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intothewellsabyss
Jun 12, 20233 min read

SEVEN DAYS OF BEREAVEMENT: A MY DYING BRIDE RETROSPECTIVE, PART EIGHT.


My Dying Bride’s full-length follow-up to “The Angel and the Dark River” was entitled “Like Gods of the Sun” and it is quite possibly my favorite release from the band. It was released on October 7, 1996 via Peaceville Records. It was the last album by the band to feature Rick Miah (who left the band in 1997) on drums and Martin Powell on keyboards and violins.


“Like Gods of the Sun” continued in the direction of “The Angel and the Dark River”, in that it did not contain any growling vocals by Aaron Stainthorpe. This was the fourth album of My Dying Bride, featuring songs like "A Kiss to Remember", "For You" and "For My Fallen Angel". "For My Fallen Angel" is strictly an orchestral composition with sections of violin and synth. It is also the last MDB album to feature a violin, until “For Lies I Sire”.


Background:

Like its predecessor “The Angel and the Dark River” this album has completely clean vocals.


A video was filmed for "For You" and appears on the VHS and DVD of “For Darkest Eyes”.


Singer Aaron Stainthorpe has stated many times that this is his favorite MDB album. The track "A Kiss To Remember" has become a regular in the band's live setlist.


The song "For My Fallen Angel" is strictly an orchestral composition with sections of violin and synth, and has an extract from a poem called Venus and Adonis by the English poet and playwright William Shakespeare.


The Japanese and limited digipak editions of the album feature the bonus remix "It Will Come (Nightmare Mix)". This track was included on the 2003 reissue of the album alongside an additional remix of the song "Grace Unhearing", credited as "Portishell Mix". The song was thus named as Stainthorpe was at the time a big fan of the British band Portishead. The band would later perform a cover of the Portishead song "Roads" for the Peaceville Records anniversary compilation "Peaceville X". The cover artwork was designed by Andy Green.


In October 2011 it was awarded a gold certification from the Independent Music Companies Association which indicated sales of at least 75,000 copies throughout Europe.


Critical Reception:

AllMusic’s Jason Anderson wrote of the album; “Dismal and dark as usual, “Like Gods of the Sun” contains all the essential My Dying Bride characteristics. While there is nothing this record specifically lacks with regard to execution, there is nothing new or interesting about it either and, generally, the 1994 release is considered one of the band's lesser offerings. Hardly unlistenable, there are a few nice moments on this record, most notably during "A Kiss to Remember" and "For My Fallen Angel." Despite these musical highlights, My Dying Bride seems a little disinterested on Like Gods of the Sun. The bandmembers had honed their goth death-doom to an art for sure, but the group's best ideas had all been used by the time this record hit the streets in 1994. “Like Gods of the Sun” boasts some of the best production to date for the band, but the songwriting is flat, which leaves this record toward the bottom of My Dying Bride's list of releases that are worth the purchase price.”


Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells


Click this link to follow My Dying Bride on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyDyingBrideOfficial


Click this link to listen to “Like Gods of the Sun” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/like-gods-of-the-sun/73591106


Click this link to watch the official music video for “For You”: https://youtu.be/eiIfWpVTD4U


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