My Dying Bride are heading into a new chapter in 2025, one marked by both uncertainty and unexpected renewal. In a recent appearance on the Everblack podcast, guitarist Andrew Craighan confirmed that the band will be joined onstage next year by Mikko Kotamäki of Swallow the Sun, stepping in on vocals following an apparent dispute with longtime frontman Aaron Stainthorpe.
The choice, Craighan explained, was surprisingly straightforward. "Basically, it was fairly easy. All we did is ask — via Facebook, of all things," he said. "We just told him that we need a vocalist for these upcoming shows. We didn't give him any ins and outs of what was taking place. [We just asked], 'Are you available?' And he just said, 'Yeah, I'm in. I'll do it. Whatever you want, I'll do it.'"
Kotamäki's transition into the role proved seamless, according to Craighan. After flying to England for rehearsals, the Finnish vocalist already knew the material, breathing his own character into the songs while maintaining their essence.
"He doesn't sing quite like Aaron does or would, but what he's done is done absolute honesty to the albums, but with his nuances… not losing anything," Craighan noted. For a band whose identity has long been entwined with Stainthorpe's mournful delivery, Kotamäki's ability to honor the legacy while introducing his own subtle textures could open an intriguing dimension for the upcoming live performances.
Looking beyond the lineup shift, Craighan also teased the future of My Dying Bride in terms of new music. Their most recent record, A Mortal Binding, arrived in April 2024 via Nuclear Blast, but the guitarist made clear that writing never stops.
"We were in a little mini studio recently in Huddersfield… just toying with ideas of where we wanna go next. I mean, it'll still be us, of course; we're not gonna be breaking out into any strange hip-hop or anything like that." That said, the new material may revisit the rawer, more aggressive side of their early work, with Craighan hinting at the return of death metal elements from their debut or even another sprawling epic in the vein of "The Barghest O' Whitby".
"We're thinking of maybe even going back to… bringing back some of the early death metal stuff off the first album. Maybe do another 'Barghest' where we deliberately write a song so you can't have a B-side because it's 30 minutes long."
Though nothing is finished, Craighan admitted he has "plenty of ideas," including riffs that didn't make the cut for A Mortal Binding. For now, the seeds are just being planted, but the willingness to experiment with longer forms and harsher textures suggests a band not resting on its legacy.
Between the upcoming shows with Kotamäki and the first sparks of a possible follow-up, My Dying Bride appear to be moving forward with resilience, a mixture of reverence for their past and curiosity about where doom metal can still take them.
