The career timeline of The Cranberries came to a tragic halt on January 15th last year when the band’s lead singer, Dolores O’Riordan, died in London at the age of 46. The three surviving members of the famous alt-rock band, who broke into the American mainstream music scene back in the 1990s with big hits including “Zombie”, “Linger”, and “Dreams”, now found themselves without their longtime friend and trademark voice. The band marked the one-year anniversary of O’Riordan’s death on Tuesday by announcing their final album, which includes their beloved singer on vocals. The album will be titled In The End, and is scheduled to arrive on April 26th via BMG.
The instrumental portions of the album were recorded following O’Riordan’s death in April and May of last year at Kore Studios in London. The three surviving members, Mike Hogan, Noel Hogan, and Fergal Lawler, enlisted Stephen Street, who had worked with the band on their first two albums, to help them complete the project. The initial writing sessions for the material that would end up on the new album began back in the fall of 2017 when the band was rehearsing for their then-scheduled North American tour, which would go on to be canceled due to O’Riordan’s health.
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The lead single from In The End was also shared with the album’s announcement on Tuesday. It is almost impossible not to get goosebumps while listening to O’Riordan’s voice on the posthumous recording, especially with the opening lyrics that state, “Do you remember, remember the night/At a hotel in London, they started to fight.” Fans can tune into the audio-only video below to listen to the single.
The Cranberries – “All Over Now” – Official Audio
[Video: Warner Music Group]
The three remaining members of the band shared a statement on the whirlwind emotional journey they’ve all been on over the last twelve months:
After Dolores’ devastating and unexpected passing in January 2018, we took some time out and put all plans on hold. As time passed, we began to think about how we might best honour our close friend and bandmate. This was a very painful process. We remembered how Dolores had been so energised by the prospect of making this record and getting back out on the road to play the songs live, and realised that the most meaningful thing to do was to finish the album we had started with her. We felt that this is what she would want. We spoke with Dolores’ family and they agreed.
Eileen O’Riordan, Dolores O’Riordan’s mother, also shared a statement on the forthcoming album, saying, “I can’t think of a more fitting way to commemorate the first anniversary of Dolores’ passing and to celebrate her life than to announce to the world the release of her final album with the band.”
O’Riordan had completed recording her vocal parts in the demo stage of the album process, which will be used on the eleven songs featured on the album.
“It was a very emotional process for us,” the band’s honest and emotional statement continued.
There were many difficult moments during the recording sessions, particularly the first and last days. After the first day we all seemed to be thinking the same thing although we didn’t speak about it; if we didn’t try to put our emotions to one side and focus on the work then we were going to do an injustice to Dolores. Knowing that we would never get to play these songs live made it even more difficult. There was also an overwhelming sense of finality knowing that this was the last time that we would be in the same studio together working on a Cranberries album. The last track we recorded in the studio was ‘In the End’ and it was then that it really sunk in; this is it, this is the end.
Fans can click here to pre-order End The End ahead of its arrival on April 26th.
[H/T Stereogum]