MY DYING BRIDE — The Light at the End of the World (review)

MY DYING BRIDE — The Light at the End of the World album cover Album · 1999 · Death-Doom Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"The Light at the End of the World" is the 6th full-length studio album by UK doom metal act My Dying Bride. The album was released through Peaceville Records in October 1999. There have been two lineup changes since the release of "34.788%... Complete (1998)" as drummer Bill Law has been replaced by Shaun Steels and guitarist Calvin Robertshaw has left too. The latter had been a member of the band since 1990 and was not replaced on this album, where Andy Craighan handles all guitars. Robertshaw does play on the closing track "Sear Me III" though in a capacity of session musician.

...after the rather experimental "34.788%... Complete (1998)" album, the band opted to return to more familiar ground with "The Light at the End of the World". There´s a small surprise in store though. The album sees a return of the death growls that had been absent from the band´s last three releases. The growling vocals are of course paired with lead vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe´s melancholic and paatos filled clean vocals, but with the growls back in the music it´s hard not to think of the band´s first two albums. There´s quite a big difference here though as there is no violin on the album. An instrument that was a dominant part of the first two albums. Instead (and this was also the case on "34.788%... Complete (1998)") there are some atmosphere enhancing keyboards added to the instrumental basis of guitar, bass and drums. The keyboards add just the right majestic atmosphere for the brick heavy yet melodic doom metal songs to shine. They are not omnipresent though, and only appear when they are called for.

The album is 71:09 minutes long and I don´t think it´s all the material on the album that reaches excellence, but tracks like the strong opener "She Is the Dark", the 11:22 minutes long"Edenbeast", the title track, "The Isis Script", and "Sear Me III" are all examples of My Dying Bride doing what they do best. Delivering beautiful, majestic, and sorrowfilled doom metal with great conviction and a burning passion.

The sound production is powerful and suits the music well. I´m taken places when I listen to this album and never do I have to worry that the illusion is broken by something that sits wrong in the mix or distracts from the listening experience. At the end of the day "The Light at the End of the World" may not be My Dying Bride´s strongest or most unique album release, but it´s a great album in it´s own right. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Witches Burn Alive Stoner Metal
LOVE YOUR WITCH
Buy this album from MMA partners
I Doom Metal
KAPUTTH
Buy this album from MMA partners
Kingdom Of Guilt Metalcore
THE WARRING TRIAD
Buy this album from MMA partners
2024/12/13 YouTube Theater, Los Angeles, CA Thrash Metal
METALLICA (LIVEMETALLICA.COM)
Buy this album from MMA partners
Troglodyte Death Metal
BECERUS
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

ScapeGoat Official Lyric Video
FIREFLAME
Bosh66· 1 day ago
FireFlame - The Last Ride (Official Video)
FIREFLAME
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Fervence - Hezekiah (Official Music Video)
FERVENCE
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Fervence - The Silent Wall
FERVENCE
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Fervence - Corrosion (Visualizer)
FERVENCE
Bosh66· 1 day ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed