I AM THE BLOODY EARTH

"I Am the Bloody Earth" is an EP release by UK doom/death metal act My Dying Bride. The EP was released through Peaceville Records in January 1994. It features 3 tracks and a full playing time of 26:26 minutes. The material from the EP has since become available on various compilations or as bonus tracks on reissues of studio albums. A promotional video was made for the title track.

"I Am the Bloody Earth" opens with the title track which is an outtake from recording sessions for the band´s second full-length studio album "Turn Loose the Swans (1993)". "I Am the Bloody Earth" is a doom/death metal track with growling vocals by Aaron Stainthorpe and an interesting dissonant violin in one of the sections of the song. While it´s a relatively well written track it is obvious why it was left off "Turn Loose the Swans (1993)". It simply doesn´t reach the high quality of the material featured on the album. The track also features guest vocals by Ghost of GGFH (US industrial music act). GGFH toured with My Dying Bride as one of the opening acts on the European tour supporting "Turn Loose the Swans (1993)".

"Transcending (Into the Exquisite)" is a remix track by Stevie Dachau which contains elements from various tracks off "Turn Loose the Swans (1993)". It´s relatively interesting to begin with but outstays it´s welcome by several minutes and becomes a bit too repetitive. The third and closing track on the EP is titled "Crown of Sympathy (Remix)" and is as the name suggests a remix of "The Crown of Sympathy" from "Turn Loose the Swans (1993)". To my ears it sounds like someone just put the drum track through a chorus effect and not much else. The remix version is around a minute shorter than the original version though, so they´ve cut something from the original track too, although I´m not sure that should count as a positive.

In fact "I Am the Bloody Earth" is not exactly a recommendable release. The title track is of course relatively interesting and worth a listen, if you enjoy the material on "Turn Loose the Swans (1993)", but the remaining part of the EP is to my ears pretty redundant. You could make a case for the inclusion of "Transcending (Into the Exquisite)", as it at least tries for something original, but the inclusion of "Crown of Sympathy (Remix)" is bordering ridiculous. It was always going to be difficult to better the brilliant original version of the track but this remix version sounds like there was almost made a purposedly effort to detroy it. If putting annoying chorus sound effects on the drums and shortening the song by one minute constitutes a remix, then it´s too easy, and not worth the effort or the money of the fans. A 2 star (40%) rating is warranted.

The title track of this CD EP continues the stylistic line of "Turn Loose The Swans" album, merging softer strings to the melodies of brutal metal songs. But somehow this compositions does not however appear very interesting, unlike the glorious studio album recorded earlier year. The second song "Transcending (Into the Exquisite)" floats to the territories of industrial metal with sampled high-pitched rhythm elements and revisitations to the verses from previous long-player. I admit this is interesting move towards new ways of musical expression, but as a listener I do not enjoy this new direction. Also the remix of "Crown of Sympathy" feels totally pointless to me, so this EP did not manage to satisfy me in spite of the promising album covers and fine full CD's produced during the surrounding years.

After the success of their second album "Turn Loose The Swans" where MY DYING BRIDE finally found an equilibrium between the intense death-doom metal guitar and growls with their neoclassical dark darkwave, they quickly released yet another EP. The third of these titled I AM THE BLOODY EARTH pretty much followed up the formula of "Swans" with a slow and plaintive pace that would become the band's own for the rest of their career finally breaking complete ties with death metal riffs and aggressive outbursts. Whereas the previous EPs could be considered albums in their own right for having a distinct feel, this one sounds more like a collection of three tracks that were released between albums.

The title track is a slow stomping doom metal number with lugubrious symphonic violin parts wailing away. Aaron Stainthorpe employs only death metal growls despite no death metal riffs entering the scene. There are also extra guest vocals from Ghost of the industrial band GGFH. Interest in industrial music is much more prevalent on the second track "Transcending (Into The Exquisite)" which is indeed a House remix that contains different elements from "Turn Loose The Swans" and utilizes a hypnotic beat and Nine Inch Nails type drive accompanied by a remix type of aesthetic to it making it sound more like a Ministry track than MY DYING BRIDE. Although death metal growls are mostly used there are also moments where Stainthorpe sounds like Marilyn Manson a little. This one is a little repetitive and obviously an experiment that they never tried again. In fact this track was removed from the compilation "Trinity" which featured the band's first three EPs and replaced with the single "The Sexuality Of Bereavement."

The remaining track "Crown Of Sympathy" from the "Turn Loose The Swans" album is also an alternate remix version but not industrial oriented. This retains the classic sounding of the album version and sounds simply like a different version with some nice atmospheric extensions. Personally i find this to be the weakest of the early EPs that were released during the early years of MY DYING BRIDE. While the three tracks are all decently done and quite pleasant to listen to, they just don't have the oomph or continuity that the previous releases did. The title track and the "Crown Remix" can be found on compilation "Trinity" while the entire EP as originally released can also be found on the limited "The Stories" boxed set. Personally the missing track on "Trinity" is not the most interesting of the lot so i would recommend that as a one stop shop for the first three EPs.