It marked a radical departure from the band's first full-length, As the Flower Withers. Martin Powell's violin playing had become fully integrated into the band's sound, whilst vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe mixed death metalgrowls and grunts with the spoken word and an often plaintive singing voice. The first ("Sear Me MCMXCIII") and final ("Black God") tracks dispensed with guitars, bass and drums altogether, while the album was also far slower and longer than its predecessor. For these reasons, Turn Loose the Swans is often considered to be important in the development of the death-doom sound My Dying Bride helped pioneer and also foreshadows the gothic metal elements that would dominate their subsequent albums.
Though far from straightforward, Aaron Stainthorpe's lyrics were much less complex than those employed on As the Flower Withers. He explicitly addressed themes such as anti-Christianity and lovelorn longing. "Black God" took its lyrics from the last eight lines of a poem called "Ah! The Shepherd's Mournful Fate" by the 18th-century Scottish poet William Hamilton.
The artwork for the release was designed and created by Aaron Stainthorpe and Andrew Craighan.
Song information
"Sear Me MCMXCIII" was the second in a trilogy of songs to bear the title, preceded by the doom-metal orientated "Sear Me" in 1992 and followed by "Sear Me III" in 1999, which is similar in style to the original, being a full band composition. The version on this album however, features only the vocals of Aaron Stainthorpe and the keyboards and violin of Martin Powell. It also features different lyrics to the other two versions.
A video was made for "The Songless Bird" which features slow motion footage of the band running through wilderness, at this stage becoming something of a tradition. The video can be found on "For Darkest Eyes".
A remix of "The Crown Of Sympathy" was featured on the band's third single, "I Am the Bloody Earth". This version of the song featured more echoing effects, a shorter outro and a heavy emphasis on Rick Miah's drum sound.
The 2003 reissue of the album featured as bonus tracks; "Le Cerf Malade", an instrumental from "The Thrash Of Naked Limbs", "Transcending (Into The Exquisite)", a remix of songs from this album taken from the later EP "I Am the Bloody Earth", and a live performance of "Your Shameful Heaven" from the bonus CD of "The Angel and the Dark River".
Live versions of songs from this album can be found on "For Darkest Eyes" (all songs except "Black God") and "The Voice of the Wretched" (Turn Loose The Swans, The Snow In My Hand and Your River).
Rolling Stone (#681, 05/05/94) - "Turn Loose the Swans is Bram Stoker's Dracula for the ears – diving into melodrama with grace and making that aspect of life seem the only part worth living. My Dying Bride take a sickly view of traditional orchestration, coupling it with Aaron's wounded-and-pissed animal groans and growls. Poison line each precious flower petal, as if the band were Laura Ashley's evil twin. Disconsolate guitars and funereal passion – in short, music all too susceptible to adjectives but compelling nonetheless."[6]
In October 2011 it was awarded a gold certification from the Independent Music Companies Association which indicated sales of at least 75,000 copies throughout Europe.[7]
Track listing
All Songs Written & Arranged By My Dying Bride (VILE Music Publishing)
My Dying Bride are an English doom metal band formed in Bradford. Since their inception in 1990, they have released 15 studio albums, five EPs, one demo, one box set, four compilation albums, one live album, and one live CD/DVD release.
As the Flower Withers is the debut studio album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride. The artwork was designed by Dave McKean. This is the only full-length My Dying Bride album on which lead vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe utilizes his death growl as the sole vocal style.
The Light at the End of the World is the sixth studio album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride, released in 1999. After the more experimental 34.788%...Complete, this album marks a return to the more traditional My Dying Bride doom sound and style of lyrics. It was also the first My Dying Bride release since 1994's The Sexuality of Bereavement to feature growling vocals, although Aaron Stainthorpe has noticeably changed his style and broadened his range. All guitar parts on the album were recorded by Andrew Craighan, following the earlier departure of Calvin Robertshaw. Following Robertshaw's departure, only Craighan and Stainthorpe remained as founding members of the band. Hamish Glencross was soon after recruited as permanent guitarist. The keyboard parts were played by Jonny Maudling of Bal-Sagoth. It is also the first My Dying Bride album to feature the drumming of Shaun Steels, who would remain with the band until 2006.
The Angel and the Dark River is the third studio album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride. The 1996 re-release contains one bonus track "The Sexuality of Bereavement" and a bonus CD titled Live at the Dynamo. The Live CD was recorded during their appearance at the Dynamo Festival in 1995.
Like Gods of the Sun is the fourth studio album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride released in 1996, and the last album by the band to feature Rick Miah, who left the band in 1997, on drums and Martin Powell on keyboards and violins.
34.788%...Complete is the fifth studio album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride, released on 6 October 1998. The track "Under Your Wings and into Your Arms" appears on both The Voice of the Wretched CD and the Sinamorata DVD, and the opening track, "The Whore, the Cook and the Mother" appeared on their latest live DVD, An Ode to Woe.
Meisterwerk 2 is the fourth compilation album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride, which features both album tracks and rare recordings. Its companion piece - Meisterwerk 1 - was released the previous year. It is the third of five My Dying Bride compilation albums, following 1995's "Trinity" and "Meisterwerk 1", preceding "Anti-Diluvian Chronicles" in 2005 and "Meisterwerk 3" in 2016.
The Voice of the Wretched is the first live album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride, recorded in Tilburg, the Netherlands on the 4 March 2001. Original pressings of the album had tracks 2 and 4 listed in the wrong order, and "Turn Loose The Swans" was spelled "TRUN Loose The Swans".
Meisterwerk 1 is the third compilation album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride, which features both album tracks and rare recordings. Its companion piece - Meisterwerk 2 - was released the following year. It is the second of four My Dying Bride compilation albums, following 1995's Trinity and followed by Meisterwerk 2 later the same year and "Anti-Diluvian Chronicles" in 2005.
Anti-Diluvian Chronicles is the fifth compilation album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride, which features both album tracks and new remixes. It is the fourth My Dying Bride compilation album, following 1995's Trinity and 2000's Meisterwerk 1 and Meisterwerk 2.
Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium is the first EP by English doom metal band My Dying Bride. "Symphonaire" was made only a few months after signing to the Peaceville Records label. The song was also released as a vinyl record and an audio tape. The artwork was designed and created by Dave McKean, who also designed some of the band's other sleeves including "As the Flower Withers".
The Thrash of Naked Limbs is the second EP by English doom metal band My Dying Bride. This EP was also released as a vinyl record. By this time, the band was a 6-piece, having added session violinist and keyboardist Martin Powell as an official band member.
"Unreleased Bitterness" is a song by English doom metal band My Dying Bride. The track contained in this release is an early rehearsal recording of the song "The Bitterness and the Bereavement", which appeared on As the Flower Withers.
"The Sexuality of Bereavement" is a song by English doom metal band My Dying Bride. The single was only available to the Peaceville Collectors Club Series members. The Collectors Club was eventually disbanded because it had too few members. After this point, the band discontinued production of EPs, up until 2006.
Trinity is the second compilation album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride. The album combines tracks from previously released EPs. This compilation CD also has two different versions of the front cover. The American release version has a different cover to the version released in the rest of the world. In 2004 the CD was re-released and given an extra 2 tracks taken from the band's first demo, "Towards the Sinister".
For Lies I Sire is the tenth studio album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride, released on 23 March 2009 via Peaceville Records and 21 April 2009 in the United States. It is the first album without keyboardist Sarah Stanton since she joined My Dying Bride in 2004 for their Songs of Darkness, Words of Light album. Musically, it is their first album since 1996's Like Gods of the Sun to feature a violin, performed by new band member Katie Stone. The album was recorded during September 2008 in Manchester's Futureworks Studio.
Bring Me Victory is the fourth EP by English doom metal band My Dying Bride. "Bring Me Victory" is a song from My Dying Bride's previous album, For Lies I Sire; a video was made for the song and released on this EP. "Scarborough Fair", an English traditional song, has two additional verses incorporated into it written by Aaron Stainthorpe. "Failure" is a cover of a song written by Swans. The original version had long been a highly respected song among the members of the band. "Vast Choirs" is a live version of a song originally released on My Dying Bride's first album, As The Flower Withers, and since included on several compilation releases.
Evinta is an album by My Dying Bride released in 2011. It is a development of many of My Dying Bride's older musical themes and riffs, which were re-written for a variety of classical instruments, rather than the traditional metal music instruments; these riffs were combined with new vocals and musics written and arranged by Jonny Maudling based on My Dying Bride's key works, thus creating a release characteristic of both a studio album and a remix album.
The Manuscript is the sixth EP by English doom metal band My Dying Bride, released on 13 May 2013 on CD and vinyl. It contains four tracks, three of which were recorded at the same time as the band's previous album, A Map of All Our Failures.
Feel the Misery is the twelfth studio album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride. It was released on 18 September 2015 on Peaceville Records.
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