My Dying Bride

Biography

My Dying Bride are an English doom metal band formed in Bradford. Since their inception in 1990, they have released 15 studio albums, five EPs, one demo, one box set, four compilation albums, one live album, and one live CD/DVD release.
Along with Anathema and Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride were a forerunner of the death doom metal and gothic metal genres during the early 1990s. These bands comprise "The Peaceville Three" as all were signed to Peaceville Records at the time.

Early years (1990–1992)

My Dying Bride was formed in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, in June 1990, by guitarist Andrew Craighan, drummer Rick Miah, vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe, and guitarist Calvin Robertshaw. Craighan and Miah were previously members of the band Abiosis. After six months of rehearsing, the band recorded and released their demo, Towards the Sinister, which was produced by Tim Walker of Voltage Records. Its title was taken from a line in the song "Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium×Symphonaire infernus et spera empyriumMarch 1991 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Symphonaire infernus et spera empyrium11:392God Is Alone4:513De Sade Soliloquay3:42". The band then released their first single, "God Is Alone×God Is Alone1991 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAGod Is Alone4:55BDe Sade Soliloquy4:37", on a small French label called Listenable. After the single had sold out almost immediately, they were picked up by Peaceville Records, and they could release their first EP, Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium, which also featured their latest recruit, bassist Adrian Jackson. The EP was soon followed by their first album, As the Flower Withers×As the Flower Withers22 May 1992 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks1Silent Dance2:142Sear Me9:063The Forever People4:094The Bitterness and the Bereavement7:375Vast Choirs8:166The Return of the Beautiful12:507Erotic Literature5:12.

Turn Loose the Swans (1992–1994)

As the Flower Withers was followed by a large tour in the UK and the mainland Europe, and in 1992 they recorded their next EP, The Thrash of Naked Limbs×The Thrash of Naked LimbsFebruary 1993 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1The Thrash of Naked Limbs6:132Le Cerf malade6:313Gather Me Up Forever5:17. Another tour was planned, but cancelled when their current drummer had a bad fall while shooting the accompanying video. In 1993, Martin Powell joined as My Dying Bride's keyboardist and violinist, and they started the recording of their second studio album, Turn Loose the Swans×Turn Loose the SwansOctober 1993 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks1Sear Me MCMXCIII7:242Your River9:243The Songless Bird7:004The Snow in My Hand7:095The Crown of Sympathy12:156Turn Loose the Swans10:097Black God4:52. With the joining of Martin Powell, the usage of violin increased even more since their As the Flower Withers album. The album was released that year followed by a tour and another EP, I Am the Bloody Earth×I Am the Bloody Earth24 January 1994 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1I Am the Bloody Earth6:372Transcending (Into the Exquisite)8:393Crown of Sympathy (remix)11:10.

The Angel and the Dark River (1995)

1995 saw the release of My Dying Bride's next album, The Angel and the Dark River×The Angel and the Dark River22 May 1995 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1The Cry of Mankind12:132From Darkest Skies7:483Black Voyage9:464A Sea to Suffer In6:315Two Winters Only9:016Your Shameful Heaven6:58. The album was followed with a successful tour with some of their first festival gigs, and soon after the fans saw the release of their first compilation album, Trinity×Trinity15 August 1995 · Album · CompilationSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Symphonaire infernus et spera empyrium11:382God Is Alone4:503De Sade Soliloquy3:424The Thrash of Naked Limbs6:105Le Cerf malade6:296Gather Me Up Forever5:187I Am the Bloody Earth6:368The Sexuality of Bereavement8:049The Crown of Sympathy (remix)11:10, a collection of songs from their first three EPs. At the end of 1995, My Dying Bride traveled on a three-month tour with Iron Maiden.

Like Gods of the Sun (1996–1997)

Like Gods of the Sun continued in the direction of The Angel and the Dark River, in that it did not contain any growling vocals by Aaron Stainthorpe. This was the fourth album of My Dying Bride, featuring songs like "A Kiss to Remember", "For You" and "For My Fallen Angel". "For My Fallen Angel" is strictly an orchestral composition with sections of violin and synth. It is also the last MDB album to feature a violin, until For Lies I Sire×For Lies I Sire23 March 2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1My Body, a Funeral6:492Fall With Me7:193The Lies I Sire5:314Bring Me Victory4:095Echoes From a Hollow Soul7:226ShadowHaunt4:397Santuario di sangue8:308A Chapter in Loathing4:469Death Triumphant11:06.

34.788%...Complete and hiatus (1998–2001)

The somewhat experimental 34.788%...Complete was next, followed by The Light at the End of the World. My Dying Bride entered a hiatus after this, releasing two retrospective albums Meisterwerk 1×Meisterwerk 16 November 2000 · Album · CompilationSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Symphonaire infernus et spera empyrium8:552The Crown of Sympathy12:123The Grief of Age4:104A Kiss to Remember7:325Grace Unhearing (Portishell mix)7:066For You6:377Unreleased Bitterness7:428Sear Me III5:289The Cry of Mankind4:46 and Meisterwerk 2×Meisterwerk 213 June 2001 · Album · CompilationSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Sear Me MCMXCIII7:242Follower5:123Vast Choirs7:304She Is the Dark8:275Catching Feathers3:426Two Winters Only9:007Your River9:188Some Velvet Morning5:549Roads5:0410For You4:15. The Meisterwerk albums are compilations that contain previously released and rare material from My Dying Bride. At the end of the hiatus, Calvin Robertshaw left the band to become their tour manager and was replaced by Hamish Glencross.

The Dreadful Hours (2001–2004)

Originally released in 2001, The Dreadful Hours featured new material with the seventh release. The album was again engineered by Mags and co-produced by guitarist Andrew Craighan. Between 2003 and 2004, the band's label, Peaceville, re-released their entire back-catalogue in digipak format, with bonus tracks consisting of demos, remixes, and live performances added to each release (except "The Light at the End of the World×The Light at the End of the World8 November 1999 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1She Is the Dark8:262Edenbeast11:233The Night He Died6:254The Light at the End of the World10:365The Fever Sea4:056Into the Lake of Ghosts7:087The Isis Script7:098Christliar10:309Sear Me III5:26").

Songs of Darkness, Words of Light (2004–2005)

2004's follow-up was Songs of Darkness, Words of Light.
The band's next release came in May 2005, when they released the fancifully titled Anti-Diluvian Chronicles, a fully-fledged best of box set featuring three discs and thirty tracks.

A Line of Deathless Kings (2006–2007)

The band spent the winter of 2005/2006 writing material for new studio album A Line of Deathless Kings×A Line of Deathless Kings9 October 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1To Remain Tombless6:092L'Amour détruit9:073I Cannot Be Loved7:034And I Walk With Them6:365Thy Raven Wings5:216Love's Intolerable Pain6:147One of Beauty's Daughters5:428Deeper Down6:319The Blood, the Wine, the Roses8:25. The album was released on 9 October 2006. It was preceded by the EP Deeper Down×Deeper Down18 September 2006 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Deeper Down (Uberdoom edit)3:512The Child of Eternity4:163A Kiss to Remember (live)7:23 on 18 September. Shortly before the release of A Line of Deathless Kings, Shaun Taylor-Steels announced his permanent departure from the band due to persistent problems with his ankle.

In early 2007, Jackson announced his departure and session-drummer John Bennett from The Prophecy could no longer stay, citing a lack of time due to work commitments. Replacements were found in Lena Abé on bass and Dan Mullins on drums.

For Lies I Sire, Evinta, The Barghest O' Whitby (2009–2011)

In November 2008, My Dying Bride began work on their tenth studio album, entitled For Lies I Sire×For Lies I Sire23 March 2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1My Body, a Funeral6:492Fall With Me7:193The Lies I Sire5:314Bring Me Victory4:095Echoes From a Hollow Soul7:226ShadowHaunt4:397Santuario di sangue8:308A Chapter in Loathing4:469Death Triumphant11:06, which was released on 23 March 2009. Due to Sarah Stanton's pregnancy, she had been replaced on keyboards by Katie Stone, who also performed violin on For Lies I Sire. Soon after the album's release, Stone was replaced by Shaun MacGowan.
On 26 October 2009, My Dying Bride released an EP/DVD titled Bring Me Victory×Bring Me Victory26 October 2009 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Bring Me Victory4:112Scarborough Fair6:203Failure6:474Vast Choirs10:545Bring Me Victory4:18. Except for the title track and its video, it also includes a doom metal cover of the traditional song Scarborough Fair, a cover of "Failure" by Swans and a live version of "Vast Choirs" (originally from As the Flower Withers), performed at Graspop 2008.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of My Dying Bride's existence, the album Evinta×Evinta29 May 2011 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11In Your Dark Pavilion10:032You Are Not the One Who Loves Me6:473Of Lilies Bent With Tears7:104The Distance, Busy With Shadows10:465Of Sorry Eyes in March10:34Disc 21Vanité triomphante12:212That Dress and Summer Skin9:383And Then You Go9:214A Hand of Awful Rewards10:21 was released on 30 May 2011. Evinta featured some previous My Dying Bride material re-worked as neo-classical and ambient songs. Afterward, the band announced the release of The Barghest o' Whitby, an EP consisting of a single 27-minute track which was released 7 November 2011.

A Map of All Our Failures and The Manuscript (2012–2014)

A Map of All Our Failures was released on 15 October 2012.
On 13 May 2013, the band released a four-track EP, The Manuscript×The Manuscript13 May 2013 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracksA1The Manuscript6:23A2Vår gud över er8:51B1A Pale Shroud of Longing7:48B2Only Tears to Replace Her With4:20. Three of the four tracks from the EP were recorded at the same time as A Map of All Our Failures×A Map of All Our Failures15 October 2012 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Kneel Till Doomsday7:522The Poorest Waltz5:083A Tapestry Scorned8:004Like a Perpetual Funeral8:325A Map of All Our Failures7:536Hail Odysseus8:547Within the Presence of Absence8:508Abandoned as Christ8:419My Faults Are Your Reward5:28Disc 21An Evening With the Bride1:10:43. A year later on 26 May 2014 the songs of this EP were re-released together with The Barghest O' Whitby as The Vaulted Shadows×The Vaulted Shadows26 May 2014 · EP · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1The Barghest o’ Whitby27:042The Manuscript6:243Vår gud över er8:494A Pale Shroud of Longing7:485Only Tears to Replace Her With4:20 compilation.
Guitarist Hamish Glencross had been fired upon returning from their U.S. 2014 Maryland Deathfest appearance, and original guitarist Calvin Robertshaw returned to the band.

Feel the Misery and move to Nuclear Blast (2015–2019)

On 18 September 2015, Feel the Misery was released, with eight tracks. In March 2017, the band signed with Nuclear Blast Records. The same year, drummer Dan Mullins left the band, and was replaced with Shaun Steels, who had been in the band from 1999 to 2006, and had played on A Map of All Our Failures in 2012 as a session member.
In 2017, after cancelling four festival appearances, Aaron Stainthorpe explained that the band was working on a new album, and had therefore not disbanded. In fact, My Dying Bride signed a new contract with Nuclear Blast. In a My Dying Bride Facebook post on 18 September 2018, Aaron Stainthorpe explained that the band cancelled those shows due to the cancer of his 5-year-old daughter, who is presently in remission.
On 4 December 2018, the band announced that Shaun Steels had been replaced by Jeff Singer due to "unresolvable drumming issues" and that the drum tracks for the new album had been completed by Singer.
On 24 May 2019, the band released A Harvest of Dread, a deluxe 12-inch 92-page hardback book five-disc set of rarities, early works, previously unheard pre-production demos, band favorites, and live audio. Also in 2019, Calvin Robertshaw had left My Dying Bride for a second time, and was replaced by Neil Blanchett on guitars.

The Ghost of Orion (2020–2023)

My Dying Bride's 13th album, The Ghost of Orion×The Ghost of Orion6 March 2020 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Your Broken Shore7:402To Outlive the Gods7:543Tired of Tears8:354The Solace5:505The Long Black Land9:596The Ghost of Orion3:297The Old Earth10:308Your Woven Shore2:08, was released on 6 March 2020. It was released five years after their previous effort, Feel the Misery, which is the band's longest gap between studio albums to date.
Beforehand, the album's first single, "Your Broken Shore", was released on 20 January, followed by a second single, "Tired of Tears", on 7 February.
Later in 2020, the band released their 7th EP, Macabre Cabaret×Macabre Cabaret20 November 2020 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracksA1Macabre Cabaret10:00A2A Secret Kiss6:22B1A Purse of Gold and Stars5:34B2Orchestral Shores (Buiksloterkerk Cathedral mix)3:51.

A Mortal Binding and departure of Stainthorpe (2024–present)

My Dying Bride announced in February their 14th studio album, A Mortal Binding×A Mortal Binding19 April 2024 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks1Her Dominion6:102Thornwyck Hymn6:473The 2nd of Three Bells6:524Unthroned Creed7:005The Apocalyptist11:226A Starving Heart7:297Crushed Embers9:02, which was released on 19 April 2024. Preceding the release were singles "Thornwyck Hymn" in February and "The 2nd of Three Bells" in March.
However, just two weeks before the album launch, the band canceled all live shows, citing internal tensions among members. In an interview with Devolution magazine, vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe revealed that he and guitarist Andrew Craighan had been managing the band without a formal manager for years, which had led to creative disagreements and stress. Stainthorpe emphasised the need for a break to avoid a "massive bust-up", acknowledging that while it was not an ideal time to pause given their album release and scheduled gigs the decision was necessary for the band's well-being.
On 6 December 2024, the band announced that they will continue performing live shows in 2025, but due to Stainthorpe having been absent from the band since their short break, they will tour with Swallow the Sun vocalist Mikko Kotamäki. This absence was confirmed as permanent on October 9, 2025, when My Dying Bride stated on social media that they and Stainthorpe were officially separating.