Metal Underground.com

“Evinta” is a labor of love from My Dying Bride vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe, and a project 15 years in the making. With help from Bal-Sagoth’s Jonny Maudling, segments from the band’s entire extensive back catalog were taken apart, rearranged, and re-imagined into new, classical leaning songs. The album may be a dream come true for die-hard fans, especially with all the goodies included with the deluxe edition, but unfortunately the music will likely fail to appeal to anyone else.

Don’t expect to hear a single guitar note or drum beat, or even a bass line to keep the music going and add some rhythm. All of those elements have been completely replaced with cellos, violins, and keyboards. That alone isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as there are plenty of symphonic metal bands that still make stunning music. Scratch out that “metal” part on “Evinta” though, because there isn’t a single vestige of doom or even goth to be found here. The album is completely ambient and classical style music, and lamentably it fails to be interesting in nearly any way.

It’s clear that “Evinta” was designed to create more fragile soundscapes than would be found on the typical My Dying Bride release. All the menace and darkness is gone, and that’s not just due to the lack of guitar work. The vocals are noticeably less powerful, with the few vocal parts present tending to be not-so-creepy whispers and bland clean talking. Even a good deal of the dark and depressing nature of the music has been lost, which was the band’s trademark.

Much of the album consists of long and drawn out ambient segments that are more accurately described as “barren” than “minimalistic.” Empty spaces between notes are the norm rather than the exception. One song contains nothing but ten minutes of spacey, quiet, and slow moving keyboard sounds that have nothing to break up the monotony. The idea itself is solid, but there are no punctuating ideas or different elements to create contrast. Rather than being trance-inducing, the song ends up as a snooze fest.

Parts of the whole do manage to distinguish themselves, however, with certain keyboard segments sounding like they could end up on a video game soundtrack. The presence of Lucie Roche performing operatic soprano vocals gives the music a bit of a boost, although it does again serve to remind that these ideas really would have worked better in a metal setting.

Fans of slow moving ambience with a dash of symphonic backing may enjoy working through “Evinta,” and it’s likely the band’s most ardent supporters will find something to like. On the other hand, anyone expecting doom metal should clearly skip it and look elsewhere. Average fans or folks new to My Dying Bride shouldn’t have to wait long for something more interesting, as the “Evinta” side trek hasn’t stopped the band from beginning work on a new full-length album.