My Dying Bride superb in Utrecht
The true Fathers of Doom Metal music, My Dying Bride, debuted a new album in 2015, entitled ‘Feel The Misery’ is a successor to their 2012 release of ‘A Map of All Our Failures’. Their newest album, is an intriguing one, and set expectations for their supporting tour.
On April 10th, My Dying Bride hit the stage at the Tivoli Vredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands, as part of ‘Feel The Misery 2016’ tour. They were supported by an American up and coming outfit called Oceans of Slumber. Their performance went by very fast, but was of very good quality and full of energy. A possible successful future may lie ahead, for these young guys, I’m hoping to hear and see them again in the future.
After the support band finished and a quick stage change and a moderate break, the main event of the evening started with beautiful cello intro by Shaun MacGowan, then the band quickly emerged on stage, all except of Aaron Stainthorpe, the irreplaceable leader of the band. All the while the audience was enjoying the melodic opening intro of the old-school ‘Your River’, being ever classy as always Aaron then slowly emerged on stage. The band then went to play another old song, ‘From Darkest Skies’, before launching into their newer material.
We heard ‘And My Father Left Forever”, the first track off of the new album, this ever-dynamic song with beautiful progression. Followed by a beautiful title track ‘Feel The Misery’. The band’s performance involved everyone, inviting them into a world of passion, a world of tragedy, and a world of emotions. Those two songs seem to sum up everything about the band’s new album. It must be stated, that this gig, had a very balanced set list, that covered nearly all eras of band’s history. Many in the audience were ecstatic, when Aaron declared the end to ‘nice’ music and the band went on to play their classics – ultimately heavy pieces, like ‘Thy Raven Wings’ and ‘The Prize of Beauty’, totally ripping and shredding the attending masses – whom were already sweating from headbanging and loosing their voices. Aggressively the band raised the temperature even higher with ‘Erotic Literature’.
It must be mentioned too that the band has an ideal front man – a person who is actively involved into performance – to his looks, his moves, and his portrayal of tragedy – creating an authentic persona, viewing someone whom practices what he preaches.
The band then broke the hell loose and performed a few more killer tracks, from the new song ‘To Shiver in Empty Halls’ and older classics like ‘The Cry of Mankind’ and ‘She Is The Dark’. I suppose for the fans there couldn’t have been a better set lis, it was very fitting and appropriate making the time pass very quickly. It was encore time, the band – taking it all in and being seasoned professionals – left the stage, waiting for fans to call them back, to which they did quite loudly! They were rewarded with full on depression ‘Like a Perpetual Funeral’ and lengthy antics of ‘Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium’. It was an impressive way to end a very balanced gig. I think all the fans, left with satisfaction and pleasure of seeing the history of the band and their legacy.
Photo’s (c) Armelle van Helden
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