Album Details

• Artist: My Dying Bride
• Album: For Lies I Sire
• Label: Peaceville Records
• Year of Release: 2009
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: solitaryman on 2009-07-18

After nearly two years of hot anticipation, one of the UK's most prominent metal fixtures, My Dying Bride have let loose their latest offering of twisted despair and woe on For Lies I Sire. After their last, and rather disappointing, album A Line Of Deathless Kings, much is being expected of the band this time around, especially for a band considered as one of the "Big Three" in UK Doom (along with Anathema which makes little sense considering their evolutionary changes, and Paradise Lost). Two things to make quick note of on the new album are the re-inclusion of the violin (a long-lost element vital to this band's emotional impact) and the usage of backing vocals, both of which add thickness to the songwriting.

Opener "My Body, A Funeral" is already being touted in certain circles as an MDB classic, and it's easy to see why. It takes all the familiar elements of their sound - moody opening, crawling, depressing riffs, Aaron Stainthorpe's funeral dirge vocals and a heavy-handed rhythm section - and utilizes them to full effect. The violin passages add some real emotion to the mix. The track really picks upover the 2nd half and displaces the gloom for bitter rage. Another real trademark of MDB. "Fall With Me" is more or less standard fare before a big guitar/drum/violin breakdown towards the middle really surprises you. This is a big highlight of For Lies I Sire. "Bring Me Victory" honestly sounds like something out of the modern-era Cradle Of Filth songbook, and it's not truly surprising the fellow UK metallers would take some influence from them. A good, short stab of upbeat doom that would work well as a single. "Shadowhunt" acts as the obligatory uber-depressive track on this album, as every MDB album has at least one song that's almost impossible to sit through without feeling bitter and angsty yourself. "A Chapter In Loathing" is very intense, by far the heaviest moment here, another highlight. The 11-minute closer "Death Triumphant" for some reason has about two minutes of silence on the end. I don't know if this was intentional or not but it would be interesting to find out.

My Dying Bride have always been a sort of "niche" band, who found what they were good at and never strayed all that far from that original formula. While they'd lost a lot of inspiration over the past two albums, For Lies I Sire is certainly a step in the right direction. While at least half of the album tends to drag on some, there are enough moments of excellent songwriting and performance to warrant a purchase for long-time fans or those looking to see what the hype surrounding this band has always been about.  

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