My Dying Bride

After the sophistication and restraint of Evinta's orchestral re-imaginings of the My Dying Bride back catalogue earlier this year, The Barghest O' Whitby EP starts off, and ends, as a raw reminder of the band's more brutal capabilities. The mini-album ― really just one long song (27 minutes, in fact) ― is a condensed representation of My Dying Bride's emotional and dynamic range. Slow, agonizing melodies unfold in the midst of tensely eerie atmospheres, interrupting then building towards a more threatening death-doom cacophony. Based on low, plodding riffs (and the odd burst of sinister speed) and laced with gothic drama, The Barghest O' Whitby pillages the My Dying Bride vaults for familiar tones and textures, rather than reinventing their repertoire. As an enticingly dark indication of what may lie ahead for the band (or, perhaps, as an introduction), the EP does its job, but ultimately this teaser feels like an unfinished statement.