THE BARGHEST O' WHITBY

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.