In more than three decades of touring the world and playing at the largest music festivals all over the globe, doom metal giants MY DYING BRIDE have never been to Lithuania. This historical mistake will be rectified next year with the Brits performing the best of their songs at KILKIM ŽAIBU festival near Lake Lėnas in Ukmergė district.
If you asked to pick one band, which represents the entire genre of doom, MY DYING BRIDE would be the name that comes to mind first to many heavy music fans. And it's no surprise, as their music features nearly everything you get with doom: atmospheric elements, slow, massive guitar riffs, poetic texts, and gloomy violin melodies. This band is a sort of a symbol of doom metal and very important to us ideologically, so we’re really proud that they've chosen KILKIM ŽAIBU stage for their first visit to Lithuania. This is hands down one of the major names in this year’s festival lineup.
The band drew international attention – including Peaceville, one of the best British metal record labels – even before their first album ‘As the Flower Withers’, released in 1992. At the end of the previous century, MY DYING BRIDE, together with two other doom and gothic metal giants – Anathema and Paradise Lost – were referred to as the Peaceville Three.
With this and later another, perhaps the world’s largest metal record company – Nuclear Blast, the Brits released a total of 14 albums, the latest of which – ‘The Ghost of Orion’ – saw the light of day in 2020. All of the albums received praise and highest scores from music critics too.
Throughout these years, the band has maintained a relatively stable lineup with Aaron Stainthorpe (vocal) and Andrew Craighan (guitar) as the main songwriters. A stable lineup also ensured consistency in the band’s musical development – each of their albums maintains their signature elements, making the masters of doom easy to recognize. The combination of the clean, sometimes reciting vocals, and a fierce growl sends shivers down your spine, while the keys and violin brings out a special flavour in the traditional metal guitars and drums.
Throughout more than 30 years of their existence, MY DYING BRIDE undoubtedly have been among the most influential shapers of modern doom metal, with enormous impact on the metal scene in general. So no wonder they are one of the most coveted bands in metal festivals – the influence on the genre of metal and artistic consistency is their quality brand.
KILKIM ŽAIBU will welcome everyone at the Manor of the President Antanas Smetona on 21-23 June 2024.