English doom metal veterans My Dying Bride have finally released their anticipated new record, A Mortal Binding, on Friday (19th) via Nuclear Blast (read our review here). Unfortunately, the long-awaited excitement was short-lived. We presumed an official statement/response to Maryland Deathfest organizers’ recent statement on the group backing out of the festival and scrapping their 2024 touring plans would happen after the new album’s arrival. While the album gave such turmoil and bleak atmospheric doom soundscapes, making it a 2024 year-end contender, a different form of bleakness arrived after exciting updates that led to the release of the follow-up to 2020’s The Ghost of Orion. My Dying Bride confirmed all shows for 2024 have been canceled due to discomfort growing within the band. The band explained how the production of their latest album revved up existing tensions within the group, leading to a deep sense of discontent and burnout among members. Despite trying to resolve internal conflict, this has led to cancellations overall while they work out a solution to minimize these issues for their fanbase.
The below statement was issued on the group’s social media earlier today (21): “Announcement:
“Announcement: The production of this latest album was arduous and challenging to such an extent that it has revealed fractures within the band. These tensions had already been observed during the creation of the previous 2 albums and were only exacerbated during the Covid period. Over the past few months, they have intensified, causing a profound sense of discontent among the band members. The resulting stress and the pervasive feeling of burnout, along with the physical and mental malaise it creates, necessitated a period of time off which unfortunately impacts on live shows. The reason for the lack of an official statement until now is because the band has truly hoped to resolve these internal issues and perform some shows this year while trying find a resolution in time to satisfy all parties involved. Sadly, this resolution is yet to be found. Regrettably, a lack of understanding and poor communication from our professional partners has resulted in an untimely and chaotic mess from which a recovery is challenging. However, the promoters have now been officially contacted and it is hoped that steps can be taken to minimize the impact on you all. We apologize for keeping you in the dark, but these are indeed challenging times.”
