One set of challenging circumstances in the creation of an album is unfortunate - to have two is downright cursed! And few bands feel as cursed as My Dying Bride do while listening to their latest (fifteenth!) full-length, an awkward yet not entirely unworthy collection of songs that, again, show off a stripped-down version of the band. Announcing a hiatus from live performances just two days after the release of A Mortal Binding, the band blamed internal tensions and fractures for their burnout, needing time off. Which isn't surprising when listening to A Mortal Binding, for this does sound like the work of a burnt-out band. One doesn't wish to be unkind to Aaron Stainthorpe and co based on their recent troubles but parts of this are very much My Dying Bride by numbers if not an actual pastiche of them...! The first song on the album is (ridiculously) named Her Dominion (Her Throat Labours at the Work of Fellate) and it's a slow doom stomper that struggles to make much of an impact even with some decent riffs from Andrew Craighan and new man Neil Blanchett. Perhaps in sympathy with the dame of the title, Aaron's harsh vocals are strained snarls that sound at best as though he's recovering from flu. Yet he struggles on manfully and the instrumental sections of the song are more than solid, particularly ever-underrated bassist Lena Abé and returning For Lies I Sire drummer Dan Mullins (also of the hopefully soon-to-be-resurrected An Axis of Perdition!).

Thereafter, things improve immediately with Thornwick Hymn (A Choir of Sorry Girls) and The 2nd of Three Bells (Even Time Wishes You Were Here), not least because Stainthorpe returns to his clean singing, sounding majestically miserable. The band's classic formula of doom riffs backed by mournful violin is as effective as ever here, the songs stretching out luxuriously and keeping your attention thanks to the carefully-applied melodies. Perhaps the squeaky-clean production doesn't especially help the atmosphere but at least it's not as distracting as The Ghost of Orion's woeful mix, and the most objectionable thing here is that it isn't called The Second of Three Bells! Listening again to Orion, it is noticeable that the highs are better than this album's peaks, the better songs here not having quite the songwriting craft of before. The double-tracking vocal approach is thankfully gone but the likes of Unthroned Creed (Filled with Beautiful Blood) don't resonate as nearly as much as before.

Indeed, the lone standout in the latter half of the album is A Starving Heart (Beyond the Rim of Sky), which feels like one of the few pieces present to be written and performed with real emotion, having much better harsh vocals from Aaron as well as being much catchier and more memorable than the following Crushed Embers (A Voice Full of Tears). This meanders a little too much, relying on the violin to distract you from a plodding riff, and ends the album weakly. Other people seem to have enjoyed the eleven-minute The Apocalyptist (He Did Not Weep for Me) much more, a relatively aggressive piece closer to doom-death with more solid harsh vocal work and infectious riffing sprinkled through. Unfortunately it can't keep its length interesting, feeling like a faint echo of previous My Dying Bride even with some pleasant lead guitar and dragging long before its final moments. You could say the same for much of the album, which suffers from comparison with recent albums from the band, let alone their strongest points in the past. Even The Ghost of Orion felt like a flawed yet rewarding album, giving away a little more of itself with each listen; in comparison, A Mortal Binding struggles to stay interesting at all. There's no imagination, no attempt to make something artful or unpredictable other than the oddly annoying song title (subtitle) decision - hell, the album artwork looks plain compared to the past couple of albums and their interesting, evocative images. The saddest part of a My Dying Bride experience should not be giving it a poor score!