One of My Dying Bride’s less celebrated records, Like Gods of the Sun had the unenviable task of following the iconic couplet of Turn Loose the Swans and The Angel and the Dark River. Indeed, judging by the scores assigned to it by the wise denizens of the encyclopedia metallum, this one is actually worse than the one that followed it, the execrable 34.788%... Complete, despite not featuring Aaron Stainthorpe rapping about heroin.

Well, that is a bit unfair. Personally, I enjoy this album and think it is one of their stronger releases. It is plain to see where this could have turned people off. The distinctive elements of earlier albums had been toned down, to an extent. The powerfully melancholy effect of the violin gliding sadly over miserably melodic guitar lines is used very sparingly here, replaced by the rather more powerful but less interesting sound of the church organ which thunders away in the background on several songs. It also features tracks such as For You, which, if you would hardly call them “accessible”, are much more immediately easy to get into than the band had been previously.

But this underestimates the strengths of the songs, many of which have real crunch and are based around strong ideas. The opening title track kicks off with a leviathan of a riff, which when coupled with Aaron’s utterly disconsolate vocal moans, generates real power. About two minutes in, that church organ sound resurfaces in unison with the voice, and the result is genuinely imposing. Grace Unhearing is another highlight. This is one of the few bands that can really get away with sounding like they are trying to tell a story with their lyrics; in fact, they are probably at their best when they do. As the song descends from its full throated opening, to the growling “My only sin was to kill a man… I’d do the same again” thud, your faith in this band’s ability to generate something truly desolate is reaffirmed.

Some of the songs do lack compositional focus, for sure. A Kiss to Remember, for example, seems to encompass various strong moments, but doesn’t hand together as a single work. The same goes for The Dark Caress, in which transitions to different ideas are handled somewhat awkwardly. I think its problems like this that lead me to only put this album on rarely. But then, the album does grow on you. What I once saw as a so-so, longwinded opening to It Will Come, I now hear as atmospheric and brooding.

Like Gods of the Sun probably isn’t essential, unless you are a My Dying Bride diehard, in which case you will be familiar with it. It doesn’t deserve to be overlooked, though, and certainly has something to offer for fans of miserable music.