2LP – Limited Edition Green Vinyl with Etching on Side D.

British doom/death metal legends My Dying Bride are primed to unfurl their 15th album, A Mortal Binding, via Nuclear Blast. The much-anticipated follow-up to The Ghost of Orion (2019) finds the Yorkshire-based quintetfeaturing a revamped lineup of now-permanent guitarist Neil Blanchett and the return of drummer Dan Mullinsdelighting in anxiety, loss, and toil to resplendent effect.

From the raw distress of Her Dominion and twisted horror of Thornwyck Hymn to the funerary violins of the 11-minute monolith The Apocalyptist and the classic-feeling The 2nd of Three Bells, A Mortal Binding is signature My Dying Bride. If Songs of Darkness, Words of Light (2004) elevated the group to new heights and A Map of All Our Failures (2012) expanded upon their mid-tens grandeur, then A Mortal Binding stages My Dying Brides next exultant phase of elegiac misery perfectly.

Vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe is renowned for weaving a rich lyrical tapestry. Fittingly, Rolling Stone once opined that My Dying Bride, in all their gothic ornament, were Bram Stokers Dracula for the ears. Others, including the groups globe-spanning legion of enthusiasts, have felt similarly. Popular British magazine Kerrang! described The Ghost of Orions content as possessing poignant gravity. At the same time, Metal Hammer Germany couldnt get enough of it, honouring its sonic and emotional heft with best doom album of the year. The lovefest will inevitably continue on A Mortal Binding, the lyrics for which will go down as some of Stainthorpes best.

My Dying Bride yet again hired The Ghost of Orion studio wizard Mark Mynett to produce, mix, and master A Mortal Binding. The group holed up at Mynetts Mynetaur Productions (Paradise Lost, Rotting Christ) in Manchester, England, where they tracked nine songstwo unnamed for a future EPnon-consecutively from July to September. Although the striking Her Dominion, the withering movements of Crushed Embers, and the processional gray of A Starving Heart originated in the rehearsal room, they got their official My Dying Bride wings under Mynetts expert tutelage.

As My Dying Bride edge past their 33rd year, their graceful age is proving to be as vital and heart-wrenching as ever. The depth of Thornwyck Hymn and Her Dominion and the breadth of The 2nd of Three Bells and The Apocalyptist are ultra-heavy, poignant hymns to doom, death, and despair as lensed through hauntingly romantic themes. The group plan a riotous (for them, anyway) 2024, appearing at festivals (Brutal Assault, Rockstadt, 70000 Tons of Metal, Maryland Deathfest) across Europe and North America.

The flower withers once more on My Dying Brides A Mortal Binding

Tracklist:

1. Her Dominion (6:11)
2. Thornwyck Hymn (6:48)
3. The 2nd Of Three Bells (6:52)
4. Unthroned Creed (7:01)
5. The Apocalyptist (11:23)
6. A Starving Heart (7:29)
7. Crushed Embers (9:02)