Artist: My Dying Bride
Label:Peaceville Records
Release Date: 1993
Rating: 5 Skulls
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Title: Turn Loose the Swans Artist: My Dying Bride Label:Peaceville Records Release Date: 1993
Rating: 5 Skulls |
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Reviewed by Requiem:
This brings back memories of when I began working at the college radio station back 11 years ago. A fellow student who was then the metal director not only turned me on to the world of melodic death metal, but also incited my obsession with doom metal. Your first discovered gem is usually your all time fave, and stays ingrained in your heart for eternity. It was at this time where I discovered Anathema's Serenades and My Dying Bride's Turn Loose the Swans. Never before had I heard such sorrowful melodies, which were accentuated by the sluggish tempos. And best yet, I didn't have to give up the death growls I was so addicted to. The music had more passion than anything I had heard before, and although its general mood was sorrow, it brought me just the opposite.It was probably not easy for the average metalhead to endure the 7-minute piano intro, but there were handfuls of us that were looking for something different without sacrificing our love for metal. My Dying Bride brought with them an arsenal of guitars, drums, clean vocals, violins and keyboards. They were one of the first of their kind to really step over the boundaries of what we once deemed acceptable. Little did they know they would be paving the way for a whole new generation of doom. One that was incredibly slow, increasingly melodic, and extremely heavy. Turn Loose the Swans marked a turning point for the band, where things came together most naturally and the end product was nothing short of a masterpiece.
It was here that vocalist Aaron began to explore the clean range of his vocal chords. And although to the average bystander things sounded a bit shaky, we just wouldn't have it any other way if we could change things today. Although he did sound slightly reminiscent of Elmer Fudd, the sorrow coming through would rarely be surpassed by others. It was a nice contrast against his death growls, which were saved for the ultra heavy sections. His death growl was one of the fiercest out there and would change the mood from sorrow to sacrilege. The plodding tempos were trance-like and barely moving. "The Crown of Sympathy" showcased this during its break into church bell and horn-like sounds (provided by the keyboards, of course). Keyboardist Martin had a knack for finding unique sounds and making them work quite well. His keyboard playing and violin playing served as the single most important ingredient this band had to offer, and this era of My Dying Bride's sound eventually influenced multitudes of metal bands that longed for a new sound. The guitars provided some of the most beautiful melodies we had heard yet, and brought to our minds sad and gruesome images of the past. Somehow these guitars were therapeutic, especially once they unleashed into a heavy chord progression. All elements put together yielded a tremendous display of heaviness, and, along with fellow Brits Paradise Lost and Anathema, they opened the door to a whole new world of doom; a door that has yet to be closed and probably never will be.
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