I AM THE BLOODY EARTH

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.