My Dying Bride are an English doom metal band formed in Bradford, England in 1990. To date, My Dying Bride have released eleven full-length studio albums, three 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 is a forerunner of the death/doom metal genre and considered part of the "Peaceville Three" as all three bands were signed to Peaceville Records at the time.
My Dying Bride were formed in Bradford in the north of England in June 1990 after guitarist Andrew Craighan and drummer Rick Miah co-formed the band after they had split from Abiosis, joining vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe and guitarist Calvin Robertshaw while ending 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". The band would soon release their first single, "God Is Alone", 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 full-length album, As the Flower Withers.
On 17 April 2012, it was announced that in a one-off show in Leeds, My Dying Bride would headline the Jagermeister stage at Damnation Festival 2012. The report on the festival's official website also stated that new album material would be premiered during the show. In May 2012 a list of European tour dates was announced for December that year.
On 27 July 2012, the title, artwork, and tracklisting of the forthcoming 11th studio album, A Map of All Our Failures, was announced on the band's website. It was stated that the album would be released 15 October in Europe and 16 October in the USA on CD, double vinyl & special edition CD/DVD.
A Map of All Our Failures was released on 15 October 2012. Vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe described the album as being similar to the band's previous effort, For Lies I Sire, but said that the music had evolved. He described the lyrics as being about religion, passion, love, and loss. Bassist Lena Abé described the album as being a "new style of writing, done in an old way", and almost having a "live sound" due to the presence of feedback and "raw and rough" elements. Guitarist Andrew Craighan described the album as, "a controlled demolition of all your hopes."
On 13 May 2013, the band released a four-track EP, The Manuscript. Three of the four tracks from the EP were recorded at the same time as A Map of All Our Failures. 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 LP.
On 6 June 2014, My Dying Bride announced via their web site that guitarist Hamish Glencross had been fired upon returning from their U.S. 2014 Maryland Deathfest appearance, and that original guitarist Calvin Robertshaw would be returning to the band.
Track list:
01. Her Dominion
02. Thornwyck Hymn
03. The 2nd of Three Bells
04. Unthroned Creed
05. The Apocalyptist
06. A Starving Heart
07. Crushed Embers