Review by Jack on July 11, 2001.

Kings of doom/gothic metal, My Dying Bride are back with a return to their old sound after their infamous “34.788%... Complete” which turned heads in a complete 360 degree revolution. “The Light at the End of the World” (“TLATEOTW”) is a familiar sound most comparable to the definitive release in “Turn Loose the Swans”. Most My Dying Bride fans are extremely gracious for the return to the untouchable sound that was “Turn Loose the Swans” and didn’t know quite what to make of “34.788%... Complete”.

“TLATEOTW” is a thoroughly epic affair spanning nine songs and over 70 minutes of playing time. Most notably there is unfortunately no trademark violin playing throughout the entire album, however depressing this may be, it is easily compensated for by the emotion put into each and every song. Tracks like ‘She is the Dark’ and the third incantation of the ‘Sear Me’ series; ‘Sear Me III’ are indicative of the masterful song structures that vocalist Aaron puts together. His voice ranges from the typical black scream, to a deep death-ish growl to a low, brooding clean vocal. Aaron’s voice was never one that was instantly captivating (unlike vocalists such as Ihsahn, Emperor and Peccatum or Garm, Arcturus, Ulver, and Borknagar), however what Aaron’s voice does accomplish throughout “TLATEOTW” is a feeling of sorrow and depression, which is what doom metal is all about. So thumbs up from me in that aspect.

The playing structure of “TLATEOTW” ranges from slow somber melodies, accompanied by Aaron’s low-key clean voice, to harsh, frenetic paces of doom/gothic fury, with evil screams and roars.

Bottom Line: I really feel that this is a triumphant My Dying Bride release. “TLATEOTW” is their strongest release to date, and should prove that with the return to their old sound, My Dying Bride will continue to only grow stronger. Watch out for their new album, released in late October!

Rating: 8.5 out of 10