My Dying Bride
A Map Of All Our Failures

The days of "Turn Loose The Swans" and "The Angel And The Dark River" have long gone, slipped away over time like a river in full flood. Years when the English had imposed themselves prominently as one of the most interesting, intimate, and depressive faces of that much-abused genre known as gothic/doom. The "Bride" rode the wave of those successes, producing works of great quality, even if they never again reached the artistic peaks of the previously mentioned works. The last album of certain stature was "A Line Of Deathless Kings" and we have to go back to 2006. Then came bland productions, melodramatic albums deprived of the usual decadent energy ("For Lies I Sire" and "Evinta" in particular). The English, with Stainthorpe at the helm, seemed to have lost their way.

Then came the EP "The Barghest O' Whitby" to at least partially clear the clouds of recent times. Finally, just two weeks ago, "A Map Of All Our Failures" arrived, the eleventh album of original content, released under the Peaceville Records banner. This new effort brought with it many expectations, many doubts. Its content reflects the band's not entirely happy moment, although there is undoubtedly a noteworthy adjustment.

One thing must be said, to avoid any confusion: we are not facing the ugliness of "For Lies I Sire" and "Evinta" (an album which the undersigned still considers "courageous" and "alternative"). The platter in question is an honest piece of doom metal, with some highlights, some shadows, and above all the feeling that the years are passing too quickly for the Bride. The impression is that the tracks are a bit too wrapped up in themselves, filled with riffs and minutes often useless for the outcome. It must be said that the guitar duo Craighan/Glencross performs important work: the guitars return to being the foundation of MDB's sound, taking away space and importance from MacGowan's violin, almost a "finishing touch" used to reproduce an element that characterized the band's past. Stainthorpe knows his stuff, although he appears less incisive and "theatrical" than usual, delivering an imperfect growl in "Kneel till doomsday" and "A tapestry scorned".

Relying heavily on guitar riffs, the result is a less "airy" work, centered on sequences of slow, evocative riffs in full doom style. These are also notable for a renewed melodic and almost "easy" taste that is showcased in "The poorest waltz" and, more generally, in the more "simple" and immediate vocal lines than one would expect from Stainthorpe. The opener "Kneel till doomsday" is the track that best combines these new variations with the band's classic themes: a song that changes atmosphere several times, alternating reflective moments with death-like outbursts.

"A Map Of All Our Failures" is a CD that fits into a particular historical moment for the Halifax combo: we are on a higher quality level than "For Lies I Sire," but the point remains the same. A work of this type is listenable, it performs its task fairly well, but from someone who wrote and branded the genre, you would expect more than just a "routine" album...

1. "Kneel Till Doomsday" (7:52)
2. "The Poorest Waltz" (5:08)
3. "A Tapestry Scorned" (8:01)
4. "Like A Perpetual Funeral" (8:32)
5. "A Map Of All Our Failures" (7:50)
6. "Hail Odysseus" (8:54)
7. "Within The Presence Of Absence" (8:50)
8. "Abandoned As Christ" (8:36)