Finally, had time to sit down and listen to For Lies I Sire, My Dying Bride’s latest album.  In the last 3 albums, MDB seemed to be going to a different direction from their roots.  Nothing wrong with that, but the whole situation sounded too commercial, or it’s like they were pressured to release music asap.  They were still writing good heavy music, but it seems that the lack of violin, helped in lack of writing good “to die with” music.  They lacked the atmosphere, which in my opinion MDB had an atmosphere of their own and that is what made them one of the most influential bands in doom metal.  They were moving towards heavier music, which didn’t had much feel, just heavy music.

But finally, it seems they are on their way back to their roots.  The violin is back, those slow guitar riffs are back accompanied by well structured drums, and Aaron’s weeping voice.  Nobody listens to MDB because of their technical music abilities, but because they were able to create a style of their own, which makes them unique.  No other band was able to create their feel, that kind of cold winter music.

For my likings, I would never rate this album anywhere near the unique ‘Turn Loose the Swans’, but they are back.  Fingers crossed for their next album, which hopefully will take all of us closer to their roots.

Impressive! Simple, clean, atmospheric, at the same time moving! Many doom albums are noisy to appreciate base guitar riffs, or to enjoy a good guitar solo where the guitar speaks for itself, instead of the guitarist showing off how technical his music is. Also, there is always an overload of sounds accompanying the music. Why should it always be raining and stormy weather that accompanies doom music? Or something creepy like the sound of opening doors from a horror house?

IMO Anathema delivered a good atmospheric doom metal album with style, without using fancy stuff. Minimalistic use of keyboards and sound effects, the introduction of the violin (Martin Powell ex My Dying Bride), simple catchy guitar riffs, depressing piano and at times fast pace music makes this album unique with very sharp sound.

Clean vocals and lyrics like “Life has betrayed me once again”, “I feel all alone in a crowded room” make this album a complete doom album with absolutely no place for improvements. The lyrics speak about trust and there is no Shakespearean English or hidden meanings, very direct and straight to the point. I would personally rate this album as a 10/10!