THE ANGEL AND THE DARK RIVER

The Angel and the Dark River is a refinement and purification of the Goth-doom approach My Dying Bride prototyped on Turn Loose the Swans. With the death metal influences leeched out, the band present a mixture of reasonably slow riffs (though not as slow or heavy as the sort of material stoner doom and traditional doom bands typically play) with lyrics intoned in a mournful voice. Whereas the preceding Turn Loose the Swans went in a very Dead Can Dance-influenced darkwave direction at points, this one seems to take the approach back in a more metal-focused direction, using the lessons from their stylistic explorations to good effect in enhancing their baseline sound and keeping it fresh.