My Dying Bride Interview

my dying bride

To say that you are original is to take on the whole world. Many have tried and failed miserably but when I say that My Dying Bride is one original band I'm not stretching the truth too far. From the word go My Dying Bride have not been like any other band. Each consecutive album has been a progression on the previous one. When they experimented more than usual on 1998s "34,788 Complete" album a minor maelstrom arose among the fans. Some thought that My Dying Bride had gone too far this time. With 1999s "The Light at the End of the World" album My Dying Bride returned to form while also taking at least one step back too. To help me answer my question I have Andrew (guitar) with me.

-Anders Ekdahl

The Beginning...

To me, you seem to always have been one talked about band. What I mean is that people have been expecting something special from ever since your demo days. Does this mean that you from the word go have felt pressured to perform more than 100%?
Sometimes, I think a bit of pressure is good though. Keeps you sharp. We try mainly though just to write music for ourselves, as we know no matter what we do it will not please everybody. We have to like it first then hopefully others after.

Let's talk some about your first cd "Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium". The title song was on your demo too but in a shorter version. What made it longer on the cd? How important was it to have that one song also released on your first major release?
The reason it is longer on the cd is because of the vinyl version, on the 12" single we faded out part one into part two, it was just something that made more sense on the record than actually rewriting the song. It was important for the band as we felt this to be the flagship MDB song at that time, and still do to a certain extent. We love that song.

You also released a 7" "God is Alone" single on the French label Listenable. Why did you do that and how did you get in touch with Laurent Merle? Did you know him through his work with Peardrop, or maybe U.S.D.?
We knew Laurent, well it was mainly Aaron (vocals) that knew him through his magazine at the time, we sent him the demo to review. He liked it and thought it would be good for both him and us to record a 7". We wrote the 2 songs on that single especially for it.

The "God is Alone" single contains the songs "God is Alone" and "De Sade Soliloquay" that are also to be found on the "Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium " CD-single but in a different recording, or is it the same session? Why did you not include different tracks on the CD?
Simple, Peaceville wanted it out ASAP and we didn't have any new songs at that time.

The Middle...

When it was time for your debut album you had added violin to the recording line-up. What made you include this instrument? Had Celtic Frost's "Into the Pandemonium" anything to do with this?
The violin was with us on "Symphonaire..." so that's not strictly true. But what is, is that Martin had become a more stable member of the band rather than the session musician he was used to being. Yes I think Celtic Frost had a big influence on us back then but a lot of bands did namely Candlemass, SPK, Laibach and of course Dead Can Dance.

I've always wondered where from you got your style of metal? To me it has been original from the very beginning, even if people have insisted on comparing you to Paradise Lost. I can remember how I dreaded that I was too late in buying your demo, which I by the way don't own anymore.
We just did what we did, without really thinking about our "style". We never really became part of the Death Metal scene as we were too slow and the Doom scene was not what we were doing either, but people could get into what we were doing even thought they found it a bit strange. I also only recently acquired the demo and the God Is Alone 7" cost a friend of mine £15 to buy it for me.

Then there was a time when you in-between your albums released Mcds. What was the idea behind that? Wasn't the one that followed, and which I can't remember the name of, the "Thrash of Naked Limbs" Mcd released in a limited time span? I seem to remember it that way because I do not have it. Why was that done? Was this a way for you to experiment musically?
The reason behind the mini CD's is contractual. We were contracted to Peaceville for 3lps and 3eps, so in between l.p.s we did eps. we found them to be a good test bed for new songs and also tried a lot of different things on them that would not necessarily make it onto the l.p.s. I'm not sure why they were deleted, but we had such a demand that we rereleased them all in a box set called Trinity, this was mainly so we could add lyrics to them as not all of the Eps had lyrics with them

Gradually you moved away from the death grunts into more normal vocals. Did the death grunts limit you both vocally as well as musically? Wasn't the Mcds a big enough forum for you to experiment?
We did not move away deliberately. It just seemed the natural thing to do at that time. The first time we tried regular vocals was on the song "Turn Loose The Swans" in the middle section, we thought it was gut wrenchingly sorrowful, even though the lyrics are not. It was from then on we new we had a new weapon of misery.

You've have almost always recorded in Academy. Is that mostly out of convenience or are there any other reasons? Would it not be adventurous to record somewhere else with a more known producer? How would a Bob Rock produced My Dying Bride turn out?
If you have a great song and you record it at a great studio it doesn't make the song twice as great. We record at Academy because it has everything we need and it is close to home. Recording is very tedious at times and keeping moral high is very important, record companies don't understand this, they just think if we use a studio that costs a million pounds we can get a better record. It's not the case.

The End...

Your album covers have always been aesthetically enjoyable. Do you have any formal training in art? How important is it to work with contrasts, bright colours against dim ones? How important is it to include hidden meanings and cryptic graphics like on the cover and in the booklet of the new album "The Light at the End of the World"?
We just enjoy the darkness. We are not preaching to anyone. There are messages in there, but they only reveal themselves to particular people at uncertain times. The imagery is for MDB first and foremost, if others too can find something they enjoy in there, all the better.

Does ancient writings and mysticism like f x Nostradamus and the Jewish Kabbala play any part in the design of My Dying Bride? If I have to put My Dying Bride into any category I would classify you as a university kind of band. By that I mean you challenge the listener more than for example Swedish Witchery.
Yes and No. We don't publicise what we are doing privately. We would not try to gain attention by claiming any special practices or beliefs. But to say that we have not looked into the writings of many prophets, witches, Pagans, Satanists you name it would be untrue.

You've toured quite a bit, having played both at the Dynamo festival and with Iron Maiden. Does it bother you that to some you playing with Iron Maiden is seen as the high point of your carrier and that it is still mentioned today? Do you put a limit on who you tour with? Could we see you on tour with f x Sheryl Crow or would that be preaching to the wrong audience?
I think touring with Iron Maiden probably was the high light of this bands touring career. But not the high point full stop. The Dynamo gig will stay with me forever, it is Mecca for metal bands of all shapes and sizes to play there. Sheryl Crow would just be a waste of time.

You live in Yorkshire, don't you? Has it ever hurt you not being close to the London scene, whatever that is? Is it really necessary to move home base to a place like London or can you just as easily operate from a more rural location and still be as successful?
London is a great place. I love it there, but only as a tourist. You do not need to come from London to be successful you need lots of luck and you need to know a few people in the right places. I am more than happy that My Dying Bride are a Yorkshire band, we are very proud up here and also relocating to London would make little difference to the level of success My Dying Bride have enjoyed due to the fact that we are still pretty much an underground band in our hearts.

The Continuum...

When you released "34,788% Complete" you received a lot of mixed reviews. Some said that you had betrayed your roots while others praised it. I must admit that I did not buy it based on the bad reviews, stupidly enough. You would think that I would have learned by now. Once I bought it this year I could not understand the criticism that you'd turned too much techno and drum'n'bass. Sure it was a big side-step from your previous record "Like gods of the Sun". How big of a rejuvenator was this album for you?
It was good to do, it scared the shit out of a good many people. It also showed us who was really into My Dying Bride and who was bandwagoning. We know who we can really trust now. Plus the music is not really that fucking weird, if you take away the cover it's just MDB making a fucking noise again and playing some ideas. The fuss has been good for it though as much as people thought we had lost our way, lots of new people thought yeah OK, why the fuck not. "The Light...." has shown that we are still MDB though no matter what we do.

Something that hit me the first time I heard 34,788% Complete" is how much certain passages of the track "The Stance of Evander Sinque" reminds me of a track of the album "Friends of Hell" by the old English NWOBHM band Witchfinder General. Is this a conscious effort or just something that happened? How much played the NWOBHM a part when you formed My Dying Bride?
NWOBHM didn't play a conscious part in this l.p at all. But we are all into Metal because of this great time. So without it we would not have an MDB full stop. I have not heard the track you mentioned either.

After "34,788% Complete" it took no more than a year before a new album saw the light of the day. Did this have anything to do with the rather lukewarm reception "34,788% Complete" received critically? How did you react to the bad criticism that the album got? Was it the first time something like this happened to you?
I wish it was that simple. The reason we decided to record another l.p. is because there wasn't a band to tour with. Calvin had just left - we kept this a secret though. I had just told Bill that he was not suitable for the l.p. I wanted to now record, so there was little else to do. I wanted to get straight back at it. And seeing as I was now the main songwriter I had more or less complete freedom to record whatever I wanted.

What made you take two steps back on "The Light at the End of the World" to a more aggressive My Dying Bride style? Had you tired of being flossy and cuddly and wanted to return with more aggression?
I had had enough of everything and everyone fucking with this band. I just wrote how I felt inside, Aaron too, I asked him for more typical MDB lyrics, darker, more sorrowful I wanted to be more My Dying Bride than ever before. Not for the record company, not for our fans, just for myself, Aaron and Ade (bass, leaving Shaun - drums unmentioned), we deserved it, considering what we had been through. MFN had been making our lives hell but it's not stuff I can put here.

"The Light at the End of the World" is a long album. Do you not know when to stop? Having said that I must admit that I really like the album and that I play it at almost any time of the day?
We stop when it sounds finished. Not after 3.5 mins. I am truly happy that you like listening to it.

You included a third version of the track "Sear me" that first appeared on your album "As the Flower Withers". What is up with this continuation of appearances?
It's an idea we had a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. What you've heard are the last 3 "Sear Me's". We intend to record the 1st 3 later, maybe next year. Maybe...

To end this let us use the old cliché of asking what the future holds?
We are going to be doing some festivals this year. Grasspop in Belgium has just been confirmed, then there is the Lowlands Festival to look at and some gigs in Poland with Opeth (I hope) and then maybe a couple in Germany. We have not finished gigging yet. No plans for the new l.p. just yet but I am writing all the time.


	..........

		my dying bride To say that you are original is to take on the whole world. Many have tried and failed miserably but when I say that My Dying Bride is one original band I'm not stretching the truth too far. From the word go My Dying Bride have not been like any other band. Each consecutive album has been a progression on the previous one. When they experimented more than usual on 1998s "34,788 Complete" album a minor maelstrom arose among the fans. Some thought that My Dying Bride had gone too far this time. With 1999s "The Light at the End of the World" album My Dying Bride returned to form while also taking at least one step back too. To help me answer my question I have Andrew (guitar) with me. -Anders Ekdahl *The Beginning...* To me, you seem to always have been one talked about band. What I mean is that people have been expecting something special from ever since your demo days. Does this mean that you from the word go have felt pressured to perform more than 100%? Sometimes, I think a bit of pressure is good though. Keeps you sharp. We try mainly though just to write music for ourselves, as we know no matter what we do it will not please everybody. We have to like it first then hopefully others after. Let's talk some about your first cd "Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium". The title song was on your demo too but in a shorter version. What made it longer on the cd? How important was it to have that one song also released on your first major release? The reason it is longer on the cd is because of the vinyl version, on the 12" single we faded out part one into part two, it was just something that made more sense on the record than actually rewriting the song. It was important for the band as we felt this to be the flagship MDB song at that time, and still do to a certain extent. We love that song. You also released a 7" "God is Alone" single on the French label Listenable. Why did you do that and how did you get in touch with Laurent Merle? Did you know him through his work with Peardrop, or maybe U.S.D.? We knew Laurent, well it was mainly Aaron (vocals) that knew him through his magazine at the time, we sent him the demo to review. He liked it and thought it would be good for both him and us to record a 7". We wrote the 2 songs on that single especially for it. The "God is Alone" single contains the songs "God is Alone" and "De Sade Soliloquay" that are also to be found on the "Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium " CD-single but in a different recording, or is it the same session? Why did you not include different tracks on the CD? Simple, Peaceville wanted it out ASAP and we didn't have any new songs at that time. *The Middle...* When it was time for your debut album you had added violin to the recording line-up. What made you include this instrument? Had Celtic Frost's "Into the Pandemonium" anything to do with this? The violin was with us on "Symphonaire..." so that's not strictly true. But what is, is that Martin had become a more stable member of the band rather than the session musician he was used to being. Yes I think Celtic Frost had a big influence on us back then but a lot of bands did namely Candlemass, SPK, Laibach and of course Dead Can Dance. I've always wondered where from you got your style of metal? To me it has been original from the very beginning, even if people have insisted on comparing you to Paradise Lost. I can remember how I dreaded that I was too late in buying your demo, which I by the way don't own anymore. We just did what we did, without really thinking about our "style". We never really became part of the Death Metal scene as we were too slow and the Doom scene was not what we were doing either, but people could get into what we were doing even thought they found it a bit strange. I also only recently acquired the demo and the God Is Alone 7" cost a friend of mine £15 to buy it for me. Then there was a time when you in-between your albums released Mcds. What was the idea behind that? Wasn't the one that followed, and which I can't remember the name of, the "Thrash of Naked Limbs" Mcd released in a limited time span? I seem to remember it that way because I do not have it. Why was that done? Was this a way for you to experiment musically? The reason behind the mini CD's is contractual. We were contracted to Peaceville for 3lps and 3eps, so in between l.p.s we did eps. we found them to be a good test bed for new songs and also tried a lot of different things on them that would not necessarily make it onto the l.p.s. I'm not sure why they were deleted, but we had such a demand that we rereleased them all in a box set called Trinity, this was mainly so we could add lyrics to them as not all of the Eps had lyrics with them Gradually you moved away from the death grunts into more normal vocals. Did the death grunts limit you both vocally as well as musically? Wasn't the Mcds a big enough forum for you to experiment? We did not move away deliberately. It just seemed the natural thing to do at that time. The first time we tried regular vocals was on the song "Turn Loose The Swans" in the middle section, we thought it was gut wrenchingly sorrowful, even though the lyrics are not. It was from then on we new we had a new weapon of misery. You've have almost always recorded in Academy. Is that mostly out of convenience or are there any other reasons? Would it not be adventurous to record somewhere else with a more known producer? How would a Bob Rock produced My Dying Bride turn out? If you have a great song and you record it at a great studio it doesn't make the song twice as great. We record at Academy because it has everything we need and it is close to home. Recording is very tedious at times and keeping moral high is very important, record companies don't understand this, they just think if we use a studio that costs a million pounds we can get a better record. It's not the case. *The End...* Your album covers have always been aesthetically enjoyable. Do you have any formal training in art? How important is it to work with contrasts, bright colours against dim ones? How important is it to include hidden meanings and cryptic graphics like on the cover and in the booklet of the new album "The Light at the End of the World"? We just enjoy the darkness. We are not preaching to anyone. There are messages in there, but they only reveal themselves to particular people at uncertain times. The imagery is for MDB first and foremost, if others too can find something they enjoy in there, all the better. Does ancient writings and mysticism like f x Nostradamus and the Jewish Kabbala play any part in the design of My Dying Bride? If I have to put My Dying Bride into any category I would classify you as a university kind of band. By that I mean you challenge the listener more than for example Swedish Witchery. Yes and No. We don't publicise what we are doing privately. We would not try to gain attention by claiming any special practices or beliefs. But to say that we have not looked into the writings of many prophets, witches, Pagans, Satanists you name it would be untrue. You've toured quite a bit, having played both at the Dynamo festival and with Iron Maiden. Does it bother you that to some you playing with Iron Maiden is seen as the high point of your carrier and that it is still mentioned today? Do you put a limit on who you tour with? Could we see you on tour with f x Sheryl Crow or would that be preaching to the wrong audience? I think touring with Iron Maiden probably was the high light of this bands touring career. But not the high point full stop. The Dynamo gig will stay with me forever, it is Mecca for metal bands of all shapes and sizes to play there. Sheryl Crow would just be a waste of time. You live in Yorkshire, don't you? Has it ever hurt you not being close to the London scene, whatever that is? Is it really necessary to move home base to a place like London or can you just as easily operate from a more rural location and still be as successful? London is a great place. I love it there, but only as a tourist. You do not need to come from London to be successful you need lots of luck and you need to know a few people in the right places. I am more than happy that My Dying Bride are a Yorkshire band, we are very proud up here and also relocating to London would make little difference to the level of success My Dying Bride have enjoyed due to the fact that we are still pretty much an underground band in our hearts. *The Continuum...* When you released "34,788% Complete" you received a lot of mixed reviews. Some said that you had betrayed your roots while others praised it. I must admit that I did not buy it based on the bad reviews, stupidly enough. You would think that I would have learned by now. Once I bought it this year I could not understand the criticism that you'd turned too much techno and drum'n'bass. Sure it was a big side-step from your previous record "Like gods of the Sun". How big of a rejuvenator was this album for you? It was good to do, it scared the shit out of a good many people. It also showed us who was really into My Dying Bride and who was bandwagoning. We know who we can really trust now. Plus the music is not really that fucking weird, if you take away the cover it's just MDB making a fucking noise again and playing some ideas. The fuss has been good for it though as much as people thought we had lost our way, lots of new people thought yeah OK, why the fuck not. "The Light...." has shown that we are still MDB though no matter what we do. Something that hit me the first time I heard 34,788% Complete" is how much certain passages of the track "The Stance of Evander Sinque" reminds me of a track of the album "Friends of Hell" by the old English NWOBHM band Witchfinder General. Is this a conscious effort or just something that happened? How much played the NWOBHM a part when you formed My Dying Bride? NWOBHM didn't play a conscious part in this l.p at all. But we are all into Metal because of this great time. So without it we would not have an MDB full stop. I have not heard the track you mentioned either. After "34,788% Complete" it took no more than a year before a new album saw the light of the day. Did this have anything to do with the rather lukewarm reception "34,788% Complete" received critically? How did you react to the bad criticism that the album got? Was it the first time something like this happened to you? I wish it was that simple. The reason we decided to record another l.p. is because there wasn't a band to tour with. Calvin had just left - we kept this a secret though. I had just told Bill that he was not suitable for the l.p. I wanted to now record, so there was little else to do. I wanted to get straight back at it. And seeing as I was now the main songwriter I had more or less complete freedom to record whatever I wanted. What made you take two steps back on "The Light at the End of the World" to a more aggressive My Dying Bride style? Had you tired of being flossy and cuddly and wanted to return with more aggression? I had had enough of everything and everyone fucking with this band. I just wrote how I felt inside, Aaron too, I asked him for more typical MDB lyrics, darker, more sorrowful I wanted to be more My Dying Bride than ever before. Not for the record company, not for our fans, just for myself, Aaron and Ade (bass, leaving Shaun - drums unmentioned), we deserved it, considering what we had been through. MFN had been making our lives hell but it's not stuff I can put here. "The Light at the End of the World" is a long album. Do you not know when to stop? Having said that I must admit that I really like the album and that I play it at almost any time of the day? We stop when it sounds finished. Not after 3.5 mins. I am truly happy that you like listening to it. You included a third version of the track "Sear me" that first appeared on your album "As the Flower Withers". What is up with this continuation of appearances? It's an idea we had a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. What you've heard are the last 3 "Sear Me's". We intend to record the 1st 3 later, maybe next year. Maybe... To end this let us use the old cliché of asking what the future holds? We are going to be doing some festivals this year. Grasspop in Belgium has just been confirmed, then there is the Lowlands Festival to look at and some gigs in Poland with Opeth (I hope) and then maybe a couple in Germany. We have not finished gigging yet. No plans for the new l.p. just yet but I am writing all the time.