MEISTERWERK III

"Meisterwerk III" is a trible disc compilation release by UK doom metal act My Dying Bride. The compilation was released through Peaceville Records in October 2016. As the title suggests "Meisterwerk III" is the third compilation in a series of compilations where "Meisterwerk I" from 2000 and "Meisterwerk II" from 2001 were the first two. "Meisterwerk III" comprise both the material from the two preceding compilations in the series and a third disc with freshly compiled material.

The material from "Meisterwerk I (2000)" and "Meisterwerk II (2001)" are tracks from the early part of the band´s career. Some of them in demo versions or slightly altered versions compared to the regular studio versions of the same songs, and there are a couple of rarities thrown in too. The third disc on "Meisterwerk III" features later period material, which includes tracks like "Feel the Misery", "The Manuscript", and "Bring Me Victory". So it´s a compilation with a combination of regular album studio tracks and some rarities. The tracklist is as such interesting enough, but at this point in the band´s career, it´s almost impossible to cover all releases in the band´s discography and thereby gain a good understanding of their recording history.

Personally I would have prefered either a purely "best of" compilation or a "rarities/B-side" only compilation, instead of this mixture, which to my ears ends up being a bit redundant. Newcomers won´t be interested in demo versions and rarities tracks, and the hardcore fans won´t be interested in listening to studio tracks, because they already own the albums. Therefore a 3 star (60%) rating isn´t all wrong. There´s nothing wrong with the quality of the material, but the idea behind the compilation is lost on me.