### My Dying Bride: For lies I sire

#### 05/03/09 || Euthanatos

I’m very happy. Not only has the new My Dying Bride finally arrived, it’s a really good album. Granted, it’s not a seminal work of art like “The Angel & The Dark River”, but it’s amazing. While I’ve been pleased with some of the latest work released by the band, like “A Line of Deathless Kings” and “Songs of Darkness, Words of Light”, I have a feeling this one, “For Lies I Sire”, surpasses them.

There are two reasons for that, I believe; first and foremost, this is real, depressing doom metal at its best, and by that, I mean that the song writing done here by Mr. Stainthorpe and his troupe has really taken a turn for the deep end, and I mean that in the best way possible. Aaron mentioned in an interview this was probably the most depressing stuff the band had recorded, and while that may be an exaggeration, it certainly rings true when in comparison to the most recent albums.

The other reason? The glorious return of the violin. Oh, how I missed thee, sweet, perturbed instrument of doom! Katie Stone has now joined the fold to replace keyboardist Sarah Stanton (I’m not sure if Sarah has left for good or is just taking time off), and brought with her, along with her abilities with the keys, the long lost essential element of My Dying Bride’s music. Ever since the departure of the brilliant Martin Powell, the band had been lacking something, and it was quite obvious what it was. While the violin passages aren’t as memorable as Powell’s, they greatly enrich the overall sound of this album.

The despair in Aaron Stainthorpe’s vocals here remind me a lot of “The Dreadful Hours” and “For Darkest Skies”, which incidentally are two of my favorite cuts of My Dying Bride’s history. The guitar work has constantly improved in recent years as well, while maintaining some characteristic riffs, and those are present here once again. It’s vintage My Dying Bride, one could say.

Really, listen to tracks like “My Body, A Funeral”, “The Lies I Sire” and the epic “Death Triumphant”; the abysmal depths of the soul that the music explores is impossible to remain untouched by. Yeah, that was really gay and kinda emo. Sorry.

Still, the point is, it’s good shit. My only beef here is with Aaron’s aggressive vocals. They’ve seen much better days, so personally, I’d prefer he’d stick with his signature woe-is-me clean singing. Other than that, top-notch.

The cover: There’s a crow, a bleak background and the undead rising. That’s pretty much all I need, thanks.

8 withering flowers out of 10.

- Information
- Released: 2009
- Label: Peaceville
- Website: www.mydyingbride.org
- Band
- Aaron Stainthorpe: vocals
- Hamish Glencross: guitars
- Andrew Craighan: guitars
- Lena Abé: bass
- Dan Mullins: drums
- Katie Stone: violin, keyboards

- Tracklist
- 01. My Body, a Funeral
- 02. Fall With Me
- 03. The Lies I Sire
- 04. Bring Me Victory
- 05. Echoes From a Hollow Soul
- 06. ShadowHaunt
- 07. Santuario di Sangue
- 08. A Chapter in Loathing
- 09. Death Triumphant