As the Flower Withers | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 22 May 1992 | |||
Recorded | December 1991 – January 1992 | |||
Studio | Academy Studios | |||
Genre | Death-doom | |||
Length | 49:26 | |||
Label | Peaceville | |||
Producer | Hammy, My Dying Bride, Keith Appleton (uncredited) | |||
My Dying Bride chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 7/10 [2] |
As the Flower Withers is the debut studio album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride. The artwork was designed by Dave McKean. This is the only full-length My Dying Bride album on which lead vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe utilizes his death growl as the sole vocal style.
Many of the tracks on this album have appeared in a different form on other My Dying Bride releases. "Sear Me" was the first in a trilogy of songs to bear the title, followed by the keyboard- and violin-only "Sear Me MCMXCIII" in 1993 and "Sear Me III" in 1999, which is more similar in style to the original, being a full band composition. "The Bitterness and the Bereavement" evolved from an earlier demo, which was released independently as "Unreleased Bitterness" in 1993. This version of the song also appears on the digipak re-release of As the Flower Withers, and on the rarities/best-of compilation Meisterwerk 1 . "Vast Choirs" is a reworked version of the version that appears on the band's first recording, Towards the Sinister . This version is widely available on both Meisterwerk 2 and the 2004 reissue of Trinity . "The Return of the Beautiful" was re-recorded for 2001's The Dreadful Hours , with its title being slightly changed to "The Return to the Beautiful". Live versions of "The Forever People" can be found on the limited edition versions of The Angel and the Dark River and For Darkest Eyes . This song is often played as the last song of the set in many of the band's live shows.
All music is composed by My Dying Bride, all lyrics by Aaron Stainthorpe
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Silent Dance" | 2:13 |
2. | "Sear Me" | 9:06 |
3. | "The Forever People" | 4:10 |
4. | "The Bitterness and the Bereavement" | 7:37 |
5. | "Vast Choirs" | 8:16 |
6. | "The Return of the Beautiful"
| 12:49
|
Total length: | 44:12 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
7. | "Erotic Literature" | 5:14 |
Total length: | 49:26 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
8. | "Unreleased Bitterness" | 7:44 |
Total length: | 57:08 |
Additional personnel
My Dying Bride are an English doom metal band formed in Bradford. Since their inception in 1990, they have released 15 studio albums, five EPs, one demo, one box set, four compilation albums, one live album, and one live CD/DVD release.
The Dreadful Hours is the seventh studio album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride, released on 13 November 2001. It contains a remake of "The Return of the Beautiful" from the band's debut album, As the Flower Withers. The Dreadful Hours was issued in a digipak with a full colour booklet.
The Light at the End of the World is the sixth studio album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride, released in 1999. After the more experimental 34.788%...Complete, this album marks a return to the more traditional My Dying Bride doom sound and style of lyrics. It was also the first My Dying Bride release since 1994's The Sexuality of Bereavement to feature growling vocals, although Aaron Stainthorpe has noticeably changed his style and broadened his range. All guitar parts on the album were recorded by Andrew Craighan, following the earlier departure of Calvin Robertshaw. Following Robertshaw's departure, only Craighan and Stainthorpe remained as founding members of the band. Hamish Glencross was soon after recruited as permanent guitarist. The keyboard parts were played by Jonny Maudling of Bal-Sagoth. It is also the first My Dying Bride album to feature the drumming of Shaun Steels, who would remain with the band until 2006.
Turn Loose the Swans is the second studio album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride, released in 1993.
The Angel and the Dark River is the third studio album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride. The 1996 re-release contains one bonus track "The Sexuality of Bereavement" and a bonus CD titled Live at the Dynamo. The Live CD was recorded during their appearance at the Dynamo Festival in 1995.
Like Gods of the Sun is the fourth studio album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride released in 1996, and the last album by the band to feature Rick Miah, who left the band in 1997, on drums and Martin Powell on keyboards and violins.
34.788%...Complete is the fifth studio album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride, released on 6 October 1998. The track "Under Your Wings and into Your Arms" appears on both The Voice of the Wretched CD and the Sinamorata DVD, and the opening track, "The Whore, the Cook and the Mother" appeared on their latest live DVD, An Ode to Woe.
Meisterwerk 2 is the fourth compilation album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride, which features both album tracks and rare recordings. Its companion piece - Meisterwerk 1 - was released the previous year. It is the third of five My Dying Bride compilation albums, following 1995's "Trinity" and "Meisterwerk 1", preceding "Anti-Diluvian Chronicles" in 2005 and "Meisterwerk 3" in 2016.
Meisterwerk 1 is the third compilation album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride, which features both album tracks and rare recordings. Its companion piece - Meisterwerk 2 - was released the following year. It is the second of four My Dying Bride compilation albums, following 1995's Trinity and followed by Meisterwerk 2 later the same year and "Anti-Diluvian Chronicles" in 2005.
Anti-Diluvian Chronicles is the fifth compilation album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride, which features both album tracks and new remixes. It is the fourth My Dying Bride compilation album, following 1995's Trinity and 2000's Meisterwerk 1 and Meisterwerk 2.
Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium is the first EP by English doom metal band My Dying Bride. "Symphonaire" was made only a few months after signing to the Peaceville Records label. The song was also released as a vinyl record and an audio tape. The artwork was designed and created by Dave McKean, who also designed some of the band's other sleeves including "As the Flower Withers".
The Thrash of Naked Limbs is the second EP by English doom metal band My Dying Bride. This EP was also released as a vinyl record. By this time, the band was a 6-piece, having added session violinist and keyboardist Martin Powell as an official band member.
"Unreleased Bitterness" is a song by English doom metal band My Dying Bride. The track contained in this release is an early rehearsal recording of the song "The Bitterness and the Bereavement", which appeared on As the Flower Withers.
"The Sexuality of Bereavement" is a song by English doom metal band My Dying Bride. The single was only available to the Peaceville Collectors Club Series members. The Collectors Club was eventually disbanded because it had too few members. After this point, the band discontinued production of EPs, up until 2006.
Trinity is the second compilation album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride. The album combines tracks from previously released EPs. This compilation CD also has two different versions of the front cover. The American release version has a different cover to the version released in the rest of the world. In 2004 the CD was re-released and given an extra 2 tracks taken from the band's first demo, "Towards the Sinister".
"Deeper Down" is a song by English doom metal band My Dying Bride, released on 18 September 2006. It is an edited version of the song which appears on the album A Line of Deathless Kings.
For Lies I Sire is the tenth studio album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride, released on 23 March 2009 via Peaceville Records and 21 April 2009 in the United States. It is the first album without keyboardist Sarah Stanton since she joined My Dying Bride in 2004 for their Songs of Darkness, Words of Light album. Musically, it is their first album since 1996's Like Gods of the Sun to feature a violin, performed by new band member Katie Stone. The album was recorded during September 2008 in Manchester's Futureworks Studio.
Bring Me Victory is the fourth EP by English doom metal band My Dying Bride. "Bring Me Victory" is a song from My Dying Bride's previous album, For Lies I Sire; a video was made for the song and released on this EP. "Scarborough Fair", an English traditional song, has two additional verses incorporated into it written by Aaron Stainthorpe. "Failure" is a cover of a song written by Swans. The original version had long been a highly respected song among the members of the band. "Vast Choirs" is a live version of a song originally released on My Dying Bride's first album, As The Flower Withers, and since included on several compilation releases.
The Manuscript is the sixth EP by English doom metal band My Dying Bride, released on 13 May 2013 on CD and vinyl. It contains four tracks, three of which were recorded at the same time as the band's previous album, A Map of All Our Failures.
The Ghost of Orion is the thirteenth studio album by English doom metal band My Dying Bride. It was released on 6 March 2020 through Nuclear Blast.