Tell us what's happening in your life

Wow! Ben, what is going on with your beloved MDB here:

"It all started when My Dying Bride cancelled all their 2024 shows prior to the release of their latest record A Mortal Binding. Guitarist Andrew Craighan said at the time the band was having some "live problems," while vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe would eventually reveal the band was taking a hiatus before things got worse and they broke up.

Now we've got a good news/weird news situation on our hands. The good news is that My Dying Bride is back from hiatus and will hit the stage at the Rockmaraton Fesztivál in 2025. The weird news is that Stainthorpe is nowhere in sight and is being replaced by a "very special guest," Swallow The Sun vocalist Mikko Kotamäki. Surely Kotamäki is going to crush it, but the real question is where Stainthorpe is and if he's coming back at all?

"My Dying Bride are thrilled to announce their return to the stage in 2025!" wrote My Dying Bride on their Instagram. "After a small, 'hiatus', live shows are set to recommence, featuring a very special guest on vocals: MIKKO KOTAMÄKI from Swallow The Sun"

"We warmly welcome Mikko, who has graciously joined the MDB live setup, enabling us to bring both new and classic songs back to the stage. With this year's monumental album A Mortal Binding now well into establishing itself as a Doom Metal success, the band are at last ready to promote it live along with seasoned classics of course."

I was trying to ease myself through the drama of As I Lay Dying falling apart and their frontman Tim Lambesis involved in domestic violence

What in the actual f***ing h*ll is going on here?!?! Is this drama ever going to end?! A recent case of animal abuse was perpetrated by Tim Lambesis towards his dog. I'm usually one to separate art from the artist, but that's just crossing the line and reminding me more about how bad his past misdeeds are. And I have a pet cat now whom my family and I treat with love and respect. My patience is getting close to its limit, and I have doubts about the future of his band.

I published a second novel, but only one person has bought it.

Preparing to take a direct hit from Cyclone Alfred.

Hope you and your family will be safe, Daniel.

Batten down the hatches and stay safe Daniel!

Alfred is expected to hit somewhere between Brisbane & the Gold Coast as a category 2 cyclone (potentially bordering on a 3) in just under 24 hours. Both cities have been completely shut down for today & tomorrow & we've been warned to stay in our homes for the two-day period with the expectation of widespread flooding, power & internet outages & winds of up to 160 km/hr. It's all very exciting but I can't say that I'm looking forward to the flooding that will inevitably take place at the front of my house. I've got sandbags built up to give us a bit of protection but I don't think it'll be enough if I'm being honest.

The cyclone has apparently slowed in its trajectory towards land so it is now estimated to hit us at around 4 AM on Saturday morning. Conditions are already pretty terrible. We had no power last night while it's poured rain with howling winds for at least the last twelve hours. It's a miracle that water hasn't gotten in thus far but it's a good sign that maybe we'll get lucky & the angles will play to our advantage. One things for sure though, the sandbags & tarpolines we've put up to try to stop the water from entering won't do much if nature decides it's gonna cause us more problems than that over the weekend. With that in mind, we're preparing as if it's a forgone conclusion that we'll have water in our house at some stage.

Well, damn, the weather down under certainly seems metal as all fuck, best of luck to you & your folks, Daniel.

We got through the night without water breaching our sandbags which is a great relief while the cyclone has now been downgraded to a category 1 which means that the wind speeds are now slightly reduced. Last night was hectic though so my wife & I barricaded ourselves in the downstairs spare bedroom for the night for safety reasons. Things are pretty calm right now but the cyclone is hitting land for the first time right now so there's still a long way to go yet with enormous volumes of rain expected over the weekend.

So, we survived the cyclone but not without the threat of water infiltrating our home & the loss of power, internet & hot water to our home for four days. It's gonna keep raining for the rest of the week so the clean-up job will have to wait until the weekend. I'm just happy to have power back so that I can type this message as you don't know how reliant you are on technology until you no longer have it available to you.

I've started having absolutely nasty Ocular Migraines out of nowhere, which can be indicative of a brain tumor. I really don't think it's THAT serious, but the fact that it could be is fuckin' with my head a bit. 

Oh dear... Hope things won't go that serious. All the best, Zach.

Yeah, best wishes, Zach. Fingers crossed that everything is going to be fine. 

Meeting with my general practitioner tomorrow. He may tell I'm fine or tell me to schedule an MRI. 

Starting at the beginning, so with some stuff that has sat there for ten or eleven years, this could be quite interesting and may well lead to Ben having to add a large number of obscure bands and releases to the site!

Bring it on!

Met with Gen Prac. Nothing conclusive, so we get to navigate the American Healthcare system. I have to schedule a catscan/mri. I have been feeling quite a bit better the last few days and I'm really hoping it's something small like my glass being out of focus (got new ones) or something trivial like that.

Met with Gen Prac. Nothing conclusive, so we get to navigate the American Healthcare system. I have to schedule a catscan/mri. I have been feeling quite a bit better the last few days and I'm really hoping it's something small like my glass being out of focus (got new ones) or something trivial like that.

Sorry to hear this although I am sure you will be fine.

After 17 years (little over 2.5 married) me and my wife have agreed to go our separate ways.  Amicable thankfully, so no yelling and shouting.  Hard few months ahead but looking forwards to some solitude at the end of it.

I wish you and your wife all the best on each of your separate paths, Vinny.

Those sort of situations are never smooth sailing so I really hope things work out as pain-free as possible for both of you.

That's sad to hear, Vinny, but I understand from experience that sometimes it is better for both parties to go their separate ways. I hope things work out well in both of your futures. 

Thanks all.