My Dying Bride founding guitarist Andrew Craighan has revealed that "personal problems" and the general pressure of everyday life have thrown the band's touring future into doubt.
Fans are keen for the English death-doom heroes to tour in support of their latest album A Mortal Binding, released earlier this year. A number of dates were announced for 2024 but all have since been pulled.
Asked when fans can expect an update on the touring troubles, Craighan tells Headbangers News: "I'm sorry. I really, really don't have a real answer for that. To try and give you some understanding, My Dying Bride is not a full-time band.
"We all have very much normal jobs and sadly that drags on our time, as you can imagine. And, obviously, it means we have to ask permission to leave work and all those kind of things. So that's one difficulty. And also the distance, because we would need more than one gig for the promoters to make it make sense and all those kinds of things.
"I mean, we have some problems to sort out. Some people have some personal problems that we need to sort of overcome. It's not insurmountable. I know people are concerned because obviously people, they care for the band in ways that we didn't expect."
Craighan's honest response may have some fans worrying about the group's future, but the guitarist tried to allay those fears.
He adds: "I reckon we'll be okay. Everything's a little bit messy right now. We have some things that we have to organize and iron out, let's say, but it's not insurmountable.
"But on the plus side on this, if there is a light at the end of this well, we do think about it. We do try, and our agent does listen to various promoters and tries to get things going.
"But like everybody else, we're at the mercy of how it all works and how our professional jobs keep us sort of, not necessarily held back, but it's all got to align."
My Dying Bride formed in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in 1990 and are one of the 'Peaceville three' that shaped the death-doom genre, alongside Paradise Lost and Anathema.