THE ANGEL AND THE DARK RIVER

My Dying Bride's third LP, The Angel and the Dark River, is the album that introduced me to the music of the British doomsters, back in 1995 when I was still a teenager attending middle school. I remember its dark, morbid, yet irresistibly epic atmosphere had a huge impression on me. As a relatively junior metal fan, I had never heard anything like it and I thought that the combination of super heavy and super slow metal with romantic violins and cold crooning vocals was very cool.

Fast forward 26 years and I still think this album is extraordinary and one of My Dying Bride's crowning achievements. The conceptual seeds of The Angel and the Dark River were actually sown two years prior, with the band's sophomore album Turn Loose the Swans, which The Angel? is a more refined version of. The music revolves around the hyper-distorted and sludgy guitar riffs of Andrew Craighan and Calvin Robertshaw. The two guitarists play a huge role in defining the sonic identity of the album, relentlessly crawling across the speakers with their slow-pace and obsessive riffs, and painting beautiful, if slightly unyielding melodies ? like the repeated six-note lead that is played throughout "The Cry of Mankind" or the delicate guitar tapestry of "Two Winters Only". Another key ingredient to My Dying Bride's music are Martin Powell's violin and keyboards. Although the violin is perhaps slightly less prominent in the mix than on Turn Loose the Swans, it makes a huge contribution to the band's sound, adding a unique romantic flair that is almost genre-defining. Martin's organ also adds tons of atmosphere, especially on "From Darkest Skies".

Rhythmically, The Angel and the Dark River is perhaps slightly less adventurous than the preceding record, with drummer Rick Miah playing more straightforwardly to the beat without too many fills and flourishes, and Adrian "Ade" Jackson's bass raising to prominence only sporadically. This is not necessarily a bad thing: the album sounds more relaxed and spacious than Turn Loose the Swans, which was instead more hectic and dramatic. This also leave more space for Aaron Stainthorpe's desperate croons, which are the other defining sonic characteristic of the album. By 1995 Aaron had completely abandoned the extreme growls he used on the band's debut album and that were still present in a couple of songs of Turn Loose the Swans. On this album, Aaron only uses his clean baritone voice with his unique style and phrasing, halfway between singing and recitation. His vocals are no doubt a sort of acquired taste, but they fit perfectly with the morose nature of My Dying Bride's music. Aaron's melodies are rarely catchy and attention-grabbing, as they rather ebb and flow on top of the musical background. Yet, occasionally he injects a memorable line here and there, achieving a very stark and dramatic effect, like a ray of sunshine tearing through dark clouds.

The Angel and the Dark River is a treasure-trove of great melodic gothic/doom metal. Opener "The Cry of Mankind" is an iconic song, which could almost be used to teach the young what doom metal is. I love the repeated 6-note guitar figure that continues through the whole song, while Aaron sings some of the most enticing melodies of the whole record. Some people dislike the fact that, although the track clocks in at just over 12 minutes, the last 5 minutes are a collage of background noise. I actually do not mind, it adds an interesting atmosphere to the song and, when I am not in the mood for it, I just skip the song's coda and proceed straight to the next track. "Black Voyage" is another great song, with lots of different facets. It starts as one of the slowest and most forlorn compositions of the album before a melodic violin injects life into it, tearing through the bleak atmosphere. The most interesting parts, however, are in the second half of the song, where Aaron's vocals almost take a ritualistic turn while the guitar howls and Ade's bass has a rare moment of visibility. "A Sea to Suffer In" is a gothic number that brings to mind Anathema, while "Two Winters Only" is the other highlight of the record, after opener "The Cry of Mankind". The dramatic shift between the initial acoustic guitar and the electric mayhem of the second half is breath-taking, while Aaron offers again a great performance behind the mic.

The Angel and the Dark River is one of those iconic records that every metal fan should listen to at least once in their life. Not everyone will love it: its slow tempos, unyielding melodies, and bleak, morose atmosphere may put off more than one person. Personally, I like the way the record envelops me into a thick cloak of oppressive darkness, lulling me into a trance-like state that is weirdly comforting. It's not an album that I would play every day. But when the right mood strikes me, perhaps in a dark day of rain when everything feels so pointless and ephemerous, there are few other albums that can be such a balm to the soul like this one.