As the Flower Withers

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As the Flower Withers was the first album by Yorkshire-based 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 trademark death growl as the sole vocal style.

Song information

Many of the tracks on this album have appeared in a different form on other MDB 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.

Track listing

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

CD Version Bonus Track

1. "Erotic Literature" – 5:14

Japanese Bonus Track

1. "The Forever People"-live at the Dynamo Festival, 1995 - 4:56

2003 Reissue Bonus Track

1. "Unreleased Bitterness" - 7:49

Personnel

• Aaron Stainthorpe - vocals
• Andrew Craighan - guitar
• Calvin Robertshaw - guitar
• Adrian Jackson - bass
• Rick Miah - drums

Additional personnel

• Martin Powell - session violin
• Wolfgang Bremmer - session horn
• Dave McKean - cover photography, illustration and design
• Noel Summerville - mastering (at Transfermation, London)