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Customer Reviews of As the Flower Withers

Soundtrack to the funeral of God
This album, when it came out in 1992, was a revelation. Although Paradise Lost's timeless "Gothic" had already shaken grounds by that time, still My Dying Bride managed to deliver something special. There was this never before heard melodism, taken from old requiems and sorrowful ceremonial songs. Tasteful violin added immensely to the atmosphere. Aaron Stainthorpe used only growling vocals on this record, and the whole record is immensely influenced by death-metal.

"Silent Dance" is a good instrumental intro, setting sombre gloomy mood. It's slow, dominated by violins and keyboards, and sounds somewhat spooky and gothic to me, with heavy medieval feel.
"Sear Me" is an eternal MDB's classic. Slow oppressing guitar riffs, excellent drumming, superb violin melody, and Aaron's voice growling the lyrics in Latin. Middle part of this track is pure death-metal, while mostly it's a doom-metal song. Excellent!
"The Forever People", on the contrary, treads the death-metal ground, with it's fast tempo and aggressive singing. But it again changes moods and rhythms until it sets into majestic doom by its end.
"The Bitterness and the Bereavement" is another shockingly beautiful MDB track, very similar in its sound to "Sear Me". Bizarre mixture of deathly heaviness and harsh vocals with doomish slowness, violin melodies and sorrow feelings.
"Vast Choirs" is a simpler doomy track. It has no parts dominated by violins, and instead takes the listener through a series of rhythmic changes, maintaining heaviness. It's a bit monotonous to my taste, though.
"The Return of the Beautiful" is a My Dying Bride symphony. This 12-minute track consists of several parts, different in mood and style, again ranging from simple fast-tempo death-metal to slow sorrowful doom. Another excellent ambitious track, that was re-recorded for the 2001 album "The Dreadful Hour", and sounds way better on that album.
"Erotic Literature" is similar to "Vast Choirs" in its feel, and again, sounds too monotonous and unmoving to me. I'd say, this is not the best way to end the record.

This album shocked many in 1992. It's sorrowful yet majestic feel got in your head and stayed there. If Nietzsche was right about the death of God, then surely His funeral were accompanied by this music.

However, My Dying Bride managed to raise the bar even higher on their subsequent albums. This fact, and the presence of 2 not so good tracks here, make me give this album 4 stars.

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Ohhh, The Exquisite Slumber!!
This is the first album I heard of MDB, so I have followed their work chronologically. I must say, when I first heard it, I felt I had uncovered something unique, something that touched me like no music had before. The agonizingly gruff vocals, against the melancholic melodies (especially when played by the violin), the heavily distorted guitars, the slow pace of most of it, it all created an ambience that oozed into my mind, sending my senses into a realm yet untapped. Some of my friends did not like MDB, for them it was too much - too depressing, too eerie, too creepy. But for me, MDB was IT. I had found music that surpassed any level of melancholy I could experience. Besides MDB, only Anathema and Katatonia have matched such a brooding, skin-crawling emotion. But, even though I do enjoy and appreciate bands that evolve, all of these bands have changed quite a bit in a somewhat similar direction - more hook-laden music, and a less abrasive sound especially in the vocals. I still like all their work, but I have a special place for the no-holds-barred, unapologetic early stuff. If you like your music gloomy as can be, look no further than this. It will scare the neighbors away...

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The Beautiful Horror
As keyboardist on Morgion's - Among Majestic Ruin, the one album that was truly inspirational was My Dying Bride's - As the Flower Withers. This album is heavily responsible for sparking a whole new realm of doom/death/symphonic metal. With tracks like the uncanny "Forever People" and the unforgettable "Bitterness and Bereavement," metal fans of all types will be quick to appreciate the sheer art this album is made of. If there was a "White Album" for death/doom, this would be it. The vocals will haunt your dreams...the music will yield a call to irons...and the symphony is nothing short of masterful. Oh...The Beautiful Horror.