MY DYING BRIDE Frontman Talks About Forthcoming Album

Blissfulviolet of Beyond The Dark Horizon recently conducted an interview with vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe of the UK doom metal band MY DYING BRIDE. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Beyond the Dark Horizon: I just received news that the band has recently recorded MY DYING BRIDE's ninth studio album at the Future Works studio in Manchester. What can you tell us about this particular LP? I hear the violins are back…

Aaron: The majority of the music has now been recorded, including the violin, leaving just the keyboards and ambient effects as well as the final mix to do. Naturally, we think it's our best work to date and has a sort of "new-meets-old" sound; the violins giving a nod to our past and the new riffs and vocals showing the way forward. It is quite possibly the most depressing thing we've created to date, and all the more wonderful for it.

Beyond The Dark Horizon: The band previously used keyboards in place of the genuine violin sound on a few albums. Has technology offered some qualities that you were unable to find in actual violin players in the past?

Aaron: It has indeed which we took full advantage of. We always liked the idea of getting another violin player but didn't actually do a great deal about it, favoring more guitar harmonies instead, which worked wonders for us. Rather lazily, we were waiting for a violinist to contact us rather than the other way around.

Beyond The Dark Horizon: This brings me to ask about the band's recent addition, Katie Stone… Tell us about her and what she brings new to MY DYING BRIDE's table.

Aaron: She's a superb violin and keyboard player and a great addition to the band, young and attractive too which is surely a bonus. She brings a touch of "old school" back to the band with her violin; however, playing it differently to Martin, it sounds more modern. It's hard to explain really, kind of old meets new so interesting stuff.

Beyond The Dark Horizon: Back to the new album, how do you feel it differs from MY DYING BRIDE's last studio album, "A Line of Deathless Kings"?

Aaron: Would you believe it, it's even darker? I've pushed the vocals further finding more melodies, as have the guitars, and of course the violin has added a deep range of feeling. It's quite a fresh, melodic sound despite being utterly despondent.

Beyond The Dark Horizon: Lyric-wise, was there any difference in the approach you took when it came down to writing songs for this album?

Aaron: To be brutally honest, no. 99% of all the music was written AND recorded before I wrote a line! I got a rough mix on CDR, listened to it heroically all day — every day and wrote how I felt during the hours of darkness, candles spluttering, red wine at hand and I'd like to think it's rather good.

Read the entire interview from Beyond The Dark Horizon.