Like Gods Of The Sun was my introduction to the world of My Dying Bride and after listening to it exhaustively my feeling was to run far, far away and never return. I'd read the band was considered among the premier bands of Death/Doom yet there was hardly any death metal to be found on this record. The singer sounded bored and the music was melancholic but not really captivating.

Recently however, I got over myself and delved headfirst into My Dying Bride starting with As The Flower Withers and Turn Loose The Swans and I was BLOWN AWAY!!!! They are masters of their craft and songs such as "Sear Me", "The Return Of The Beautiful", "Your River", "Thee Cry Of Mankind" and "From Darkest Skies" are classics within the realm of doom. After reviewing most of their material with some perspective, I was able to enjoy Like Gods Of The Sun for what it is but it is still my least favorite record from them. That honor I bestow upon The Dreadful Hours which I feel glides masterfully through Doom to Death to Gothic while still holding it together to coax out grand memorable tunes. And the lyrics read of cold horror and monumental grief;
"I claim your life on this night, within sight of your own God" - The Dreadful Hours

"Men will fall to her song, women too, won't last long" - Le Figlie Della Tempesta

"I'll lead you into danger and all that troubles man, I'll lead you far from hunger just take my frozen hand" - A Cruel Taste Of Winter

MDB fans, what is your favorite album from them?

My Dying Bride is one of my favorite bands and they have quite a sizable and eternally amazing discography. I love all the albums and I think they are incredibly consistent. Even those not really sold to the band can agree that each record has at least two or three truly amazing songs.

My personal favorite is Songs of Darkness, Words of Light because it is just the most sombre and haunting thing they have ever done. Songs such as The Prize Of Beauty and The Wreckage of My Flesh just need to be heard to be believed. I don't like Like Gods Of The Sun that much too but hey, it has A Kiss To Remember!

Used to really be into this band but as the years have gone by I have found that I can only stomach As the Flower Withers and parts of Turn Loose The Swans.

After "Turn Loose The Swans", Aaron Stainthorpe began singing more and more and growling less and less. They moved from Death/Doom to Doom/Gothic with Death being an occasional thing. But there's other songs in the vein of those first albums on the other records.

Looking through them all, it looks like my consistent favorite is either Turn Loose the Swans or The Angel and the Dark River. While all their albums are evocative and deliciously atmospheric, I feel that both of these albums showcase that feeling of dark melancholy and wistfulness the best. From them, my favorite songs would have to be "The Songless Bird," "The Snow in My Hand," and "A Sea to Suffer In."

"A Line of Deathless Kings" is probably my favorite album they have done. Obviously, "Turn Loose the Swans" and "As the Flower Withers" are both undeniable masterpieces and classics, but there's something about the vibe of "A Line..." that really draws me in. It's not quite on the same level as "Turn Loose..." in the "sorrow" department, but it comes very close. The best song is "Thy Raven Wings"...that song alone is a masterpiece, and is proof that Aaron Stainthorpe should write more Satanic lyrics.

I would say that the only "bad" albums they have are "The Light at the End of the World" and "For Lies I Sire". Other than that, every album is at least "good".

I like MDB the best when they mix death, doom and 'gothic' elements. Turn Loose the Swans, The Light at the End of the World and The Dreadful Hours are my favs. Their latest 'A Map of All Failures' it's great too!

Btw, I saw them live past month and Aaron's growls were simply inmense. I'm not sure what happens in the studio but live he sounded almost brutal, not less great than the ATFW/TLTS days.

A Map Of All Our Failures is actually really amazing and the most reminiscent of Songs of Darkness, Words Of Light. It is filled with sublimely melancholic moments and "Hail Odysseus" has some truly brutal growls.

Songs of Darkness, Words of Light and The Dreadful Hours are my favorites as they are both dark and romantic. But MDB's entire discog is filled with highlights. A Map Of All Our Failures is their doomiest record since Songs... It is incredibly bleak, there's nought a happy moment to be found.

Songs of Darkness, Words of Light, probably.

I love all of their albums, they got me into doom metal a few years ago and have been my favorite band ever since. I think that Like Gods of the Sun
and 34.788%...Complete are very underrated.

Turn Loose the Swans is my favorite and always will be. Followed closely by As the Flower Withers. As a longtime fan though every album is special to me even the oft maligned Like Gods of the Sun.

Mine is A Line of Deathless Kings too. It was the first I heard and I played it a shitload before listening to any of their other albums. Yeah, the album has the most intense showcase of Aaron's cliches (wine, breasts, desire) but it has such mournful lead guitars, riffs, and vocal lines. I don't think there's a single song on it I don't like. Which I can't say for any of their other albums. Songs of Darkness comes a close second though.

Their Meisterwerk demo reissues are amazing in my opinion, I've never been to keen on MDB's latter stuff but their early death metal material is really unique sounding stuff. You can definitely here the influence songs such as Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium and God is alone had on Phlebotomized and early Septic Flesh, and some of the demo tracks for their first two albums are actually better than even their refined versions such as Vast Choirs. Apart from their demos and if I had to choose it would probably be between The light at the end of the world and As the flower withers, their first album for still maintaining the death metal influence and The light for being a dreary piece of gothic doom. I need more of their material now that I think about it

Huge fan, so far there hasn't been a single MDB album I don't enjoy. My favorite is without a doubt The Dreadful Hours, something there really clicked with me. First time I heard them (with The Dreadful Hours, shortly before the release of ALoDK) I didn't like them at all, but it grew on me incredibly fast, by my second time listening to the album I was hooked. A very close second place would have to go to their latest, it surpassed my very high expectations, and "Within the Presence of Absence" may be among their best songs.

Well, I haven't properly kept up with them for a while, but I would have to say, As the Flower Withers. It'sa monumental album for me...both melancholy and enraged, seeming somehow dangerous even. The death metal presence is very welcome and I love that guitar tone. Although they would use the violin to great effect later, I still think "Bitterness and the Bereavement" employs it in such a haunting way that it's like the musical equivalent of a wasting illness. There are parts on the album that still make me feel a little queasy inside, such as the aforementioned slower half of BItterness and parts of "Return of the Beautiful"...

Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light 10/10
Turn Loose The Swans 10/10
The Light At The End Of The World 9/10
The Dreadful Hours 9/10
The Angel And The Dark River 8/10
A Map Of All Our Failures 7/10

Those are the six I'd have to go with. Really Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light is their finest. They nailed it across the fucking board with that one. The riffs are very evocative and incredibly harsh and gloomy and Sarah Stanton does a great job with the keys and atmospherics. Not to mention Aaron's darkest, most searing and creepy lyricism/vocal deliveries yet.

Catherine Blake


The Prize Of Beauty


And My Fury Stands Ready


Turn Loose The Swans is still a classic after all these years and an essential Doom/Death album and The Light At The End Of The World was more representative of their Gothic side than Like Gods Of The Sun (which all faults aside, has a fantastic song called A Kiss To Remember)

Can't pick a favorite album at the moment, and there's still a couple full-lengths I've yet to listen to completely.

I will say that The Barghest O' Whitby is one of their best releases though. So dark and atmospheric. Awesome.

Love My Dying Bride one of my favorite bands since 94. I like all their albums, but I have to go with Turn Loose the Swans because it's just perfect in everyway, songwriting, production, ect...just a great album as a whole.

I'll go with The Dreadful Hours, although it's easily rivalled by The Angel and the Dark River. The latter has probably my favourite song out of their whole discog ("The Cry of Mankind"), but the former is an absolute masterpiece through and through. Both arguably feature them at their darkest and most bleakest, have excellent riffs, and aren't loaded with spoken word and the "come-hither-to-the-darkness-and-let-me-reach-into-the-fire-and-touch-your-breasts-while-we-sip-wine" Aaronisms that plague later releases. A Light at the End of the World definitely deserves a mention as well. "Edenbeast" and "Christliar" are both top tier MDB songs.

It's a close call between Turn Loose the Swans and The Angel and the Dark River, but I think I have to go with The Angel.... I like how Swans is more aggressive but the songwriting and atmosphere of Angel is really something. The debut is also starting to really grow on me.

I really tried to get into this band but it didn't work for me. I started with two of the later albums (for lies I sire and songs of darkness i think), but couldn't get into it. Didn't really like the vocals and it didn't really sound like doom to me more like just dark rock. I think I tried a few YouTube videos of older songs but it didn't help. I must have missed some of the classic material

I want to give them another shit tho. Maybe I will start from the beginning and work forward this time

Hey OP, just so you know you misappropriated that line for "Black Heart Romance", when it's actually a line from "Le figlie della tempesta" (one of the most underrated MDB songs ever and certainly one of my favorites).

Anyways, I really do like all of their albums. However, I love "Turn Loose the Swans", "The Angel and the Dark River", and "The Dreadful Hours" most of all. So, not a very different answer from me.

I consider Turn Loose the Swans, The Dreadful Hours and Songs of Darkness to be on the same level, but I have to give my vote to Turn Loose the Swans. For starters, it was the first Death/Doom album I listened to and I got hooked on it much faster than I expected. There's some kind of mystic to the lyrics (the title track in particular) and the cover art, and even the first and last tracks (what genre would they be considered part of? Neoclassical Darkwave or something?) that make it alluring. Also, both The Dreadful Hours and Songs of Darkness lose me for one or two songs on their second halves.

As for an unpopular opinion, I don't like The Angel and the Dark River that much. Other than The Cry of Mankind and The Sexuality of Bereavement I have to be on a very specific mood to enjoy it. Something about the production, the keyboards and parts of the vocal performance seem a bit off to me. I still like it more than 34.788% though.

Agreed and true on all counts. Also got into MDB with this album in 94' and they've remained a favorite ever since.

Honorable mentions: The Dreadful Hours, Songs Of Darkness, 34.788%

Those who throw dirt on "For Lies I Sire" need to listen to this;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqcdGfCamfs

Its almost imposible to say one album because MDB is a band of songs more than of albums, at least for me.

Anyway, nowadays I would choose The Angel and The Dark River, a truly amazing album.

Fixed it! Thanks.

It definitely has some strong songs like "A Chapter In Loathing" but overall was a bit of a letdown. A Map Of All Our Failures is incredibly strong though.

Definitely "The Dreadful Hours" - definitely their heaviest and darkest album. Second place: "Songs of Darkness, Words of Light".

I used to like the first two albums a lot, then when Angel And The Dark River came out I started getting out of the band. Always preferred early Anathema to them in any case, but these days even early Anathema isn't as good as it used to be. Bizarrely enough, out of the 'Big Three' of English doomy deathy bands (MDB, Anathema and Paradise Lost) I can still listen to the first four Paradise Lost albums and enjoy them, and they were always my least favorite band out of the lot. Can't say the same about Anathema and MDB's albums I'm afraid, they lead to snoozies.

My problem with MDB is I find the songs overly long and boring, and they rely too much on the violin. Also, I think Aaron is weak vocalist.

To answer the OP's question though, Turn Loose The Swans. Listen to Solstice instead, they're a better band.

Solstice's first album is legendary!

But My Dying Bride is good too! My favorite album is (and I hate to be predictable) SONGS OF DARKNESS, WORDS OF LIGHT! Every song is honestly awesome and there's no filler whatsoever. MDB are at their best when they are dark and desolate and no album in their discog captures that as SOD, WOL.

And let me also add my voice to the lovers of A Map Of All Our Failures which is easily the best doom metal album of 2012. The songs "Like A Perpetual Funeral", "Within The Presence Of Absence" and the title track are pure slabs of despair albeit more stripped than MDB of old. And "hail Odysseus"!!! Fucking great song with some beastly vocals from Aaron.

Turn Loose The Swans and The Angel And The Dark River are favorites for me too.

Didn't really dig For Lies I Sire and Evinta though.

Songs of Darkness, Words of Light

I love this band, only EVINTA is bad, or at least out of place, but I can see that in the last few records (full lenghs I mean) they lost something, they became... predictable. On the oteher hand, all of their albums up to Songs of Darkness are fucking EPIC.
My personal favorites are The Angel and the Dark river, pure poetry, the best riff for a doom song (the cry of mankind) and tho most emotional vocal work Aaron has pulled out ever. Also, as someone mentioned above, Songs.. sounds haunted. And the big bog suprise is the MASSIVE ep The Barghest o' Whitby, I thought that was the path they were taking in a Map, wich is a good album but nos as good as I espected

The first three albums are my favorites. Of their later works I'd have to pick "A Line Of Deathless Kings" because I've probably played it the most. It has more Gothic-oriented songs but they work wonderfully and "To Remain Tombless" just has to be one of their best songs ever!

Let's be fair, they all have their merits!

As The Flower Withers
Their debut is also their most ferocious record and if some folks complain about their latter laxness it is because on this album, they were so untethered. "Sear Me" and "The Forever People" are both incredibly forceful that you just can't listen to them and remain unmoved while "The Bitterness And The Bereavement" and "Vast Choirs" although calmer are still quite the epic storm.
I refer you to the words of Gutterscream.

Turn Loose The Swans
In his review, FantomLord17 perfectly describes the music on this record as Heavy, melancholic, dark, despairing, atmospheric, pathetic. "Turn Loose The Swans" is indeed more all encompassing than "As The Flower Withers" and much more indicative of what the band's aims were.
It is by turns morose and dark and eerie and bears some of the band's most essential songs such as "The Snow In My Hand" and "Black God".

The Angel And The Dark River
The significant change of course came with MDB's third album. There was more emphasis on atmosphere than ever before and although still dark, the lyricism began to take on romantic hues. I find it not as consistent as the first two albums but since the band was changing gears somewhat, that is to be expected. However, the album does have "The Cry Of Mankind" one of the most mournful and moving pieces in all of metal and all the songs score highly on atmosphere and setting the doom mood.

Like Gods Of The Sun
Utterly vapid and mundane!!!
Noktorn's review is scathing but even MDB fanatics have to admit their fourth album greatly fumbled the ball. It seems to work up to something it never reaches. I just listened to Here In The Throat which is the perfect example of a promising song gone down the drain. Mournful vocals, check. A sea of morose orchestration, check. Great backing guitar riff, check. And then halfway through it comes this insistent guitar riff that plays awhile like the prelude to some magnanimous thrash out but instead drops into some mundane plodding that really exasperates the fuck out of me. There's two great songs on the album though, "A Kiss To Remember" and the minimal "For My Fallen Angel". A few quality moments of MDB of old are scattered throughout yet none makes a complete picture.

34.788%... Complete
"Like Gods Of The Sun" is underrated because it is forgettable. But "34.788%... Complete" is an underrated masterpiece and as grimdoom says; "This album is many things to many people but one thing that no one can deny is that it left its mark on the Metal underground".
It is a different beast altogether and praiseworthy because it is the sound of a band challenging themselves and stepping out of their comfort zones. Those who've sneered at MDB usually bring up how they take themselves so seriously that it ascends into pretentiousness what with the suits on stage and somber graveyard looks at every photo shoot. To them, I present Heroin Chic where Aaron proves his sense of humor extends beyond ill conceived tales of eternal porcelain beauties viewed whilst sipping wine.
Decibel magazine did a series called Justify Your Shitty Taste where oft-maligned albums were defended and this album was one of the picks alongside turds from Sepultura, KISS, Cryptopsy and others. Here's their take.
The experiment (because that's what it was) is entertaining but not perfect. There's some oops... moments in there but in "Under Your Wings and into Your Arms" you have a truly majestic song.

The Light At The End Of The World
ConorFynes's review reveals "The Light At The End Of The World" as MDB's unspectacular journey back to the land of the doomed. It is the kind of record that doesn't take risks but slips comfortably back into the usual order of things. That said, it continued to cement MDB's signature sound and provided more morose classics such as "She Is The Dark" and "Edenbeast" for fans to feed on eternally.

and then came the 2000's...

The Dreadful Hours
"The Dreadful Hours" is a darker side of My Dying Bride and if on "The Light At The End Of The World" they had began to sound a little too calm, there's moments here that could rival "Sear Me" for brutal face. I speak of course of The Raven And The Rose whose riot is barely contained even with the quiet piano break. The album is their most consistent and there is not a bland song here. Even the rendition of "Return Of The Beautiful" fares well.
All together now; My God is my want. MY FUCKING GOD IS MY WANT!

Songs of Darkness, Words of Light
This is the masterpiece we had longed for since "The Angel And The Dark River". Whereas "The Draedful Hours" was mighty within itself, "Songs of Darkness, Words of Light" took that brilliance and made it colder, darker, creepier...resulting into MDB's most haunting and haunted record.
chaos_aquarium explains.

A Line Of Deathless Kings
Is it as good as the previous two? Sadly, no. But that's a question of taste really. Personally, I find "A Line Of Deathless Kings" struggles so much to earn its place. With songs such as "Love's Intolerable Pain", "To Remain Tombless" and "Thy Raven Wings" it eventually succeeds but there's a couple places where the ball is once again fumbled. As caspian notes, "MDB try to keep us as interested as possible, throwing in the occasional soaring synth and head-banging portions (the opening to Love's Intolerable Pain is quite the mid paced crusher), but the whole thing just has an extremely annoying "I have regret and I am crying" atmosphere, which while initially powerful and engrossing quickly outdoes its' welcome.
I feel though that the album deserves revisiting and portions that sounded pointless might later translate as powerful when viewed outside of the notion that MDB had better moments elsewhere.

For Lies I Sire
"The lyrics aren't terrible but they do contain many of the same dull cliched expressions and numerous references to angel wings, 'she does this, she does that' and the like" says autothrall in his review of "For Lies I Sire", an album I feel ranks at the bottom of the pile. He was talking about the lyrics, but his statement can be carried to mean the whole album, musically and otherwise. It is not exactly terrible, it is just not fresh. On some tracks, it becomes downright redundant. But like every other MDB record, there are gems. In his review sushiman is overt with his praise but he does highlight the redeeming qualities of the album. My personal favorite is "Fall With Me". The other gems still live to be discovered.

My analysis ends there but a quick note on the rest;

"Evinta" is dull and insufferable. Only "Of Lillies Bent With Tears" which is built around the intro to "Your River" stuck with me.
"The Barghest o' Whitby" is long and mighty like a good sword and stands well alongside other outside-album mighty tracks like "The Thrash Of Naked Limbs" and "Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium".

"A Map Of All Our Failures" is still growing on me and is much, much better than "For Lies I Sire". It is a bit bare but I'm finding that works to its advantage. "The Poorest Waltz" made me all maudlin'. Good stuff!

great analysis dude!

"A Map Of All Our Failures" is a fucking fantastic record. Almost in a traditional doom metal style, there's cleaner singing but in a more bare style than the romantic tone of old and there's a lot more meat on the guitars. I love it!

Plus "A Tapestry Scorned" has the most engrossing lyrics I've read recently.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vbzv_RIscU

Yeah, great analysis indeed Victor! And I don't mean it just because you referenced my review

There's just a few things I would add myself about the albums:

- As The Flower Withers: Aaron's early lyrics were fantastic! Sure, the latin grammar is supposedly incorrect and what not, but you can tell the guy had scenes playing in his mind and used all his vocabulary to describe them in the best possible way. In this sense they were similar to the early Dark Tranquillity lyrics: Complex, metaphorical and full of references to mythology, but the lyrics were simplified as the albums went by with Aaron and Mikael Stanne adopting different focuses (Aaron's gothic mourning and Stanne's cold mechanical descriptions). In particular, I've thought a lot about the lyrics of "The Return of/to the Beautiful".
- Like Gods to the Sun: I thought "For You" was considered one of their best songs. I sure love its more upbeat main riff.
- A Line of Deathless Kings: One aspect of this album that I think everyone misses is that it recovers the electronic elements from 34.788% while mixing with the slightly more traditional doom sounding Like Gods to the Sun and The Light at the End of the World. I have to be in an specific mood to fully enjoy the majority of their songs, but this album in particular seems one of the better suited for when you want metal to "headbang".
- For Lies I Sire: ...Am I the only one who LOVES Santuario di Sangue??

@SleightOfVickonomy: For all the criticisms Aaron gets for his lyrics becoming predictable and cliched, he still can come up with some stupendous lyrics.