By Laura WiebeMy Dying Bride's Evinta is an anniversary release of sorts, two decades' worth of doom transformed into nine lengthy, sometimes symphonic, sometimes ambient, no-longer-metal tracks. The titles and performances are new, the melodies and soundscapes old, making the double album a more than usually haunting beast. Aside from familiar patterns of notes running through every unfamiliar arrangement, the most recognizable sound is Aaron Stainthorpe's plaintive singing and dramatic speech (no growls). Much of this sonic re-imagining is in the same vein as Virgin Black's Requiem Mass trilogy, with lush orchestration and soaring vocal lines from an operatic soprano (Lucie Roche). But in terms of My Dying Bride's discography, Evinta's closest reference point is 1995's The Angel and the Dark River: emotionally heavy, seeped in sombre, alluring atmospheres. The aural collage ranges from grandiose to subtle (increasingly so midway through), taking and extrapolating moments from each of My Dying Bride's studio albums, sounding like it could be an elegy, but so good as to inspire a breath of thanks that it's not. (Peaceville)
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