Published: July 10, 2026
Peaceville will release Anthology Of Sombre Reflections on August 21, 2026, collecting the early works of My Dying Bride across an 8-LP boxset with half-speed mastered albums, a 48-page book, posters and prints
My Dying Bride will revisit their early catalog with Anthology Of Sombre Reflections, a deluxe 8-LP boxset scheduled for release on August 21, 2026 through Peaceville.
The collection focuses on the band’s early and mid-1990s period, moving from the formative death/doom material of the Towards The Sinister demo and the God Is Alone 7-inch tracks through As The Flower Withers, Turn Loose The Swans, The Angel And The Dark River and Like Gods Of The Sun.
The boxset also includes three early EPs and presents each record on 180gm heavyweight black vinyl. The four studio albums in the set have been newly half-speed mastered at Air Studios.
Anthology Of Sombre Reflections is designed as a collector-focused archive of My Dying Bride’s early work. The collection includes demos, 7-inch material, EPs and studio albums from the band’s formative decade.
The set also includes a 48-page book with photographs and artwork, plus new interviews with Andrew Craighan and Aaron Stainthorpe conducted in 2025. Those interviews explore influences, creative processes and reflections on the band’s 1990s output.
The boxset also contains two large posters: one depicting the Turn Loose The Swans CD artwork image and another reproducing the original poster included with As The Flower Withers. A selection of photo prints from the same era is also included.
COLLECTOR DETAILS
Format: Deluxe 8-LP boxset
Label: Peaceville
Release date: August 21, 2026
Vinyl: 180gm heavyweight black vinyl
Mastering: Four studio albums newly half-speed mastered at Air Studios
Book: 48 pages with photographs, artwork and new interviews
Interviews: Andrew Craighan and Aaron Stainthorpe, conducted in 2025
Extras: Two large posters and photo prints
DISC 1 — THE GRIEF OF AGE
Side A
1. Symphonaire Infernus Et Spera Empyrium — 1990 demo — 08:53
2. Vast Choirs — 1990 demo — 07:35
3. The Grief Of Age — 1990 demo — 04:08
4. Catching Feathers — 1990 demo — 03:42
Side B
5. God Is Alone — 1991 7-inch version — 04:57
6. De Sade Soliloquy — 1991 7-inch version — 04:39
7. Unreleased Bitterness — 07:44
8. The Sexuality Of Bereavement — 08:04
DISC 2 — SYMPHONAIRE INFERNUS ET SPERA EMPYRIUM
Side A
1. Symphonaire Infernus Et Spera Empyrium — 11:36
Side B
2. God Is Alone — 04:48
3. De Sade Soliloquay — 03:41
DISC 3 — AS THE FLOWER WITHERS HALF-SPEED
Side A
1. Silent Dance — 02:14
2. Sear Me — 09:06
3. The Forever People — 04:09
4. The Bitterness And The Bereavement — 07:37
Side B
5. Vast Choirs — 08:16
6. The Return Of The Beautiful — 12:50
7. Erotic Literature — 05:14
DISC 4 — THE THRASH OF NAKED LIMBS EP
Side A
1. The Thrash Of Naked Limbs — 06:10
Side B
2. Le Cerf Malade — 06:28
3. Gather Me Up Forever — 05:17
DISC 5 — TURN LOOSE THE SWANS HALF-SPEED
Side A
1. Sear Me MCMXCIII — 07:25
2. Your River — 09:18
3. The Songless Bird — 06:57
4. The Snow In My Hand — 07:05
Side B
5. The Crown Of Sympathy — 12:13
6. Turn Loose The Swans — 10:06
7. Black God — 04:50
DISC 6 — I AM THE BLOODY EARTH EP
Side A
1. I Am The Bloody Earth — 06:35
2. Transcending Into The Exquisite — 08:39
Side B
3. The Crown Of Sympathy — remix — 11:09
DISC 7 — THE ANGEL AND THE DARK RIVER HALF-SPEED
Side A
1. The Cry Of Mankind — 12:13
2. From Darkest Skies — 07:47
3. A Sea To Suffer In — 06:11
Side B
4. Black Voyage — 09:47
5. Two Winters Only — 09:01
6. Your Shameful Heaven — 06:59
DISC 8 — LIKE GODS OF THE SUN HALF-SPEED
Side A
1. Like Gods Of The Sun — 05:40
2. The Dark Caress — 05:59
3. Grace Unhearing — 07:19
4. A Kiss To Remember — 07:32
Side B
5. All Swept Away — 04:17
6. For You — 06:37
7. It Will Come — 04:28
8. Here In The Throat — 06:21
9. For My Fallen Angel — 05:55
My Dying Bride emerged from the United Kingdom underground and became one of the defining names in death/doom metal. The band’s early catalog helped shape the sound and identity of British doom in the 1990s, combining death metal weight, gothic atmosphere, violin, slow-moving heaviness and a poetic lyrical approach.
As part of the Peaceville Three alongside Paradise Lost and Anathema, My Dying Bride became central to the development of British doom metal during that era.
The band’s history now spans more than 35 years, with tours alongside acts such as Iron Maiden and Dio, and a studio catalog that includes fourteen full-length albums to date.
Rockum’s archive also includes Aaron Stainthorpe Interview on Macabre Cabaret, Life and the Future of My Dying Bride, a conversation conducted by Gino Alache that documents another chapter of the band’s history through the voice of its longtime vocalist.
For collectors, the strongest archival element of Anthology Of Sombre Reflections is not only the vinyl presentation but the combination of early recordings, half-speed mastered studio albums and contextual material from the people who created the music.
The inclusion of new 2025 interviews with Andrew Craighan and Aaron Stainthorpe, along with posters and era-specific photo prints, turns the set into more than a straight reissue. It functions as a physical archive of My Dying Bride’s early and mid-1990s period.
Through Anthology Of Sombre Reflections, Peaceville gathers the formative era of My Dying Bride into a collector-focused 8-LP archive. The boxset preserves the band’s early death/doom evolution from demos and EPs to the studio albums that helped define their 1990s identity, while the half-speed mastering, book, interviews, posters and prints place the release firmly within the archival and collector culture surrounding the Peaceville catalog.
Written by Gino Alache – Music Journalist
Watch the trailer for Anthology Of Sombre Reflections below.
