MY DYING BRIDE “The Ghost of Orion”

Nuclear Blast, 2020

Music: Gothic Doom Metal

Website: http://www.mydyingbride.net/

Duration: 56:05 minutes (8 Tracks)

Country: England

Five years have passed since the masters of mournful doom, MY DYING BRIDE released their last album, “Feel the Misery.” Finding a source of despair for thirty years must be a trying task, much less trying to follow a defining album, but MY DYING BRIDE once again deliver with “The Ghost of Orion.” The group experienced plenty of real-life strife to fuel the tone of this album. First, Aaron Stainthorpe’s five-year-old daughter was diagnosed with cancer. Then, two members left the group—original guitarist Calvin Robershaw and later returning drummer Shaun Taylor-Steels. Despite all the set backs, MY DYING BRIDE soldiered on and completed another album sure to suffice global listeners.

Loss seems to be a recurring theme in Stainthorpe’s lyrics. Whether the loss of his band mates fueled his lyrics is uncertain. It certainly created a road block. What is certain, though, the fear of losing his daughter, the pain he witnessed her endure inspired the lyrics to “Tired of Tears.” Andrew Craighan and Neil Blanchett’s guitar notes are saturated in sadness as are Stainthorpe’s vocals and Shaun Macgowan’s violin. Stainthorpe tries a different, higher pitched approach to his vocals on the album. While I prefer the lower register clean vocals of albums such as “The Angel and the Dark River” and “Like Gods of the Sun,” this approach is still effective and further imbued with melody.

Deeper vocal tones are definitely present on the album by way of harsh growls. Sure, Stainthorpe won’t present the guttural emissions of their early death/doom days, he hasn’t for most of his career, but he brings the higher note screams of later works on tracks such as “The Long Black Land” and “The Old Earth.” The duality of light and dark, hard and soft, and harsh and clean are motifs fans expect from the band and won’t be disappointed on “The Ghost of Orion.” “The Old Earth” is my personal favorite track. It defines their masterful use of dynamics due to the slow, near-two-minute build up at the beginning before a hard change intensifies the track.

Haunting female vocals and no percussion comprise the whole of “The Solace.” While not containing the dense ringing notes of electric guitar notes and female vocals of “The Solace,” the title track has a similar delivery and mood. Stainthorpe whispers distantly accompany acoustic guitars and again no apparent use of percussion. “Your Woven Shore” closes out the album with heavenly keys and female vocals that give way to warm cello notes. These three tracks not only act as interludes and an outro, but emboss the album with atmosphere.

Stainthorpe’s new vocal dimension and deficiency of chopping guitars are the only drawback to “The Ghost of Orion,” but it’s not a major shortcoming. The guitars tend to stay in the ringing, melodic style. However, the melodic nature of these notes combined with the violin, acoustic and clean guitar tones are soothing. When Andrew Craighan and Neil Blanchett strike heavier notes, it’s absolutely devastating. MY DYING BRIDE is one of the few bands who can stay consistent over three decades. The band still has the ability to produce goose bumps. In terms of melancholic atmosphere and lush melodies, few, if any, bands will rival MY DYING BRIDE’s “The Ghost of Orion” in 2020.

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