After months of speculation and silence, My Dying Bride has made themselves clear about who's fronting the band — at least when it comes to live performances. The legendary UK doom band is now fronted onstage by Swallow the Sun's Mikko Kotamäki, stepping in for founding vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe following a series of behind-the-scenes tensions that erupted in 2024. What began as a break has evolved into something far less defined.
Guitarist Andrew Craighan spoke candidly about the decision in a new interview with Metalirium, confirming the band's current position and shedding light on the situation that led to the shift. "Despite all the problems, the band was willing and ready to perform the remaining shows in 2024, but, unfortunately, there was no willing singer.
"The band only discovered this at the very last minute, which led to the cancelation. Given that the album had just been released, the band was not prepared to be sidelined. As a result, a meeting was organized to discuss the possibility of a replacement. Mikko was the unanimous first choice."
That decision came after the band abruptly canceled all remaining 2024 live shows just before the release of their critically praised album A Mortal Binding. At the time, Craighan simply cited "live problems," while Stainthorpe later revealed that personal and creative tensions had boiled over, leading to a self-imposed hiatus.
"We've argued the toss like a married couple for years and years and years… artwork, lyrics. I normally pretty much get away with lyrics, but artwork particularly," Stainthorpe told Devolution magazine in September 2024. "We just got a bit loggerheaded like that. We said, 'Let's take a break before we have a massive bust-up.'"
Since then, however, Stainthorpe's absence has become more than a hiatus — it's become an ongoing mystery. Craighan revealed that communication between the band and Stainthorpe effectively ceased over a year ago. "As Aaron has, in truth, distanced himself from the band, we are only aware of his activities through social media and online interviews."
"The band contacted him in March 2025 to enquire about his intentions with My Dying Bride, but he has not responded. We first learned through social media that he was on a hiatus from MDB. Although he states online that he is still part of the band, he has not engaged with us since April 2024."
Despite the uncertain frontman situation, My Dying Bride have chosen to move forward. Kotamäki has already fronted the band at three major European shows: Rockmaraton in Hungary, Pit Of Metal in Slovakia, and Dark River Festival in Finland.
Though the band has made no official statement regarding Stainthorpe's long-term status, the onstage chemistry with Kotamäki — and the absence of Stainthorpe in recent rehearsal and studio photos — suggests a possible changing of the guard.
