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THE BARGHEST O' WHITBY

My Dying Bride

Tech/Extreme Prog Metal


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My Dying Bride The Barghest O' Whitby album cover
3.44 | 20 ratings | 4 reviews | 20% 5 stars

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Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, released in 2011

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. The Barghest O' Whitby (27:04)

Total time 27:04

Line-up / Musicians

- Aaron Stainthorpe / vocals
- Andrew Craighan / guitars
- Hamish Hamilton Glencross / guitars
- Shaun Macgowan / keyboards, violin
- Lena Abé / bass

Guest:
- Shaun "Winter" Taylor Steels / drums

Releases information

CD Peaceville CDVILES254 (November 7, 2011, UK)
12" EP Peaceville VILELP359 (November 7, 2011, UK, Limited Edition, red vinyl)

12" EP Peaceville VILELP749 (2018, UK)

Thanks to toroddfuglesteg for the addition
and to NotAProghead for the last updates
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MY DYING BRIDE The Barghest O' Whitby ratings distribution


3.44
(20 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(20%)
20%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(55%)
55%
Good, but non-essential (25%)
25%
Collectors/fans only (0%)
0%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

MY DYING BRIDE The Barghest O' Whitby reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Aussie-Byrd-Brother
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars "My form is bloody and it is true, it is the night I wear around me..."

As a long time fan of this band, I was so excited, especially as a progressive rock fan, to see doom metal masters My Dying Bride release a single 27 minute piece. The band has always shown plenty of progressive elements in their music, with long instrumental sections, dramatic vocals, inventive arrangements and rich lyrics. They have constantly refined and experimented with their sombre and highly emotional music, so it's very admirable to see them push themselves with a long and challenging extended piece.

The title refers to a "barghest", a word for an English spirit that takes the form of a huge black dog, with monstrous teeth and claws. Often conjured by acts of violence and betrayal, they torment and prey on solitary travellers. Some sources place the inspiration for the descriptions in the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes book, `The Hound of the Baskervilles'. The tale takes place in Whitby, the same town as Bram Stoker's `Dracula'. All perfect settings for the grim and bleak tale that follows.

Beginning with the crack of thunderstorms and howling winds, down-tempo sludgy bass, metal guitar riffs and weeping violin create a mood full of unease and violent rage. The painfully slow riffs in the opening few minutes are completely unmelodic and vile. The music is dissonant, dirty and even slightly atonal, making it hugely oppressive. Aaron Stainthorpe's growls, in the guise of the title beast, are ferocious and predatory. When he switches to clean vocals, he has such a mournful, solemn and deeply moving quality. The majestic winding guitar lines weaving around the violin is effective, with long drawn out notes and squalling feedback heightening the tension. They drift into a quieter and more reflective middle section, before one of those classic My Dying Bride highly emotive and imperial sounding twin guitar melodies breaks through the sound of cracking thunder. Commanding drumming builds the drama swamping Aaron's seductive tones. He effectively uses both clean and maniacal shrieking vocals double-tracked in this section that is highly unnerving and tormented. The climax has a suitably dramatic and nightmarish rush of adrenaline and crushing tension. Squealing distortion, punishing kick-drums and rapid-fire riffing announce the return of the growled Beast, as the piece spirals into chaos and thrashing foul violence. The piece returns again to the rainy misery of the opening.

Aaron sounds as charismatic as ever, his growled voice still truly devilish, his clean voice full of sorrow and regret. When he takes on the inner monologue of the title beast, his growl has appropriate snarl and spitting rage. As always his lyrics are poetic with vivid detail. The band compliment him perfectly, resembling a dark well of swirling aggression and raw primal ferocity.

`Whitby' is a truly uncompromising work by the band. The production is thick, cold and harsh. Some listeners may find the piece too dense and plodding, with little in the way of memorable riffs or vocal melodies. I don't think this is due to a lack of inspiration or the well of ideas running dry, I think it's more a case of the band pushing themselves and their audience in new directions. It's bleak, hard, challenging and slow to unwind. Looking at it from the perspective of a progressive rock fan, these sort of musical statements are hugely satisfying. There are many other albums from the band that I enjoy more than this, that I return to more often, but it's still a fascinating and worthwhile piece. I wouldn't, however, recommend it to new listeners, as I think almost any of their other albums would be a more ideal introduction.

I purchased the album on vinyl LP, with the piece split over two sides. There is no obtrusive cut, as the first side ends just after the mellow section in the middle of the track briefly fades out. The front cover features a stunning painting of the title beast by Aaron, with the vinyl format especially showing off the haunting and moody artwork. The inner sleeve contains the lyrics laid out like a beautiful gothic poem.

With it's grand mix of alternating vocal styles, moving violin, metallic riffs and gothic splendor, `The Barghest O' Whitby' truly encompasses all eras of the 20 year band and reveals all kinds of new possibilities. It's a satisfying and demanding grandiose work of great depth, well worth three and a half stars.

This 27 minute piece is a dark and wicked symphonic poem carved on a slab of hard grey stone.

Review by UMUR
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars "The Barghest O' Whitby" is an EP release by UK doom metal act My Dying Bride. The EP was released through Peaceville Records in November 2011. "The Barghest O' Whitby" consists of just a single 27:04 minutes long track. Itīs the first My Dying Bride release to feature new keyboard player/violinist Shaun Macgowan. The EP also sees a session performance by former My Dying Bride drummer Shaun "Winter" Taylor Steels.

Itīs not that My Dying Bride arenīt known for writing long tracks, but "The Barghest O' Whitby" is the longest track yet released by the band. Itīs an interesting track as it features almost all of the bandīs trademark elements in the same song. Über melancholic violin parts, atmospheric keyboards, crushingly heavy guitar riffing (as well as great harmony work), heavy yet rythmically intriguing drumming and of course the growling and clean vocals by lead vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe. Unfortunately itīs also a track thatīs a bit fragmented and repetitive and it doesnīt always flow as well as it could have (sometimes Iīm reminded a bit of the bandīs debut album "As the Flower Withers (1992)" in that respect). The fact that the track is divided into two parts to fit the vinyl format, isnīt exactly good for the flow of the track either. Itīs a track that wins upon repeated listens, but I think it drags a bit after the first 15:38 minutes (or on side 2 of the vinyl version). The last 11:28 minutes are definitely not as interesting as the first part of the track.

...so Iīm a bit reluctant to call "The Barghest O' Whitby" an excellent release. Itīs well played and well produced (I enjoy the rather raw quality of the sound), but the songwriting is slightly lacking. Still a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved. I guess that says something about the generally high quality of the bandīs output. Even when they release something that isnīt up to their highest standards, itīs still a great listen.

Review by Warthur
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars This EP, consisting of a single 27-minute epic track, finds My Dying Bride deep in the death-doom style they pioneered, and makes sure to include prominent keyboard and violin parts to introduce new member Shaun Macgowan to the fanbase. Shaun Steels, former member, comes back on a guest session musician basis to provide drums, so between a new member coming in and a post in the drummer's stool still unfilled this is clearly catching My Dying Bride in a bit of a transitional period between lineups, but it's still an interesting release.

Aaron Stainthorpe seems to be trying out a new lyrical approach here, going in for more harsh, sharp snarls than the deep guttural roars usually associated with death-doom. In the latter half of the song he slips back into the stentorian style of clean vocals which has so often been his trademark. Musically speaking, you know what you are getting with My Dying Bride, and you get about 27 minutes of it here. It's good, and I like the experimentation with longer song lengths, but I wouldn't say it's genre-redefining or absolutely essential.

Latest members reviews

3 stars I have a certain association between this EP and the EP "Faustian echoes" by Agalloch because of their similarities: 1. They both represent return to a great shape and more earthy, original sound with growling vocals. 2. The EPs were released almost in the same year 3. These are epic and high ... (read more)

Report this review (#2287858) | Posted by sgtpepper | Tuesday, December 17, 2019 | Review Permanlink

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