The Cranberries recall finishing ‘bittersweet’ album without Dolores O’Riordan one year after singer's death

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Lead singer of The Cranberries dead at 46

Dolores O'Riordan helped the band rocket to fame in the 1990s with hits like Zombie, Linger and Dreams.

One year after Dolores O’Riordan’s unexpected death on January 15, 2018, the remaining members of The Cranberries are set to release their eighth and final album, titled “In the End.”

“We knew this had to be one of the, if not the, best Cranberries album that we could possibly do,” wrote bandmate Noel Hogan in a release sent to Fox News Tuesday. “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 honor Dolores.”

The concept of the album was created in May 2017 while the band was on tour. By the winter of that year, Hogan and O’Riordan had written and demoed the eleven songs that would eventually appear on the album.

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“Dolores was so energized by the prospect of making this record and to getting back out on the road to play the songs live,” recalled Hogan.

With the support of O’Riordan’s family, Hogan, along with fellow bandmates Mike Hogan and Fergal Lawler, chose to move forward with the album as a means of honoring the singer. With the songs at various stages of completion, the group turned to Stephen Street, who had produced some of their previous albums. They all spent four weeks in a London studio building the sounds around O’Riordan’s vocals from the original demos.

“It was a bittersweet time,” recalled Hogan. “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.”

“In the End” is set to be released on April 26 of this year. But in the meantime, The Cranberries have made the single “All Over Now” available for streaming Tuesday in honor of O’Riordan’s passing.

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According to The Cranberries, the album aims to be a “strong goodbye” to their fans, as well as a fitting tribute to their beloved bandmate and friend.

O’Riordan’s mother Eileen O’Riordan said she was pleased with the final album honoring her daughter.

“I miss her awfully, especially today, as does the entire family,” wrote Eileen. “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.”

A British coroner announced in September 2018 O’Riordan died by drowning due to alcohol intoxication.

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Witnesses told a coroner’s inquest at Westminster’s Coroner’s Court the 46-year-old was found submerged “face up” in a bathtub at a London hotel. O’Riordan was wearing her pajamas at the time.

Toxicology tests showed that O’Riordan didn’t take drugs except for her usual prescription medication, but did drink excessive amounts of alcohol prior to her death, Sky News report. There were five empty miniature bottles of alcohol and a mini bottle of champagne in the hotel room. Her prescription medication for bipolar disorder was also found at the scene.

O’Riordan’s blood alcohol level was four times over the legal driving limit. There was no note left and no evidence of self-harm.

“There’s no evidence that this was anything other than an accident,” Coroner Shirley Radcliffe said.

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O'Riordan was The Cranberries' main lyricist and co-songwriter, and her powerful, sometimes wailing voice was key to the band's distinctive sound.

Formed in Limerick, Ireland, at the end of the 1980s, The Cranberries became international stars in the '90s with hits including "Zombie" and "Linger" that fused the alternative rock edge with Celtic-infused pop tunefulness.

The band split up in 2003 but reunited several years later. The Cranberries released the acoustic album "Something Else" in 2017 and had been due to tour Europe and North America. The tour was cut short because O'Riordan was suffering from back problems.

The court heard that the singer went through periods of excessive drinking. Dr. Seamus O Ceallaigh, O’Riordan’s psychiatrist in Ireland, said he believed the singer had “an episode of mania or elevated mood” the night of her death. Ceallaigh said he saw O’Riordan a week before her death and was in “good spirits.”

The singer was in London for a recording session and was expected to head back to New York. She was also planning a tour.

O'Riordan's bandmates also released a statement on The Cranberries' Instagram page shortly after the inquest, saying they continue "to struggle to come to terms with what happened."

"Our heartfelt condolences go out to Dolores' children and her family and our thoughts are with them today," the statement read. "Dolores will live on eternally in her music. To see how much positive impact she had on people's lives has been a source of great comfort to us. We'd like to say thank you to all of our fans for the outpouring of messages and their continued support during this very difficult time."

Fox News' Sasha Savitsky, Katherine Lam and The Associated Press contributed to this report.