Posted in Bootleg Theater on February 13th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
It seems strange to think of My Dying Bride — a band who’ve been around for 30 years as of 2020 — as prospects, but I really look at their new album, The Ghost of Orion, as one that is particularly rife with potential to be one of this year’s best doom records. And it’s not just excitement for an LP from a good band. It’s different. With their signing to Nuclear Blast, they’ve got a chance to capitalize on new focus and energy and reach different listeners than they otherwise might in a way that could turn new heads in their direction. I’m going to be interested in how it all plays out when The Ghost of Orion arrives on March 6.
“Tired of Tears” is the second bit of audio unveiled from the release behind the single “Your Broken Shore” (video posted here), and it comes in the form of a new lyric video, which highlights what seems to be the emotional core from which The Ghost of Orion stems, in the despair and horror felt by founding vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe in relation to his daughter — his only child, as he says below — having her life threatened by illness. It is this raw cosmic wrongness, the child passing before the parent, that “Tired of Tears” puts into poetry and a flowing song structure, and though it’s totally incongruous with the theme, the track itself is damn near a sing-along for its catchiness and the effectiveness which which Stainthorpe self-harmonizes atop the sorrowful riffs of his fellow founder, guitarist Andrew Craighan.
I have not yet heard the entirety of The Ghost of Orion, which means I probably won’t until it’s out, largely I expect because I’m not cool enough, but even if I have to wait for the CD as opposed to a link down the PR wire, the mastery on display here only makes me want to dig in more.
And not at all on a side note, I hope exploring this situation through lyrics at least brought Stainthorpe some strength or clarity or resolve, because it’s one thing to perform despair — and certainly My Dying Bride are no strangers to that — and another thing to live it to the kind of degree he talks about below.
Video follows:
My Dying Bride, “Tired of Tears” lyric video
The cold fingers of “The Ghost Of Orion” reach out for the world to wrap it in desperate misery, heavy melodies and hopeless misery: MY DYING BRIDE release their new album on March 6th via Nuclear Blast.
The track has a particularly special meaning for frontman Aaron Stainthorpe, as he explains:
“The track touches upon the most terrifying, stressful and harrowing period of my entire life – the near death of my only child. I have been down before but it never hurt like this. This was true darkness and I was not sure my mind could take it. My entire world looked like it was going to implode but I was determined to fight all the way. Tired of tears was exactly how I felt. They had been flowing freely from me for months and I was a shadow of my former self. It is sad that this will continue for many others. Innocent people. so very tired of tears.”
Posted in Bootleg Theater on January 14th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
As threatened when My Dying Bride released the song as a digital single and announced the March 6 landing of their first album in five years, The Ghost of Orion, there’s now an accompanying video for “Your Broken Shore.” The big difference here, of course, is that it means those without a Spotify account — I actually re-signed up for one (had one, but seem to have lost it somewhere along the way) just for the song — or who don’t feel like shelling out the 99 cents for Apple Music or Amazon or whoever can hear the track, but the video is well-produced and directed as well, so it’s not like it’s a hardship to watch. I kind of like the dueling Aaron Stainthorpes, one lurking in black water or dressed in a monk’s robes screaming at the sky and the other brooding melancholically with a furrowed brow at the microphone, and the rest of the band appear in front of a wall of Marshall stacks that I imagine are just kind of around in founding guitarist Andrew Craighan‘s living room. “Oh that? That’s just my 35th guitar cab. More tea?” and so on. A splendid afternoon had by all.
So if the song was already out there to some extent, why am I posting the video? Well, the democratization of the track and the atmosphere inherent to a visual representation aside — though either of those would be reason enough, or just the fact that it’s My Dying Bride and I felt like it — it reinforces two key points about The Ghost of Orion I put forth when the release date was announced. First, I think the record’s going to be really good. I haven’t heard it yet (tear), so I’m only going on “Your Broken Shore” and my own anticipation, but it’s been half a decade and the band have now signed to Nuclear Blast, so they’ve got a whole new reason to bring their top-level game to the proceedings. Second point, the label’s going to really give this album a push. It’s kind of a risk because while My Dying Bride are legends in doom and hugely influential, I don’t think they’ve ever been a break-the-bank commercial band with mass appeal, but just from the fact that they’ve spaced out the track and video releases over two separate announcements means Nuclear Blast are looking to build momentum going into the arrival of The Ghost of Orion, and with preorders up now, I’d only expect that to continue.
That is to say, more to come.
Enjoy “Your Broken Shore”:
My Dying Bride, “Your Broken Shore” official video
After returning with a giant strike and announcing their new album, the British doom death legend underlines its words with stunning pictures: MY DYING BRIDE release the video for”Your Broken Shore” today, taken from the upcoming album “The Ghost Of Orion” which will be out on 6th March.
The new record of MY DYING BRIDE is the product of a vibrantly creative band that is more than willing to build on their successes in the past. Singer Aaron Stainthorpe about “Your Broken Shore”:
“The first song from MY DYING BRIDE for five years comes laced with passion, power and their unyielding desire to create the most thoughtful and heavy music possible.
‘Your Broken Shore’ is recognizably theirs despite an evolution spanning 30 years, it’s new and fresh but with unmistakable provenance and production surpassing anything they have previously released.
This track represents just a taster of things to come as the new LP “The Ghost of Orion” is upon the horizon containing seven further compositions of deliciously crushing gothic doom/death metal.”
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 7th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Coming up on five years since My Dying Bride‘s last record, Feel the Misery (review here), came out in 2015, and when it was announced that the UK doom legends’ awaited Nuclear Blast debut was done back last August, I posited a mid-February release date. Well, first week of March isn’t that far off, so I’m gonna take a second and feel alright about that. Look at me, noticing how stuff works sometimes.
More importantly than the I-told-you-so that I just told, well, myself despite a lack of actual accuracy on the matter in question, My Dying Bride‘s new full-length, dubbed The Ghost of Orion, will be out March 6 and there’s a new single on the Spotifies and other streaming services of the digital universe that’ll be followed by a video later this week. If I may be so bold as to make another prediction? I think this album is going to be one of 2020’s best doom releases. Think about it. They’re touting death metal vocals in the single, which is something longtime fans have wanted, and hinting at more accessible material overall, which seems primed to grab the attention of a waiting new generation of listeners who maybe caught onto Paradise Lost with their Medusa outing a few years ago — also on Nuclear Blast, it’s worth noting — and are hungry for more from the grim masters of the style. Well folks, here come My Dying Bride. Keep an eye out for that video and we can go from there and see if I’m right. It’s not the kind of call I’m totally comfortable making less than 10 days into January, but I’ll put it out nonetheless: I’m betting this record is going to smoke.
From the PR wire:
MY DYING BRIDE ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM, “THE GHOST OF ORION” FOR MARCH 2020
MUSIC VIDEO FOR “YOUR BROKEN SHORE” TO BE RELEASED ON JANUARY 10TH
Like a phoenix from the ashes, a legend rises again in 2020: MY DYING BRIDE went through tough some times in last years and fought many struggles along their way, but now the British doom metal band are proud to announce their new studio album “The Ghost Of Orion” for 6th March, 2020.
The new record of MY DYING BRIDE is the product of a vibrantly creative band that is more than willing to build on their successes in the past.
Singer Aaron Stainthorpe about”The Ghost Of Orion”:
“A new album for a new era of MY DYING BRIDE with fresh faces and a more accessible style compared to some of their past, highly technical releases. ‘The Ghost of Orion’ features compositions not only of epic proportions but of intimate quality too, from death metal vocals to the pained cries of a vocalist in longing, the L.P. will raise and fall like the beautiful landscape of Yorkshire in which it was recorded. With layer upon layer of guitars both heavy and harmonic, Andrew Craighan has created a rich soundscape that is beautifully epic, enhanced with violins and keys from Shaun MacGowan along with the ominous murmur of cello from acclaimed cellist Jo Quail. And speaking of guest artists, the wondrous voice of Lindy-Fay Hella (WARDRUNA) adds an ethereal beauty to the album. Adding his particular style of drumming this time round is Jeff Singer whose percussion exploits have elevated the bands’ rhythm section to another level aided by the effortlessly stylish Lena Abe on bass guitar. Aaron Stainthorpe delivers a compelling and often disturbing performance with his own particular style of vocals offering sincere eulogies along with the visceral carnage of a soul in pain, with poetic lyrics of a quality not often seen in this genre. This collection of songs is the band’s most brilliant yet, honing 30 years of experience into the well crafted offering that is ‘The Ghost of Orion’.”
Today, “The Ghost Of Orion” will be targeting our souls in form of the first single “Your Broken Shore” – a haunting, gloomy piece driven by melancholy and deep, dark emotions. A music video for this stunning masterpiece will be released on 10th January.
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 5th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
So the masters are with Nuclear Blast now. That’s great. You figure they’re going to want at least three months of lead-time to promote it, right? Lock down the magazine covers, special features, track reveals, maybe a video, tour announcement if that’s in the offing, etc. All that stuff takes time, and you gotta space it out with preorders to build awareness as part of any self-respecting promotional campaign. Plus this is My Dying Bride‘s first record for Nuclear Blast, so it’s a safe bet they’re going to want to make a splash. It’s an event.
Accordingly, a November release is pushing it. It could happen, but the title details, maybe album art, would have to be out like this week in order to to make that go, because it would need to be early November. By the time the holidays hit, which is always earlier, it seems, the year is done for releases of this scale. There’s always going to be stuff coming out, but something like My Dying Bride‘s label debut on Nuclear Blast? They could take the big risk and do December, but you miss out on best-of lists and not as many people are paying attention, so you probably lose some sales. January, everyone’s broke or in debt. Mid-February is when things start really picking up again, and if that’s when the My Dying Bride record happens, I wouldn’t be surprised.
Seems like a long time from now, but it’s already been four years since 2015’s Feel the Misery (review here), so a little longer won’t kill anybody. Since the band signed with Nuclear Blastin 2017, I’m just glad there’s an update about the record at all, and bonus that the update is, “it’s done.” That’s a good update to get.
So here it is. When I hear about the release date, I’ll let you know:
It is complete! The new album from My Dying Bride! It has taken quite some time to put together but it is now finished and is with Nuclear Blast as I write this. There is no release date as yet but rest assured we will let you know once we find out. This album is a luxurious journey into a realm only MDB know how to create. It has the most lavish production of any of our past offerings and the sound is utterly stunning; aggressive, beautiful and layered with harmonic melancholy like never before. There is beauty here with slender moments of delicate hope enriched with violins and cello and the stunning voice of special guest Lindy-Fay Hella from Wardruna. And there is utter madness and anger with visceral death metal vocals lending a fearful edge to this dramatic opus. You will not be disappointed!! Cheers, Aaron.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 6th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Granted, I’m not sure how likely this scenario would be in the first place, but if you were to have come up to me on the street and ask me if I ever thought My Dying Bride would release an album not on Peaceville Records again, my answer would have been, “Uh… probably not?” The long-running UK depressives were the quintessential Peaceville band, and while it’s true their fellow Brit-doom pioneers in Paradise Lost and Anathema have moved on — Paradise Lost to Century Media, Anathema to prog-minded Peaceville sub-label Kscope — My Dying Bride‘s 2015 full-length, Feel the Misery (review here), seemed to be right at home where it was. So yeah, to hear they’ll offer up their next one through Nuclear Blast is a genuine surprise.
The feeling I get from vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe‘s comment below is that it’ll be a while before their next album actually surfaces, so at least I’ve got some time to wrap my head around the notion. In the interim, they’ll be at Roadburn next month playing their pivotal second LP, 1993’s Turn Loose the Swans, in its entirety (info here), and if that’s not comfort food, nothing is.
Crazy days in which we live. The PR wire takes it from here:
MY DYING BRIDE sign to Nuclear Blast
For 27 years, MY DYING BRIDE from West Yorkshire have been the voice of the hopeless and broken, combining haunting sounds with crushing misery and melancholy. With their signature sound they’ve shaped the doom metal scene more than any other act, and integrated both soft violin melodies and violent death metal growls into their music, whilst always staying strictly loyal to themselves. Since the early nineties, the band’s masterminds and founding members Andrew Craighan and Aaron Stainthorpe forged beautiful grief into twelve studio albums with songs of epic length.
However for their 13th release, the band is now bound for new horizons and proudly announces their signing to Nuclear Blast Records!
Singer and lyricist Aaron Stainthorpe comments: “It is with great pleasure that MY DYING BRIDE can announce they will be joining forces with the formidable Nuclear Blast Records in early 2017 and have already begun working on material for the next LP and singles. It is no secret that Nuclear Blast have continued to expand greatly over the years, signing epic bands from all corners of the world and giving them the chance they deserve to make something of themselves in the ever expanding metal scene. And it’s time that MY DYING BRIDE came along for the ride. We are hoping that this wedding between a very solid label and a well established act will bear fruit of mighty proportions in the exciting years to come. Cheers!”
Since MY DYING BRIDE rarely leave their damp catacombs to perform live rituals, each show is a highlight in itself and on April 22nd, the Brits will expose their legendary album Turn Loose The Swans in its entire length at Roadburn Festival. Together with Shaun ‘Winter’ Taylor-Steels on drums and a special backdrop lighting, the band will haunt the Dutch stage and deliver a truly unique experience.
These are a little later than I’d prefer, but if I ran everything on time around here as much as I wanted to, it would probably take me 24 hours a day. Sometimes you have to go to the post office, or to The Patient Mrs.‘ workplace to scam free printer paper. I’m just saying things come up that can alter the course of your planned afternoon. One can either be flexible or go insane.
So, better (perpetually) late than never, and I hope you’ll agree with me that this stuff was worth waiting for.
Adds for June 17, 2014:
Earthless Meets Heavy Blanket, In a Dutch Haze
Behold the megajam: The jam that launched a thousand jams, and insert further hyperbole here, because this one earns it. At Roadburn 2012, the illustrious lineup of J. Mascis (Witch, Dinosaur Jr.) and his Heavy Blanket bandmate Graham Clise (also Witch and Lecherous Gaze) joined forces with Earthless‘ rhythm section, bassist Mike Egington and drummer Mario Rubalcalba for a one-time-only, off-the-cuff instrumental jam that has since become the stuff of legend. Yes, a legend two years later. Now dubbed “Paradise in a Purple Sky,” that hour-long one-track excursion into pure heavy psychedelic bliss is available as Earthless Meets Heavy Blanket‘s In a Dutch Haze, and the vibe is less that of a live album than a historical document. Call it lightning in a bottle, call it any other cliche you might want, but chances are In a Dutch Hazeis going to be the best live release you hear this year, and if the echoing intertwining guitar solos and unhindered thudding groove — immaculately captured by Marcel van de Vondervoort — aren’t enough to stir your soul and drive you to creation, then I’ve got nothing for you. This is heavy psych at its most vibrant and righteous. Burning World Records, Outer Battery Records.
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Thine, The Dead City Blueprint
The Dead City Blueprint (out on PeacevilleRecords) is actually the third full-length from UK-based Thine, but it’s also their first since 2002, so the feel winds up somewhat like a debut anyway. What happened in the interim? Well, drummer Dan Mullins from the two-guitar five-piece has doubled in My Dying Bride since 2006, so that could at least partially explain the delay. Whatever else may have caused the stoppage, Thine make up for the years with 10 deep explorations of dark, melancholic rock. “Out of Your Mind and into a Void” is almost singularly indebted to Damnation-era Opeth, and opener “Brave Young Assassin” finds Thine somewhere between a less keyboarded Katatonia and a more active version of Anathema at their moodiest, but “The Precipice” provides an early peak to The Dead City Blueprintwith a surprise reinterpretation of NWOBHM guitar intricacy and wonderfully arranged vocals from Alan Gaunt, whose performance takes the piece to someplace entirely the band’s own. Winding, airy lead lines in “The Rift” will be a dogwhistle to those in the know, but the piano-inclusive apex of “Scars from Limbo” and ambient finale “Adrift through the Arcane Isles of Recovery” speak to an individuality in development, and if Thine get a follow-up out sometime before 2026, I wouldn’t be surprised to find them grown further into their style. Thine on Thee Facebooks, Peaceville Records.
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Dwellers, Live at Bar Deluxe 29-04-2014
As the title hints, Live at Bar Deluxe 29-04-2014 is a new live release from Salt Lake City heavy rockers Dwellers, recorded in their hometown at the end of April. That puts it prior to the street date for their second album, Pagan Fruit (review here), but two cuts from that — “Rare Eagle” and “Totem Crawler” — make appearances anyway alongside highlights drawn from the first Dwellers offering, 2012’s Good Morning Harakiri (review here). Both those records were on Small Stone, but this 34-minute set is a self-release free download, essentially a band-endorsed bootleg to be spread around. The audio quality is definitely in the “audience recording” vein, but clear enough to let the spaciousness of “Old Honey” sink in as it flows out of “Ode to Inversion Layer,” and as this is as close as I’ve yet come to seeing Dwellers — the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Joey Toscano, bassist Dave Jones and drummer Zach Hatsis — live, I’m more than inclined to take it. Hearing Toscano nail the chorus to “Totem Crawler” as well as he does here only emphasizes how much I need to catch a gig sooner rather than later. Maybe it’s a fan piece, but screw it, I’m a fan. Dwellers on Thee Facebooks, Dwellers on Bandcamp.
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Fever Dog, “Iroquois”
Just a quick look from these jammy Palm Desert youngsters at what their forthcoming sophomore full-length, Second Wind, will hold, but “Iroquois” bodes well, and in its two-minute span one can hear space rock ideals beginning to make themselves felt amidst a still tonally weighted push, the band’s confidence emerging as their sound continues to expand. Comprised of guitarist/vocalist/thereminist Danny Graham, bassist/noisemaker Nathan Wood and drummer Joshua Adams (also synth), Fever Dog show they have a clear dedication to being more than a heavy rock band, and as brief as “Iroquois” is, the immediateness with which it enacts a vibe puts Second Wind on my list of most anticipated albums for the second half of this year. Lot of potential for the desert’s next generation. Fever Dog on Thee Facebooks, Fever Dog on Bandcamp.
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Electric Lucifer, Coming to the Mountain
Not to be confused with Cincinnati’s Electric Citizen, Cleveland-based triple-guitar stoner rollers Electric Lucifer get down to some post-Electric Wizard idolatry on their Dec. 2013 Coming to the Mountain three-track EP. The nod is central and effective, and with three guitars at work, riffing is obviously half the point, though the leads mesh naturally with well-held grooves on “Electric Lucifer,” which leads off, and the subsequent “Phantoms from the Outer Rim” and “Red Wizard,” the last of which finds Electric Lucifer at their most blown-out, proffering stoner rock for stoner rockers with a clear passion for the tenets of the genre. There isn’t much fancy about it, but with a reemerging interest in straightforward Sabbath worship and a subsequent full-length released shortly after from Electric Lucifer, easy to think the five-piece would hit a nerve for heads already converted and looking to nod out. Electric Lucifer on Thee Facebooks, Electric Lucifer on Bandcamp.
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Also added this week were releases by John Garcia and Swedish stoner punkers Lightsabres. For the full list of updates and more, check out The Obelisk Radio updates page.
