By Grayson Hale
After more than 20 years on the circuit, Yorkshire legends My Dying Bride have returned yet again with four new tracks of their unmistakable brand of poetically-charged doom metal. Hot on the heels of their last studio album, A Map of All Our Failures, The Manuscript continues the direction of that release but breaks their sound apart to form four very different songs.
It is apparent from the outset of The Manuscript’s 27 minutes that this is going to be vintage My Dying Bride; the title track is drenched with the kind of melancholy we have come to expect from the group, with Aaron Stainthorpe’s familiar vocals over the top of repetitive guitar-work. Gothic elements permeate the song, with the use of the violin being particularly effective.
'Var Gud Over Er' stays true to its Swedish title by abruptly bringing to an end the acoustic conclusion of the previous track with death growls and an epic, Viking-sounding atmosphere. Clean vocals are used sparingly but add to the diversity of the song. This is undoubtedly the highlight of the EP and proves that My Dying Bride can still kick it up a notch when they want to.
The final couple of songs work well in combination but sound as though they could have been put together to create one longer piece. 'A Pale Shroud of Longing' starts off with a slow and heavy riff that will be sure to satisfy any doom fan, before moving on to a memorable violin melody that exudes all of the longing and desperation My Dying Bride wish for you to feel. A fine track already, it is made even better by the closer 'Only Tears to Replace Her With', which features some spoken-word vocals from Stainthorpe over a mournful guitar. While the song may be simple, it ends the release on a positive (or should that be negative?) note, with the line “I hate everything around me but I want to carry you back to heaven”, closing out the EP.
All in all, this is a solid piece of work from the UK doom titans and will undoubtedly please the fans in the same way their previous recordings have. While the band doesn't necessarily cover any new ground here, this is a satisfying release with its biggest strength being how it shows off all the various components of the My Dying Bride sound.
