Irish rock band, The Cranberries have announced that their final album, ‘In the End’, will be released, on the 26th of April 2019. Precisely one year to the day (January 20) after the death of, Cranberries frontwomen, Dolores O’Riordan, the band shared the first single, ‘All Over Now’, from their forthcoming final album.
The release of the single coincides with the first anniversary of the sudden death of their lead singer, Dolores O’Riordan, who died on January 15 last year, aged 46. The band was already working on the record before O’Riordan passed away, and they say there was enough material to finish the work.
Having already written and demoed eleven songs prior to O’Riordan’s death, guitarist and co-founder of The Cranberries, Noel Hogan said: “Dolores was so energised by the prospect of making this record and [to be] getting back out on the road to play the songs live. We knew this had to be one of the, if not the, best Cranberries album that we could possibly do.
Hogan continued, “The worry was that we would destroy the legacy of the band by making an album that wasn’t up to standard. Once we had gone through all the demos that Dolores and I had worked on and decided that we had such a strong album, we knew it would be the right thing and the best way that we could honour Dolores.”
Working once again with producer Stephen Street, who has worked on four of the Cranberries previous albums, the band went back to the studio to work on songs, which were all in various stages of completion. Building the music around O’Riordan’s vocals, Hogan said it was a difficult time for the band.
“It was a bitter sweet time. The joy of recording new tracks is always exciting and one of the best parts of being in a band. At the end of every day when we’d laid down our parts, there was a sense of sadness knowing that Dolores wouldn’t be in that evening to work on that day’s track,” says Hogan, speaking about the completion of their final album.
Speaking about the release to ITV, Hogan confirmed that this will be the final album for The Cranberries, saying that it was “unthinkable” for them to carry on without O’Riordan. He also said the release of the album will give the band the “closure” they need following her sudden passing.
Hogan said: “I think we’re just excited for it to be out there and for people to hear it because we’ve lived with it for so long under secrecy. People will be really really impressed with the vocals, especially the lyrics, they’re really from Dolores’ heart.
“She left such a massive collection of songs, such huge iconic songs…For anybody to leave even one is a great thing but to have the collection you know, and it’s great to see that people have focused on her music after her death.”
The Cranberries reportedly sought the blessing of O’Riordan’s family before moving ahead with the project. After the release of the single, ‘All Over Now’ and the announcement of their final album O’Riordan’s mother released a statement conveying her gratitude towards the band. In the statement O’Riordan’s mother, Eileen, spoke about her support of the band in their completion of the album.
Eileen began the statement, “I miss her awfully, specially today, as does the entire family. That said, I can’t think of a more fitting way to commemorate the first anniversary of her passing and to celebrate her life than to announce to the world the release of her final album with the band. She was very excited about this new album and was really looking forward to its release. I have no doubt that she is happy now and would be delighted with today’s announcement.”
