus The Light at the End of the World, like Black Heart Romance or A Cruel Taste Of Winter. But even in these tracks you can notice the slight difference which makes this album so exceptional. Because this work shows an undeniable GOTHIC feeling – which will be found again on the last to date MDB full-length Songs of Darkness, Words of Light. That may come from the slightly more tortured clean vocals from Aaron, or the impressive keyboard background due to guest keyboardist Johnny Maudlin of Bal-Sagoth fame. Keyboards which sound sometimes similar to the violin of the first MDB outfits (until Like Gods of the Sun), especially on My Hope, The Destroyer where they almost sound like a genuine violin, only more powerful. And, eventually, keyboards which have the good taste to shut up when the time has come, what is not so common.

Almost every song begins with a lively (hell, for doom metal of course) guitar-driven verse which generally in the middle of the track turns into a very slow melodic and emotional (in the best way) part more or less interrupted by heavier growled passages. Song structures are indeed complex and exhibiting a single pattern for the whole album would be rather hard. Clean vocals (predominant), growls, short atmospheric interludes, straightforward death-metal parts, spoken passages sometimes (in The Deepest Of All Hearts especially), and RIFFS alternate in the most perfect manner. Because yes, this album has riffs, both slow and raspy doom metal riffs which account for much in the melancholy of the work, and prevent it from falling into unstructured gothic/atmospheric garbage. Here might well be the secret of this genuine piece of art.

Each song sounds, of course, unique. The gorgeous The Raven And The Rose with its heavy as fuck verses, its both slow, melodic and pathetic bridge, its minimalist piano solo and its melancholic ending riff. My Hope, The Destroyer and its majestic keyboard intro. The 14 minutes long closing track The Return To The Beautiful which is pure tribute to the similarly named song on the band's debut As the Flower Withers and which is, as such, the most "death-metalish" song here. Without of course forgetting the darkest of the dark, the lowest of the low, the bottom of the well if you prefer, that is, the title track and the oddly named Le Figlie Della Tempesta (yes, a track sung in English with an Italian title, never understood why).

These two tracks, the most atmospheric and gothic-inspired of this release, aren’t similar to anything in the whole MDB discography. The inspiration for them might well be found in the experimental 34.788%... Complete album, coupled with, actually, the whole rest of the band’s works. Both of them exhibit sound landscapes, rain samples, and haunting semi-acoustic minimalist guitar parts alternating with heavier death/doom passages (The Dreadful Hours) or distorted choruses (Le Figlie Della Tempesta). This last song, crazily and hypnotically bass-driven, might well be the most hopeless and agonizing piece of work MDB ever recorded.

Lyrically all songs deal with love and death, with a strong emphasis on the last. But really, the band could have sung about flowers and butterflies than it wouldn’t have been less depressive, the music itself being amongst the saddest you might ever imagine.

Some may prefer the more direct, black-sabbath-ish doom metal of the 80’s doom bands, or may be disturbed by the gothic side of this work, preferring the rawer Turn Loose the Swans or As the Flower Withers. As far as I’m concerned I consider this album as the best release My Dying Bride did so far, and one of the best “dark metal” albums ever.

Highlights: The Raven And The Rose, Le Figlie Della Tempesta, A Cruel Taste Of Winter, My Hope-The Destroyer, The Deepest Of All Hearts

True Modern My Dying Bride.. at its best!! - 95%

WitheringToSerenity, September 21st, 2005

My Dying Bride return with The Dreadful Hours not necessarily as a return to their older form, but incorporating parts of their older sound with a new, fresh and refreshingly original sound. The style is reminiscent of their previous album The Light at The End of The World, with mournful slow-mid paced guitars at the forefront with keyboards used occasionally for adding extra effect to their darkly melancholic atmospheres.

Still alternating clean sorrowful vocals and death-ish growl vocals like Turn Loose the Swans MDB, but not quite as morbid vocally and the Aaron's clean vocals have improved and are dominant on this album with the exception of two tracks. The guitars are still chugging as heavy as ever(possibly their heaviest to date) but the absence of the violin has haunted My Dying Bride for quite some time. One other noticable observation is that the sound is much cleaner and better produced. You could say this is the perfect album if you are looking to discover this band because it is one of their most accessible and successful albums. One of the huge strengths is the consistency of this album.

If you are searching for more raw doom death in the vein of Turn Loose The Swans or Lost Paradise(Paradist Lost for those who don't know) I suggest you look elsewhere. For those looking for another unparallelled musical journey brought to you My Dying Bride, you have stopped at the right place.

Favorite tracks : The Raven and The Rose, Black Heart Romance, every other track on a weekly basis.

In retrospect, this is an intense album - 90%

yeentrancemperium, September 22nd, 2003

Let's just say that I'm a huge MDB fan, I've all the albums, etc so I will be biased.

This 2001 release is a true return to form, that is to the As The Flower Withers, Turn Loose the Swans era of aggressive, doomy metal. There are some really killer, heavy riffs on here, great for headbanging. Aaron is also in top form and he growls in a few songs, most notably in the rework of the classic The Return to the Beatiful. The sort of trademark slower, and clean parts are present, but this is indeed a good thing. The lyrics are very emotional, standard melancholic MDB material.

My favorites on here would be the title track, Black Heart Romance, My Hope the Destroyer and the Deepest of all Hearts.

I must say that the songs that the band plays live off this album sound really good. Especially My Hope, the Destroyer.

Dark.. - 89%

HawkMoon, August 11th, 2002

Metal Maniacs described this album as "Feverish, devilish and relevant". I hate those kinda wannabe-critics-quotes about albums, which has nothing to do with the music itself. I can agree to "relevant" though, since it is one of the better releases from My Dying Bride.

After a moody 2-minute intro on the title track and opener, we get the ingredients we're used to, no real surprises here (except when they at a couple of places suddenly break into a black metal-beat!), slow and heavy riffing.. Aaron's growling/whining combination, if you've heard 'The light at the end of the world' you know the deal.

And don't think you can get away from the bottom of the sea-deep mood this time either, for about 70 minutes in 8 tracks they're gonna make you wish to die once again.. without that they wouldn't be My Dying Bride anymore.

A solid album, not as good as 'The light at the end of the world' or 'Turn loose the swans' but it's got some aces in its sleeve.. for example "My hope, the destroyer" which has this keyboard intro that'll make you go "oh man this song is gonna be so dull" but then BAM! One of their best riffs to date is served, right in your face.