Review by Krys on December 1, 2001.

For those of you who gave up on My Dying Bride and thought that those five Brits have their prime behind them I have bad news, their seventh studio release “The Dreadful Hours” is their best work to date and according to their axeman, Andrew Craighan that’s just the beginning of the new My Dying Bride.

Each track on this masterpiece reflects so many emotions that it’s no wonder that the shortest one clocks over 5 min and only 8 songs last for over 70 min., which by the way could be a lesson to a horde of today’s bands releasing twenty-something minutes albums and charging the full price for it... but “The Dreadful Hours” is not about the length of a CD but what’s on it.

From melancholic music landscapes to brutal death metal this album can make you feel standing on the rain and from time to time being struck by a thunder. The intro on the first track that starts with a quiet rainfall wouldn’t be anything special if not for the fact that ‘The Dreadful Hours’ actually ends with an amazing guitar work that sounds like falling raindrops. Maybe Aaron’s voice on ‘Le Figlie Della Tempesta’ wouldn’t sound as convincing if not for licks of a crying guitar or ‘Black Heart Romance’ wouldn’t send cold chills through your spine if the piano didn’t sound like ringing bells, but it does and that’s what separates My Dying Bride from the rest of the crowd and puts them on the top of the genre. I simply can’t find a single note that is wasted here and each instrument is used to its fullest potential without overuse.

My Dying Bride doesn’t break any boundaries here but do they have to? There is no one that sounds like them, original in itself. In a unique way “The Dreadful Hours” is a combination of what’s best in MDB discography, but it’s also a showcase of new composing ideas, which like a good drama will keep you on your toes till the last note astonishing the listener by incredible array of presented emotions and ease of expressing them.

Bottom Line: The most mature album of MDB and no one should pass it by indifferent.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 10
Originality: 10
Production: 10
Overall: 10

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by JD on August 22, 2010.

Throughout the years...Heavy Metal has been built on just being genuine to what they are and to hell with everyone else. That is why independent metal usually is the best choice for the true diehard banger. Getting their music put out on their own label for varying reasons, Face The Unknown clearly wants that control of what they are musically doing without having it constantly diluted for others who may not understand what it is that they do. The band is the blueprint for today’s metal.

Harking back to the traditional side of metal, this UK band rocks out hard and often with varying degrees of pure power. Sounding like a wild mixture of many NWBHM bands (Maiden, Priest ect.), Gwar, Black Label Society and have this sort of vibe that is like a la Corrosion Of Conformity as well. This band clearly shows where they were spawn from, and how they are looking far forward into the ‘unknown’.

It is so clear through each and every track... these guys do have something to say and are not afraid to do just that. Tracks like the powerful 'You Can’t Save Me' to the guitar grinding explosion of 'Your Destiny'... Face The Unknown are out to convert you to their tribe. Strong yet fun lyrics are the basis of things then add in all of that amazing musicianship that keeps it fresh not to mention relevant and yet tries to blow your head off with power. Even the simpleness of the recording adds to the enjoyment factor of the album.

It is so true that Face The Unknown is pretty much a classic throwback to the heyday of metal and all that it stood for and what it was and is, yet they clearly have their feet planted in to the new millennium to forge a new chapter in Metallic history. Old rockers will appreciate the album in every way... and I am certain that newer headbangers will feel the passion and power the band has. The simple fact is that the album is a sort of bridge release so that all facets of the metal will have something that is in every way... good, powerful, strong metal that is not ashamed to be true to metalheads everywhere.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9.5
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 8.5
Originality:8.5
Overall: 9.5

Rating: 9.2 out of 10