Review Summary: The only positive thing about this EP is that it only has four songs.
Some fans might be wondering what happened to this band, but most probably realize that they’ve never been consistent in the first place. My Dying Bride’s career has been full of highs and lows, and people just need to accept it as a hazard of following the band. Besides, history has shown that they always bounce back after an album or two anyway – it simply turns out that they’re not ready to bounce back just yet. In fact, it seems they’re not even ready to stop circling further into the depths of mediocrity, as this EP is a new low that thankfully only lasts four songs.
The EP opens with the track “Bring Me Victory” from the band’s 2009 release,
For Lies I Sire. This song shares a lot in common with the musical approach found on
Like Gods of the Sun, except without any of the enjoyment. It’s a short, straight-up metal track that has the potential to be tolerable if it wasn’t for Aaron’s vocals. In fact, it’s Aaron’s vocals that end up being the downfall of this album. The following track is a cover of “Scarborough Fair” – one of the most overly-covered tracks in recent memory. This song has been played by everyone from
Sarah Brightman and
Hayley Westenra to
Queensryche and
Leaves’ Eyes. I mention these artists not only to display the range of people that have covered the song, but also to hint to the fact that it’s a song for strong vocalists. Aaron is not a strong vocalist and the song falls flat because of it. The following track is a cover of the
Swans’ “Failure”. This song features minimal musical accompaniment which effectively leaves Aaron front-and-center warbling like a drunken Elmer Fudd. The EP ends with a live version of “Vast Choirs” that is pretty good, but by the time it starts it’s already too little and too late.
This EP suffers from a lot of things, and poor song choice is chief among them. Why the band would choose one of the weakest songs from an already weak album is beyond me. The only thing it does is effectively set a low standard for the rest of the EP. In hindsight that’s ok, though, because the rest of the album maintains that standard with ease. The two cover songs both require a strong vocalist to work, and Aaron is not that vocalist. The only thing we can hope is that this is the final low before the band picks themselves back up and release something deserving of the My Dying Bride name.
