• ‘The Blood, The Wine, The Roses’: Lust and contrast in My Dying Bride’s music

    Author(s):
    M.Selim Yavuz (see profile)
    Date:
    2016
    Subject(s):
    Musicology
    Item Type:
    Conference paper
    Conf. Title:
    Dark Leisure and Music Symposium
    Conf. Org.:
    Leeds Beckett University
    Conf. Loc.:
    Leeds, United Kingdom
    Conf. Date:
    16 September 2016
    Tag(s):
    doom metal, extreme metal, metal music studies
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M6T679
    Abstract:
    My Dying Bride (MDB) may be considered to be one of the pioneering bands of death/doom style in metal music alongside Anathema and Paradise Lost. MDB differ from these bands in one crucial aspect: the lyrics. Ethnographic data suggests that the band see themselves as part of the death/doom style, yet their choice in lyrical content do not conform to this. The difference becomes most prominent in their treatment of ‘lust’ in a persistent and consistent way. MDB, in their lyrics, take on an Elizabethan approach to melancholy and this combined with their admitted interest in 19th century romantics make for a transgressive approach to lyrics in doom metal. This transgression materialises in the desire towards death and a hypothetical female figure. The two ideas are often combined in explicit ways to seek the boundaries of the melancholy in death/doom and gothic/doom metal music. Brian Walter in his discussion of Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita shows parallels to the lust idea apparent in MDB’s lyrics in relation to Victorian Romanticism. Malwina Degorska also examines femme fatale within a neo-Victorian context. The paper proposes to highlight MDB’s exploration of lust in their oeuvre in comparison to their immediate neighbours Anathema and Paradise Lost alongside other bands within this music world. Moreover, one of death/doom style’s notable characteristics emerges as the contrast within the music. This is supported by different members of the music world. The paper will further analyse this entanglement with lust within MDB’s own repertoire and show how it forms an individual style that is yielding to death/doom. The transgression in conflicting relation with conformity within this case study will help in theorising dark leisure activity.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    6 years ago
    License:
    Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
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