MEISTERWERK II

Well, this is the same procedure as from part I of Meisterwerk. My Dying Bride has collected the demos and alternative mixes from their long career and put it together on this one hour long album. They have also included some really great tracks like the opener Sear Me MCMXCIII and Your River to make it more palatable for potential buyers. I would not claim that this is a rip-off album because the stuff here is essential for real fans of My Dying Bride. As far as I remember, it was low-price releases too. It is interesting to hear the development and alternative versions from this great band. But this is still a "fans only" album and just that. It is not a Greatest Hits by any means.

2 stars (Collectors/fans only)

"Meisterwerk II" features a combination of album tracks, rare demo/single/limited edition bonus track recordings, and the video for "For You" from "Like Gods of the Sun (1996)". Like the case was on "Meisterwerk I", the regular studio version tracks are a bit redundant, and it´s the rare recordings that are of most interest. The versions of "Vast Choirs" and "Catching Feathers" from the "Towards the Sinister (1990)" demo, "Follower" which is a bonus track from the Japanese version of "34.788%...Complete (1998)", "Some Velvet Morning" from the Peaceville Records "X" compilation, and the Portishead cover "Roads" from the Peaceville Records "X" compilation. Those five tracks and maybe the video for "For You", are the attractions here.

I´m sure most listeners can do without the regular studio versions of "Sear Me MCMXCIII", "She Is the Dark", "Two Winters Only", and "Your River", which on their own are quality material, but here work more like redundant filler. Therefore "Meisterwerk II" isn´t the most necessary compilation release, and upon conclusion the end product would have been much more interesting if Peaceville Records had compiled the rare recordings from "Meisterwerk I" and "Meisterwerk II" on one release and left out the regular studio recordings. As "Meisterwerk II" is now a 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)