Mourning Beloveth 'A Murderous Circus'

Mourning Beloveth have rightly been gaining plaudits left right and centre in the last three years thanks to their two unequivocally brilliant albums, not to mention a decade's hard work before that, taking in one demo in particular that is remembered fondly on an international scale. Much live work has also gone into making this band one of Ireland's few premier metallic exports, and in that respect a new album from these malcontents means alot for the country as a whole, and not just the band themselves. With all this ground having been so painstakingly laid over the last while, and with two eminent successes previous to this, Mourning Beloveth can almost afford to step back a bit at this stage of the game. It certainly seems that that is what they have done, because after more spins than is probably healthy, I'm still not entirely sure that this is the Mourning Beloveth I've grown used to hearing, and represents probably the most theyve diverged from their own norm in their career.

Perhaps we were spoiled with "The Sullen Sulcus". Indulged too much, perhaps, with the finest the band could give us; because bizarrely, "A Murderous Circus" seems to have almost gone to pains to remove the chief elements that made TSS such a classy and well rounded album. Guitar harmonies, that bastion of drawn out Doom melody, are non existent, with both guitars (to my ears) mirroring each other rather than working off each other. This lack of harmony really has left a dent in what one could have considered to be a principle strength of the band, and something that has been a sizable lietmotif of theirs. The more one listens however, the more it perhaps becomes apparent why they've gone for a very simple and direct approach this time. The unremitting simplicity of this material and its sparser delivery make the bleakness almost intolerable, which ultimately is the reason this band is as good as it is: there arent many that can evoke such tangible misery you almost need to turn it off.

The same can be noted of Frank Brennan's lamemnting clean vocals, which were without contradiction the overriding factor in giving this already great band's last album that elusive x-factor, and that surpassing finesse. Perhaps we were indeed over indulged last time round, but it takes until well past the half way point for them to even appear this time, which I personally feel something of a shame given how brilliant the interplay is between the guttural bellow and impassioned singing. On that note however, Darren has been at pains to achieve numerous shades and timbres within his own range. Spoken, whispered, yelled, cried or bellowed, this cd has an impressive arsenal of vocal styles, and uses them to maximum effect. It is sterling Doom Metal, but stripped very bare, and the exposure is a little bit of a shock. With repeat playing the complete, total and utter dejection of this slab becomes clear, and I suspect that's why they've done it. That is a victory in as much as the band are spreading their despondency more unpalatably and uncompromisingly than in the past. But I must be honest and say that at heart I feel the sheer class of "The Sullen Sulcus"s layering and interplay resulted in a better album, and when it comes to the cruch, I prefer it. This is not a crticism of "A Murderous Circus". It is simply different. What it remains however is Doom of an impeccable pedigree, with a newfound directness and hypnotic insistence.

3.7 / 5 - Ciaran Tracey ::: 27/02/05