My Dying Bride // A Mortal Binding // Album review

Having been at the forefront of the Doom/Gothic Metal scene in the 1990s, My Dying Bride has released a host of full-length studio albums, Eps and compilation albums. Now the time has come for the latest offering from the band originally from Bradford, England.

The fourteen album But the Doom Merchants is the follow-up to the 2020 album The Ghost of Orion and having teased a few tracks from this release, get yourself ready to dive head first into this 7 track, 54-minute offering.

If you have already done the maths, the average track length is over 7 minutes and if you are new to Doom music, don’t let this put you off. One of the things that I like about Doom is that on the whole, it is a no-frills experience that you can really invest in and go along with. The fact the opening riff sets the tone for what is about to come will raise your anticipation for what is to come.

That slower pace and chugging guitars provide a funeral pace and feeling, very depressive and murky – but that’s what the genre is about. Plus, even the newest people to the genre should expect this from a band with the name of My Dying Bride?!

The is no denying that A Mortal Blinding is not anything that anyone is going to put on as a pick-me-up, but what you will do is press play and be immediately under the spell that top-quality Doom band cast. That drum-led pace, chugging guitar, and deep gurgling vocal that occasionally gets cleaner like on ‘Thornwyck Hymn’ show is just why this band have been about for so long and is still going strong.

Granted, you could be forgiven for wondering if everything is OK in the My Dying Bride camp, following the news that it appears that they have cancelled all upcoming 2024 tour dates (as stated by Maryland Deathfest) however if we go off of the upcoming release, everything is exactly how it should be.

From start to finish, this album grips you and you can’t take your ears off it. Listening for those finer details that can only really be appreciated in uncomplicated music (please don’t think that this is anything other than a compliment) and appreciating how vulnerable the sound leaves you, there are no better bands at this sound and A Mortal Blinding is no exception. This is a cracking addition to anyone’s collection.

A Mortal Blinding will be released on Friday 19^th April 2024 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Review: Ed Ford