The Dreadful Hours - Dark Publications

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Similar Items:

•	The Light at the End of the World
•	Turn Loose the Swans
•	Songs of Darkness, Words of Light
•	The Angel and the Dark River
•	Like Gods Of The Sun

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars

Earning their title as "Godfathers of Doom" February 18, 2006
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

It is difficult to measure the success of a bad who is so deliberately counter-culture. My Dying Bride embraces it's origins of Darkness, Death Metal, and Doom with such care, that the band may never acheive the recognition that they truly deserve. True masters of their art, they should go down as being one of the most important bands in metal. This album is the perfect example of why this band is so deserving.

If you are new to the genre of doom metal, the last thing you should expect from this kind of music is anything hopeful or uplifting... although there are some melodic surprises. As soon as the first song kicks in with the sound of rain and slow plucking of solemn notes, you realise the extreme drear and woe of the band. Even a fan of the most brutal metal might wonder why anyone would want to be taken to such a dark place musically. I can't answer that, suffice it to say that one might easily identify with the downtrodden feelings in the lyrics and guitar harmonies.

I might even suggest that only a strong minded person could experience a band and an album like this. Personally I have been taken to some very depressing places mentally in my life, but my will to go on was reinforced because of music like this. Realising that you are not alone in low feelings can be very cathartic, and through this kind of facing of my fears I was able to emerge stronger. So there is a message of hope in the underlying current of My Dying Bride... but only if you want there to be. This is art, and should be treated as such.

Musically, the slower paced passages are balanced with heavier death metal and borderline black metal heaviness and speed, (a side the band had been avoiding throughout the nineties, but fits in perfectly and even better than it did on their first album As the Flower Withers). And melodies and harmonies keep everything in check, My Dying Bride have gotten very good at musical dynamics and building of songs. This album The Dreadful Hours, while not completely innovative for the band, might be the best example of where doom metal came from and where it should be heading. Rather than pinpointing certain songs (which is a difficult task for most metal bands) what you really need to know is that this album and this band deliver the goods. They've gone past their over the top experiments, (34.788% Complete) and have now come full circle with a brilliant album. Heavy guitars and gorgeous harmonies abound, vocals that range from beautiful in key yet complete suffering to stress relieving growls from one of the best death metal vocals ever, and an etherial feeling of escape from the mundane world of lies.

Although the production is a step down from previous releases like Angel and the Dark River and Like Gods of the Sun, dissatisfaction is almost never a feeling that My Dying Bride is capable of.

One word of notice is that although this version says "remastered" you may not recieve a remastered version, (for this as well as the band's live album Voice of the Wretched) as there seems to be some confusion or a mix-up with the distribution. That might be due to the very similar packaging of both versions as digipacks, but the bottom line is that you may not even be able to tell the difference either way as this album is only a few years old.

5 out of 5 stars

Awesome.... February 26, 2006
5 out of 7 found this review helpful

This may be MDB's finest hour. I enjoyed this album as my as Turn Loose, nay, can I say even more? This is really as close as you will get to a perfect album. I liked 7 of the 8 tracks here. Excellent song writing, with a very dark atmosphere and nice interplay of clean and death vox. This is what Light at the End of the World was almost...

Aaron's voice is mature and the band seems to finally have gotten comfortable enough with itself to create masterpieces. Each and every track on this album is distinct and enjoyable.

You must buy this.

5 out of 5 stars

Superior album in every way. August 17, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I found this album here at amazon.com a few months ago. I was already a fan of My Dying Bride, and the album cover was intriguing. Plus, the 30 second sound bytes seemed really good.

The album took a little bit of time getting used to, as does any MDB album. But, once hooked it's an experience like few others in metal music. I now rate this one as the best metal album I've ever heard. It is a genuine pleasure to hear.

The riffs are grand and sweeping. The music is endearing and powerful, filled with change ups and point/counterpoint composition.

Most important, though, is that the music is really good. Dare I say great? I dare. I'm willing to endure a critic to my view here because I think most metal fans will agree I'm right. The Dreadful Hours is pure metal listening pleasure.

Le Figile Della Tempesta is an extraordinary musical accomplishment.

Metal music is becoming more classy than ever in so many ways. The really good stuff is genuine artistry. My Dying Bride are among the artists of the type.

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