MY
DYING BRIDE I
INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST AARON STAINTHORPE BY MIKE GAWORECKI
f you want to know what a My Dying Bride album is about, according to vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe, just check out the first line.
quit, including prodigal guitarist Calvin Robertshaw and drummer Shaun Taylor-Steels, who tendered his resignation just as recording sessions for the album were about to start.
a similarly revitalized vocal performance on Stainthorpe’s part, which he initially found difficult to muster—so much so that he had moments where he thought he might be washed up and would have to quit the band.
comes as My Dying Bride are poised to, they hope, become bigger than ever. After calling Peaceville Records their home for three decades, The Ghost of Orion is the band’s first album for Nuclear Blast, a considerably more prominent label.
“I always try to make sure the opening line is the one that leads the rest of the way,â€? he says. “I've But the far more serious adversity always got notes and ideas the band faced was Stainthorpe’s “We decided to up the ante a bit scribbled all over the place, and 5-year-old daughter being and become better songwriters,â€? “To be honest, we'd reached a level quite often I'll fish into this book diagnosed with cancer shortly Stainthorpe says. “When I went where Peaceville couldn't really of ideas, and I'll find a really killer after the band’s last full-length into the studio, because I'd been take us any further,â€? Stainthorpe opening line. I'll use that as the foray, 2015’s Feel the Misery, away for so long, I was still in old says. “[It] was fine for a long time, kernel for the rest of the idea to was released. That left founding My Dying Bride mode. But it simply but after a while, we realized we grow around, and then I'll listen to guitarist Andrew Craighan to write wasn't good enough, and that wanted more; we wanted to stretch the music and think ‘Right, we've The Ghost of Orion on his own. was evident on the very first song our wings wider. We're hoping now, got the starting line; where do we when I started singing. It just wasn't even after 30 years of My Dying go from here?’â€? “I mean, if he had sent me riffs and working, and I couldn't feel the Bride, we can still touch on other people who’ve never heard of us asked for my input, I probably connection.â€? Here’s the first line of the band’s would’ve left the band and said, ‘Do before.â€? 14th album, The Ghost of Orion, you not know what’s going on right “Bear in mind, I hadn’t sung for a few due out March 6 on Nuclear Blast: now in my life?!’â€? Stainthorpe says. years because of what happened The Ghost of Orion continues the “From my deep silence, they feed “He obviously knew that. We’ve been to my daughter,â€? he continues. “I roll that My Dying Bride have been the fire / Building a gift from this friends for such a long time.â€? wasn’t sure how to get back into it. on since 2012’s A Map of All Our broken liar.â€? So, with Mark [Mynett, producer] Failures, their highest-charting Stainthorpe’s daughter is now and Andrew’s help, they coached effort to date. Indeed, the band What do these lines portend? blessedly cancer-free, but his me into trying some new ideas, some may have felt the misery quite For one thing, that My Dying travails were not over. Along new vocal styles, different ways of acutely themselves, but they have Bride, who celebrate their 30th with Craighan, he set out to try recording. We could have still got persevered and created one of the anniversary as a band in 2020, something different with the new away with a regular kind of My Dying best records of their considerable are as morose as ever. And for album, packing all the doom and Bride album, but regular’s not good career. đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł good reason. The band overcame gloom of their past material into enough anymore.â€? some serious challenges to record songs that were more vibrant The Ghost of Orion. Two members and accessible. That required Their new approach to songcraft
56 NEW NOISE
