Issue #25: My Dying Bride – Turn Loose the Swans

Released:  October 1993

Recorded:  1993

Genre:  Death-Doom Metal

Record Label:  Peaceville 

Duration:  58:15

Producers:  Robert “Mags” Magoolagan, My Dying Bride

Personnel

Track Listing

Singles

Why Turn Loose the Swans is One of My Favorites

There suddenly came a point in my youth where I became aware of the different forms of “extreme metal” out there: death, doom, black, and thrash.  At time time, I figured I had death metal covered by Cannibal Corpse, black metal by Cradle of Filth, and thrash metal by Slayer.  As it turns out, record store selections are pretty slim when it comes to doom metal, but I was able to locate Turn Loose the Swans, and its “doominess” grew on me quickly.

Now since then I’ve expanded my doom metal horizons and have discovered the various sub-genres therein: traditional doom, epic doom, funeral doom, and drone doom; offshoots stoner doom and sludge metal; and hybrids death/doom, blackened doom, and industrial doom.  DOOM DOOM DOOM.  But throughout it all, I still think Turn Loose the Swans is a pretty good representative of what doom metal is as a whole.  And despite how generally inaccessible the genre is, I’d consider My Dying Bride to be one of the more digestible producers of doom metal.  (They’ve released several other great records worth hearing as well.)  This isn’t music for everyone.  Some folks won’t like this no matter how many times they play it.  It’s not the kind of thing I listen to daily, but I find myself enthralled with the haunting, desolate soundscapes.  Doom is the perfect word; it’s slow, heavy, crushing even, and completely miserable.

Comparing one doom metal record to another is difficult, or at least something that I don’t yet possess the language to accomplish.  So with 7 tracks clocking in at almost an hour, I think going from track to track is the best way to articulate what I find so fascinatingly melancholic about this record.

“Sear Me MCMXCIII” opens with some of Stainthrope’s cleanest vocals on the album, though they’re still very low with a hint of “growl.”  An exquisitely sad violin kicks in, backed by bassy percussive chimes and a foreboding piano track.  Midway through, some dirge-like horns can be heard. All of this perfectly matches the song’s subject matter about a ghostly romance.  Doom has more than its share of vivid lyrical moments, and My Dying Bride have coined some of the best.  “In the meadows of heaven / we run through the stars” always gives me a little shudder.

“Your River” spends some time setting the mood with slow, clean guitar, before bursting open with the crushing, plodding riffs characteristic of doom.  It isn’t ultra slow like funeral or drone sub-genres, and it’s not hard to find the death metal influence.  Musically, “Your River” establishes the character of Turn Loose the Swans, which could be thought of as slowed down death metal, albeit with an entirely different lyrical focus.  The music goes through a few more changes before settling on an even slower pace, whereupon Stainthrope begins actually singing.  The opening words seem to suggest a narrative, “Your bloodied body is what I cling to,” though the rest of the song unfolds more cryptically.  I tend to think the singer is pleading for his beloved to hold onto life in spite of some horrible surrounding carnage.

“The Songless Bird” gets a little bit darker; the character has been unfairly treated on a cosmic level, resolving to wage war on whatever gods are responsible.  “If I live you will be sorry / I have a thousand forms,” would seem to be his declaration against these beings.  Again with the crushing riffs, but they come in much slower this time, with a single, high-pitched guitar note wailing at intervals before the drums pick up speed and set the rather angry track in motion.

“The Snow in My Hand” delves deeper into our character’s descent, with his open refusal of religion’s comfort: “I need help / but not from you or your father.”  I really love the imagery Stainthrope uses in describing both God and Jesus and how they, not him, possess the soul of his beloved: “I have seen them / So dark, black, and yet fine. / The flower they carry / had once been mine.”  The track meanders through bursts of noise and intermittent wailing guitar, eventually climaxing with an atypically fast and drum-heavy section as our singer growls, “No! I can’t bear all this pain.”

In “The Crown of Sympathy,” our narrator reflects on his lost love one more time, begging for one last chance to spend a moment with his deceased beloved, appealing to her sympathy.  There are plenty of other lyrics that tend to go over my head, but they’re beautiful nonetheless.  I also wonder if perhaps the singer has some regret regarding his transgressions against God, though I’m not sure if I’ve put it all together correctly.  The ending almost romanticizes despair: “For one last time, just walk with me / At the beautiful gate of the temple, we must be saved / For deadened, icy pain covers all the earth.”

“The Crown of Sympathy” clocks in at 12:15 and goes through several musical changes.  There are periods of calm and serenity marked by clean vocals and sections with the standard “doominess” and despair.  Halfway through, Stainthrope breaks into a low rumble as the music approaches funeral doom territory with ominous bells and a mournful brass ensemble.  Percussion is minimal but sharp, suggesting life as it slows to a crawl.  And then in an instant, we’re back into the steady churn of guitars followed by ample wailing on lead, as is the norm for doom.

At long last, “Turn Loose the Swans” marks the climax of the album.  I really don’t know if my take on the title track is correct, but the world isn’t exactly full of exposition on such music.  I imagine our storyteller recounting or even reliving his first encounter with his dead lover.  Maybe it’s a dream…?  In some splendorous setting, presumably hundreds of years ago, our character is undistracted by the pleasures at hand, focusing solely on the female entertainer.  And then the illusion is revealed as the anger swells, and the one huge, cathartic moment is released: Stainthrope’s guttural cry of, “TURN LOOSE THE SWANS…that drew my poet’s craft / I’ll dwell in desolate cities / You burned my wings.”  The reality of his misery has finally settled in.

To reflect the possibly dream-like vision, the music goes through several changes during the 10 minute track.  It is without a doubt the gloomiest song on the record, full of thick and suffocating riffs, as if everything previous is falling together.

“Black God” finishes the album, similar to “Sear Me MCMXCIII,” as the singer vows to one day join his lover in heaven and spend the interim thinking of her.  The same violin from “Sear Me” holds the track together while a soothing female voice slides atop Stainthrope’s deep, defeated mourning.  Thus the story concludes.

There’s a pining here that few people can convey so eloquently.  Loss is a common theme in music, but rarely is it explored so deeply and so completely.  There are probably hundreds of songs about the death of lover, and My Dying Bride takes the concept to its fullest, poetically touching on each and every moment of the gloom and grief.  Moving through the slow music can be challenging; I find it works best in a dark room, letting the music fill all the empty spaces.  I’ve listened to literally dozens of doom metal albums across all sub-genres (223 albums according to my computer) spanning from the late 70’s to present day, and Turn Loose the Swans is up there with my favorites.

Written by The Cubist

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Written by The Cubist

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I collect as much video gaming paraphernalia as I can get my hands on, especially when it comes to hardware. With over 40 systems including oldies like the ColecoVision and Intellivision, obscurities like the CD-i and 3DO, and the latest and greatest including the Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, 3DS, and PS Vita, I get easily overwhelmed. Most of the time you can find me firmly nestled sometime between 1985 and 1995 when it comes to my games of choice, but I’m also having a great time seeing what the 8th generation has to offer.

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