Songs of Darkness, Words of Light

My Dying Bride is one of the greatest doom metal bands, with albums like Turn Loose The Swans, The Light At The End Of The World and The Angel And The Dark River, they really stand out from other bands. Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light does not make any exception, the album is great from beginning to end. This was the first record that I had heard from My Dying Bride and at first I did not like it. It may be hard to get into if you are not used to the doom metal style, because the songs are about the lyrics and the singer talks more than he sings, but he talks with a complaining voice, in order to emphasize on the moroseness. So the instruments being played very slowly, with keyboards and violins (I believe) and the “whining” vocals, it creates an incredibly gloomy atmosphere.

I, personally, enjoy listening to Aaron’s voice. He is able to sing beautiful melodies, whisper in a sorrowful voice or do some very nice growls. The guitars on Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light is absolutely wonderful. There are so many catchy riffs, especially the one in My Wine In Silence. This last is easily the best song of the album, everything about it is great, I have never heard anything this dark, and then the guitarist comes in with a simple slow riff that catches the attention of any listener, it is amazing. Later in the song, Aaron changes voice and growls for a while and then the heavy distorted electric guitars come in, which is really awesome.

Also used in a few songs on this album is the organ. Not often used in metal, I found that the organ created something special about the songs on which it was played. The drum was also well played, every instrument was brilliantly executed, and they did not try to overdo it. They kept it slow and simple, that way it did not ruin the dark and sad atmosphere of the songs.

Doom metal lovers will fall in love with this album; however, if you are not into the whinny sad songs, well you will probably need some adaptation to this album, because it is not similar at all to any other genre of music. Stand-out tracks on this album are My Wine In Silence and A Doomed Lover. After a few listens, Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light gets better and better. I rate it 90/100, it is a brilliant album from the masters of doom.


DarkDryad