In an interview with the Brutally Delicious podcast, Aaron Stainthorpe of MY DYING BRIDE spoke about his new band HIGH PARASITE, which released its debut album, “Forever We Burn“, last September via Candlelight/Spinefarm. Produced by Gregor Mackintosh of PARADISE LOST, the LP — with Stainthorpe and bassist/vocalist Danny “Tombs” Lambert at the helm — blends metal, gothic rock, and dark synth-pop into a powerful and emotionally raw sound.

Asked how difficult it was emotionally for him to step away from MY DYING BRIDE and do something new, Aaron said: “Well, it didn’t happen like that. It sort of evolved over months, I guess. So I didn’t wake up and suddenly go, ‘Right, I’m doing this now.’ It just sort of evolved, and when something evolves at a slower pace, you’ve got time to get used to it. It’s not a big shock and you start to become that other person.

“I said it before I’ll say it again: I feel 10 years younger,” Aaron continued. “And so it must be good for my health. And weirdly — I don’t know how this works — I’m eating better and I’m drinking less and I’m exercising more. So whatever I’ve decided to become or do is really beneficial on so many different levels.”

Asked if MY DYING BRIDE fans are taking the journey with him and his new band or if he is reaching an entirely new audience, Aaron said: “Well, a bit of both. We always see MY DYING BRIDE shirts at the gigs, and people come over and I’m signing MY BYING BRIDE merch all the time. That will never stop, which is great. And a lot of them have come along for the ride. It won’t be everybody’s cup of tea, and that’s fine. No one band is everyone’s cup of tea. Some of them, they absolutely love it and they’ve bought everything, which is absolutely fantastic. So, yeah, the MDB fans are coming along for the ride and for the most part loving it.”

Asked if it was difficult for him to switch gears and do something like this apart from what has pretty much been his legacy, Aaron said: “Yeah, I didn’t really think about it, to be honest. I mean, MY DYING BRIDE did death metal and doom. Some of the death metal stuff was pretty rapid. It wasn’t all doom. So, we knew how to nod our heads pretty rapidly back in the old days. And this is a bit more of that. The songs are obviously much, much shorter. They’re super catchy. But it’s weird having someone else singing on stage, because Tombs does some vocals and I do the vocals. And I’m thinking to myself, ‘Well, when he’s singing, what am I supposed to do?’ I’m not gonna dance. I can’t dance, I’m not gonna embarrass myself like that. But I’m not entirely sure what I’m supposed to do. My stage craft is still developing. I just try and walk around a bit. I bought a cordless microphone so I could get a bit more movement on stage without tripping everybody. So, it is weird when I’m not the only singer, because, of course, in MDB I was the only one doing the singing. So, that’s a bit weird. But the music’s just cool music. It’s great to sing and it’s great to move to.

“I said I feel 10 years younger because the energy that the music brings and the energy that the younger members of HIGH PARASITE give off, it just makes me feel great,” Aaron added. “So on stage, I’m actually having fun. With MY DYING BRIDE, I never had — I wouldn’t call it ‘fun’ on stage, because the songs are really emotional and they’re super heavy. It was draining mentally for me with MY DYING BRIDE. With HIGH PARASITE, for the first time ever, I look forward to getting on stage, and I love being on stage with HIGH PARASITE. And I’ve never felt that.

“At this age in my life, you sort of think, well, you’ve done this thing for a long, long time, and that’s all you’re gonna do… And then suddenly something else comes along, and it flips the coin completely. And as I say, I feel 10 years younger, I’m full of energy and I can’t wait for the next gig.”

Regarding what it has been like to have successfully reinvented himself at this stage of his life, Aaron said: “Well, again, because I’ve never reinvented myself before, it’s all very, very new. It’s all super new to me. I don’t what I’m doing half the times, but it just feels good. I’ve got a new lease of energy, and I’m doing things I’ve not done before. Which is good at this stage of my life, to be doing brand new things. It’s great. And I’ve started reading my poetry at gigs as well now.

“In January this year, I did a show in a church in Belgium with DARKHER and SYLVAINE. It was brilliant,” he revealed. “And I’m working on a few more of these sort of events. Something’s coming up in October, I believe, where I’ll be performing again with DARKHER and the DEAD SPACE CHAMBER MUSIC group, doing some poetry and some versions of MY DYING BRIDE songs that people would’ve heard before. So, again, things I’ve never done before. And I’m really enjoying it.”

Asked if he feels like there is “a whole new creative spark going on”, Aaron said: “Yeah, definitely. I still like writing the really heavy lyrics because that’s really where my heart is — the deep, meaningful stuff. And while at the moment that’s not lyrics for MY DYING BRIDE, it’s poems which I’m able to perform live. So I’m still venting my emotions, but instead of singing them with MY DYING BRIDE, I’m speaking them to people who are bewildered sometimes, but for the most part, enjoying it. Because a lot of my poetry is very much like MY DYING BRIDE lyrics. It comes from the same heart, same soul. So, if you like MY DYING BRIDE lyrics, you’re pretty much gonna like the poetry.”