Though it was not until 1996 that they had recorded their first untitled demo Burden when the band finally came together. Burden was recorded in eight hours with Adrian Butler at the desk. This demo contains only two songs, and it is a raw indication of where Mourning Beloveth stands in the death/doom metal scene today. Adrian Butler joined later on bass, soon after Delaney had switched to guitar duties. This was the lineup that recorded the highly acclaimed Autumnal Fires demo in 1998. It received the "Demo of the Issue" honorific by Moondance Magazine.
Autumnal Fires is a 40 minute piece of music as the songs were intertwined with classical piano and it showed a huge progression in the writing and recording stakes. Mainly classed as death/doom this was the first step into achieving a sound of our own and it saw the integration of clean vocals. An extensive tour of Ireland followed culminating in a support slot to none other than Cathedral in May 1999. Over 1200 copies of Autumnal Fires ware sold throughout the underground and the MB name spread.
We decided to take a bold step, like so many of their contemporaries, and record in the famous Academy studios with Magz at the helm. What was produced after seven intense days of recording was "Dust", a sixty-six minute Doom masterpiece harking back to the days of the early Doom/Death scene. Dust is a mixture of old and new songs and this creates some of the heaviest and most melancholic music ever. The atmosphere and originality is helped by the greater usage of clean and growling vocals and the amazing production courtesy of Mags.The strength of the material is helped in no small way by the fact that the same line-up had been together for 5 years at the time of recording Dust.
Following the release of Dust, in March 2001, we received rave reviews in many established magazines including Terrorizer, Metal Hammer (Greece), Heavy Oder,Was, Metal Ireland, Doom-metal.com, Aardshock along with many others, mostly seeing the band as the saviours of the Doom/Death style. On the strength of this we played some high profile dates with none other Cradle of Filth that was huge exposure for us; we even managed to play our first gig in the UK, in Bradford.
Towards the end of the summer 2001 and into the long winter the writing process began for the new album. It was now February and we had eight songs written, six of which were finally chosen and recorded at Academy studios, again with Magz at the helm, from April 20 to May 5, 2002.
"The Sullen Sulcus" is a torturous and epic listen that requires the usual MB listening patience - with six songs over 65 minutes.
Epic and heavy guitars with a crushing vocal display by both Frank and Darren with an overall growth in melody and production , we had shaken off the MDB tag which plagued some reviews of Dust and move into what can simply be called Doom, the Mourning Beloveth way. It was released in December 2002 by Aftermath and received rave reviews across the board, establishing Mourning Beloveth as one of the underground doom/death acts of our time
Sentinel Records from Ireland (www.sentinelireland.com) then re-released Dust in February 2003 with new artwork, a new song from the TSS recording sessions and Forever Lost Emeralds (from the Autumnal Fires demo) all of which was remastered by Stuart Anstis.
We were hungry to establish ourselves in Europe as well as the live circuit and financed a two week European tour from February 7th to 21st. Entitled "The Doomination of Europe" MB were joined by Americans Morgion who had just reformed and the UK based The Prophecy and it hit Portugal and Spain, stopping off in England, France, Belgium and Holland along the way. The tour was a success, so much so that an American leg was planned for August of the same year and it also gave the underground European doom scene a kick in the arse., showing everyone that with a little organisation and determination anything can be done.
In the meantime we recorded a new song entitled Part 1 which was released by Sentinel as a split 7" with fellow dark metallers Lunar Gate from Ireland. it was recorded in Cosmic studios in Ballymun and gave us some new ideas for our next album and has made its mark as a live song too. It was limited to 500 copies.
The American tour happened in August that year and Tim couldn't make it so we enlisted the help of our long time friend Anto who decided to sit on a bus with us for four weeks and play some doom. The tour was initially with Morgion, Orodruin and The Prophecy but after one show Morgion pulled out due to an unfortunate car accident and so it was left to us to headline the four week tour. It was a long and arduous tour with vans breaking down, complete city shutdowns, PA's exploding, heads breaking down and the usual lack of money and sleep, add to that the sweltering heat and you have a nice picture of hell but again the people we met on the road, the great shows at the Junkyard, Stoner hands of Doom, Austin made up for this and we also got to see America. While we were there the split 7" was released and we received a copy while in the US. The first MB piece of vinyl!
When we returned we recharged the batteries for a month and then got down to writing some new material but this was interrupted by another offer of a tour with While Heaven Wept and Thee Plague of Gentlemen starting off at Doom Shall Rise where we played second so how could we refuse. Doom Shall Rise was an amazing experience; you cannot get much better than playing in front of 500 doom heads in a church. While at the DSR festival we met Tom from Grau records and he offered us a deal to release Mourning Beloveth albums but we had a weeklong tour ahead of us and so we concentrated on that. The DSR tour was also our first gigs in Germany as well as Gronigen and an appearance at Belgian Doom Night. This tour was the most successful for us so far. We have become a tight live unit and enjoy ourselves a lot more on stage now but it was also a success due to the fact that we actually came home with some money in our pockets.
Home again for May and we were finding it difficult to write the new material so we decided to set a date of October '04 for the recording of the new album. The songs were sounding a bit different than before and we decided on a new studio following weeks of discussion, finally choosing Studio E in Germany run by Markus Stock. The deadline gave us a goal and so we tried to remember where we left off in January and the new material slowly began to emerge. The contract we had spoken about with Grau on the DSR tour arrived and soon after we became a Grau band for four albums. Time to relax? No!
The writing of the new material was arduous and we had to re-write the songs several times. The music this time round is very bare, naked, almost stripped to its core and the album and lyrical content reflected this. It is still Mourning Beloveth, still two guitars, bass and drums but while more elemental it was also more experimental but only the recording sessions would really tell and so in November 2004 we arrived at Klangschmeide, Studio E in Germany to record what was later to become known as A Murderous Circus.
Discography
* Debut (demo, 1996)
* Autumnal Fires (demo, 1998)
* Dust (2000)
* The Sullen Sulcus (2002)
* Dust (re-issue, 2002)
* Split with Lunar Gate (2003)
* A Murderous Circus (2005)
* A Disease For The Ages (2008)
* Formless (2013)
* Rust & Bone (2015)
Dust
Mourning Beloveth Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Aee the essence of life in shafts of light and
Shade remnants gathered by trembling hands are now scattered
Across the world to form lifeless clouds of dust
That bind my failing limbs
Seamless visions and blurred moments hold my hands
With chains of sand daylights breath as cold as razors cut
To hide me from all the pain and misery falls
Dead
Shards of broken light scar me so deep that
I darken my eyes to the world and light (is life but foreplay to a
Death we fear with each passing breath?)
Perpetual motionless time has numbed all senses
That I once held dear the walls drip with moisture in this
Lonely shell I slip away so none can see into the unknown
Where all stands still in a moment of death
Time tears a hole in existence through shafts of light
And shade trembling hands scatter my life dust into a
Perfect death
The opening verses of the song "Dust" by Mourning Beloveth depict the feeling of profound pain and torment. The band uses imagery of the passage of time, which creates a hole in existence through which a person feels helpless agony. The essence of life is seen through light and shade remnants that one can gather but that seem to have disappeared, leaving the person immobile and crushed. The dust that once used to be gathered is now scattered and a part of nothingness, forming cloud-like shapes that make the person feel even more lifeless. The person feels tied to the dust and the failing limbs, unable to escape the feeling of misery that has settled in.
The second part of the song describes the internal struggle and pain. The person's mind feels focused on both the past and the future as the present offers no relief. Time has numbed all senses that used to bring joy and happiness to life. The person longs for deepening darkness to hide from pain, which feels never-ending. As the person experiences this torment, they seek to escape and hide behind the world's darkness, which they believe will provide respite. The images of broken light shards scar the person's soul, leaving them unable to cope with life. The person feels lost, alone, and numb to the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Time tears a hole in existence to languish supinely in torture
The passage of time leaves one feeling helpless and tortured.
Aee the essence of life in shafts of light and
Life can be seen in both the bright and dark moments.
Shade remnants gathered by trembling hands are now scattered
Memories collected with a fragile heart are now lost.
Across the world to form lifeless clouds of dust
Memories are now scattered across the world in a form of dust, lifeless and without meaning.
That bind my failing limbs
The weight of these memories is now dragging me down, making me weaker.
Seamless visions and blurred moments hold my hands
Memories and moments that are difficult to understand still cling to me.
With chains of sand daylights breath as cold as razors cut
The weight of these memories is suffocating and painful.
My insides and leave me bleeding a wish for deepening darkness
The pain of these memories is causing me to lose all hope and wish for the comfort of the darkness.
To hide me from all the pain and misery falls Dead
Death seems like a better option than having to face the pain and misery of these memories.
Shards of broken light scar me so deep that
The memories are so painful that it's easier to close my eyes to the world than to face them.
I darken my eyes to the world and light (is life but foreplay to a
The brightness of the world only reminds me of how much I've lost and how bleak the future seems.
Death we fear with each passing breath?)
The fear of death is always present, as it seems like the only way to escape the pain.
Perpetual motionless time has numbed all senses
The passage of time has left me without any feeling or emotion.
That I once held dear the walls drip with moisture in this
All the things that were once dear to me have crumbled and faded away.
Lonely shell I slip away so none can see into the unknown
In my loneliness, I slowly fade away, afraid of what lies beyond.
Where all stands still in a moment of death
In the unknown, everything is frozen in a moment of death, with no hope of life or change.
Time tears a hole in existence through shafts of light
Once again, time is a destructive force, tearing apart the fabric of existence.
And shade trembling hands scatter my life dust into a
These memories have now turned into the dust of my life, shattered and meaningless.
Perfect death
Death seems like the only perfect solution to escape the pain and misery of these memories.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@vlad_rus_math
Это просто классика. Мурашки по коже. Еще 16-летним подростком переслушивал целиком альбом. Недосясгаемая вершина дума. За один этот альбом музыканты остались в веках в наших сердцах.
@nagurufa
A Masterpiece. Remember getting it from one of the members back in the day.
@massillusionrecords751
Irish Doom/Death Metal classic by the Masters of Doom Mourning Beloveth! Still getting better with age this one, an awesome slab of Doom delivered in epic proportions!
@amyelsa8371
still here 2020 and still as amazing !
@danimetalbq2668
They performed last weekend at Opium Dublin, it was such a treat. The most beautiful act of all time.
@danielchazarreta4472
Jac
@layneweiss8853
Kaleidoscopic melancholy. Certain depth without certain bottom, only unspeakable atmospheriic foreboding.
@nareiKWhi7
Old gods of Death Doom \ Doom metal !! Hail Mourning Beloveth! \m/
@msg3030
I've listened to this over the course of many years, and this album is a masterpiece, so well written.
@andrewcunningham6957
Masterpiece.