_Songs of Darkness, Words of Light_ provides further proof that My Dying Bride have not stagnated; it shows a band keen to experiment with new approaches within their style, and, more importantly, succeeding in doing so while keeping the album interesting and enjoyable for the listener. The album is at times very much My Dying Bride, yet at others quite unlike what you would expect of them -- but it still makes sense in the end. The Yorkshiremen deliver a variety of approaches throughout the album, ranging from subdued and darkly romantic to sinister and all the way to downright vicious, but manage to keep it impressively memorable for a doom album. There is much to explore in _SoD,WoL_, and the elements used therein are expertly employed in order to produced a finely balanced result. Not every doom cliché is avoided, but the flowing of guitar melodies, riffs and effects into each other, aided by the much improved use of keyboards constantly fading into and out of the music, as well as Aaron's shapeshifting vocals, provide more than enough reasons to forgive such minor defects. Hopefully whatever source My Dying Bride have been harvesting their inspiration and ideas from will not run dry anytime soon.