COF

Cradle Of Filth "The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh"
Cacophonous , 1994
Lord Pale :
Vampiric , Gothic , blackmetal from England . 13 tracks , 4 of which are atmospheric musicals of various sorts and one hidden track 'Imperium Tenebrarum' which is a spoken piece . Guitar riffs are mid paced and heavy feeling although not sounding . Talent is what really separates Filth from the others , the literate genius of the lyrics , the use of excellent keyboard passages and their obsession both lyrically and visually with Gothic and vampiric themes . Their vocalist Dani has a high pitched snat which can raise to a banshee like wail or drop to a death like growl throughout the course of the album . Female vocals appear occasionally in the form of spoken passages of dark poetry or simple statements which are used as breaks . This is an excellent album full of variation with a unique sound and cleverly arranged songs that never get dull . The album plays equally well all the way through or listening to individual tracks . Cradle Of Filth are one of the best blackmetal bands in the scene and prove so with this exceptional debut album .
Note - If you are backtracking , this album has a darker feel than newer releases and has a lower rawer production which some newer fans may dislike .
Favourite Tracks - Of Mist And Midnight Skies ; The Forest Whispers My Name ; Summer Dying Fast
Mark - 9/10

Cradle Of Filth "Vempire"
Cacophonous , 1996
Lord Pale :
Cradle Of Filth's second release is a long 6 track EP , lasting just over 36 minutes . The production and packaging is now of a higher standard as is the songs . Vempire contains 1 musical , and a rerecording of 'The Forest Whispers My Name' from The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh . The music is now a little faster and better written , with a 3 piece female choir involved . The female vocals now sometimes wail along to the music in the background and sing some parts , adding a further dimension to Cradles supremely dark atmosphere . Track 3 'Queen Of Winter , Throned' is an 11 minute epic piece of blackmetal that has more variation than some bands manage to fit into an album and is one of my all time favourite songs . The keyboards are still Gothic and brilliantly performed , and the vocals now vary more often between Dani's deeper voice , his snat , and his banshee wails . Once again there are now bad songs on this disc at all although the musical 'She Mourns A Lengthening Shadow' is a little bit drawn out . There are more breaks in the songs and the guitar sound is much heavier this time around . This is Cradle's best release to date , if you like The Principle of Evil Made Flesh' then you'll love this disc .
Favourite Tracks - Queen Of Winter , Throned ; The Forest Whispers My Name ; The Rape And Ruin Of Angels
Mark - 10/10

Cradle Of Filth "Dusk And Her Embrace"
Music For Nations , 1996
Lord Pale :
Cradle Of Filth's third release of Gothic vampire obsessive blackmetal sees a few changes . Firstly guitarist Jared is gone replaced by Gian , secondly the album is a lot faster over all and utilises Dani's banshee shriek as the primary form of vocal delivery . The lyrics are still top notch and still focus on vampires and the occult . The keyboards are a lot more orchestral this time around and the progression hinted at on Vempire has again moved forward . This album has10 tracks 2 of which are musicals 'Humana Inspired To Nightmare' and 'The Graveyard By Moonlight' as well as a rerecording of 'Nocturnal Supremacy' from Vempire . Cradle just continue to develop talent wise and the songs prove it , all are well written and excellently executed . The guitar work is faster and less heavy , but more melodic to make up for it . The keyboards continue to amaze with more variation again than previous releases . Female vocals still highlight and accentuate the music by wailing along in the background and reciting various bits of songs when they are least expected but always improve the atmosphere . Chronos from Venom makes a guest vocal performance on the last track 'Haunted Shores' in the form of a stirring battle speech . This is my favourite Cradle Of Filth album , but they just keep getting better all the time .
Note - This is a review of one of the limited edition versions of this disc .
Favourite Tracks - Dusk And Her Embrace ; Funeral In Carpathia ; Beauty Slept In Sodom
Mark - 10/10

Cradle Of Filth "Cruelty And The Beast"
Music For Nations , 1998
Lord Pale :
The forth Cradle release is a concept album entirely inspired by Countess Elizabeth Bathory . The artwork and lyrics reflect this in the usual Filth style . The music is a little slower and heavier than Dusk And Her Embrace but still just as melodic . Damien has left the band and Lecter takes over keyboard duties . Cruelty And The Beast sports Cradles best production thus far and all the elements of previous releases ( female vocals , orchestral keyboards , intelligently written lyrics ) are all in place . The drum sound is a little different on this album as are the keyboards which sound a little less Gothic somehow or less evil . The overall feel of this album reminds me of 'Queen Of Winter , Throned' off of Vempire . There are less wails and more snats on this album also and female vocals are utilised more heavily , but the song writing is still of monumental proportions . There are once again no bad songs on this album all stand out in their own way . It is perhaps a little less technical than Dusk And Her Embrace , but with the simplification comes more breaks and gives the guitars more room to add to the music . It appears from this album that Cradle may be heading in a different direction but we'll just have to wait and see what the next album holds . Surely this much talent can do no wrong .
Note - I chose to review the normal version of this disc not the limited edition version which has enhanced/different versions of 'Bathory Aria' , 'Lustmord And Wargasm' and a techno version of 'The Twisted Nails Of Faith' entitled 'Twisting Further Nails' , as well as drops the second musical 'Portrait Of The Dead Countess' and contains the following bonus cover tracks - 'Black Metal' by Venom , 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' by Iron Maiden and 'Sodomy And Lust' by Sodom .
Favourite Tracks - Lustmord And Wargasm ; Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids ; Beneath The Howling Stars
Mark - 9/10

Cradle of Filth - From the Cradle to Enslave
Music for Nations, 1999
Lord Pale:
New six-track mini CD from the masters of vampiric blackened metal. Following in the footsteps of 'Cruelty and the Beast' with slower, heavier guitars and more prominent and less dreamy synth. The title track displays all the usual Filth elements, female vocal interludes, deeper death vocals and Dani's distinctive voice, whilst also incorporating a little more guitar melody than on their previous release. 'Of Dark Blood and Fucking' is a less adept song that still retains all of Filth's style, just very much in their newer direction. A couple of very different cover songs follow and don't really grab ones attention, one is punky and dated sounding the other slow gothy darkwave, but more interesting. Perhaps Cradle should stick to covering songs like this that they can pull off and not shocking covers such as their rendition of 'Hell Awaits'. 'Perverts Church' is an upbeat techno track with some light keyboards and beatbox with some repetitive female chants and occasional moan from Dani (not a bad attempt but not very intriguing by any means). The EP finishes up with a remake of 'Funeral in Corpathia', which vastly over shadows any of the newer material even though not as good as the original. After seeing the film clip to 'From the Cradle to Enslave' I couldn't help thinking Filth are getting to obsessed with their extremity and image, and in my opinion would be better off working harder on their music while retaining their underground integrity.
Favourite Tracks - Funeral in Corpathia, From the Cradle to Enslave, Sleepless
Rating - 6.5/10

Cradle Of Filth 'Midian'
Music For Nations , 2000
Lord Pale :
Cradle Of Filth move further away from their vampiric roots and further into the already explored realms of shocking lyrics and gore whilst retaining minimilist occult overtones with their 4th album proper Midian . Following the same path as 'From The Cradle ...' the new material is simpiler and heavier than before , and although its well structured and well played , the new 'Filth sound' becomes very predictable and songs start to blend together . The new Filth have a scarily repetitive type of structuring : keyboard intro ; verse ; chorus ; verse ; the weird bit ( with either deeper deathy narrative or female vocals ) ; and back to verse or chorus again . This pattern can be seen within many of the songs on Midian and makes for a highly unentertaining let down . My other gripe is that along with the simplification of the music , Dani no longer shrieks like a tortured spirit , instead delving into a more generic blackmetal whine as if in an attept to remove all of Cradle's originality and place themselves alongside the long list of Nodic BM wannabes . Image and shock tactics aside Midian is a reasonable album in its own right , it just doesn't stand up to the Cradle back catalogue . All the Filth elements are still here ( except those few that have been weeded out over the course of the last two releases ) , just no surprises , instead some cheap thrills , samples , and violent song names to attract younger listeners .
Favourite Tracks - Cthulhu Dawn , Her Ghost In The Fog , Tearing The Veil From Grace
Mark - 6.5/10

Cradle Of Filth 'Bitter Suites To Succubi'
abracadaver , 2001
Lord Pale :
COF return with what they claim is a new album on Dani Filth's own label . I happen to disagree that this is a new album due to the fact that 3 of songs are remakes from 'Principal Of Evil Made Flesh' , 1 is a cover , and 2 are musicals . That leaves 4 new songs ! The cover art is attempting to recapture their vampiric image of yore but fails , and the remakes are crap , all of which are slowed down and overproduced and played with inferior sounding keyboards which destroys any dark feeling the songs once had . Some of the 4 new tracks see Cradle adopting some more traditional blackmetal riffing and stepping away from the over simplified shit they have been doing recently , but the 'album' as a whole is highly dissapointing from a consumers perspective . At the end of the day this could very well be the final nail in the coffin for Filth , another decent band headed for shit in leiu of commercial success , but undoubtedly with their loyal British fan base they will be around for a few years yet .
Favourite Tracks - All Hope In Eclipse ( how appropriate - LP ) , Scorched Earth Erotica , Suicide And Other Comforts
Mark - 6/10

Cradle Of Filth ‘Damnation And A Day’
Sony , 2003
Lord Pale :
After a long absence and a number of disappointing albums, Cradle Of Filth finally deliver a stunning return to form. Damnation And A Day will no doubt be criticized by the underground for its release on a major label, but with the increased budget Cradle Of Filth deliver a 17 track nearly 80 minute concept album utilizing a 64 piece orchestra and a 42 piece choir. The lyrical concept is one based around biblical events and characters with liberal sprinklings fantasy Dani Filth style. It is refreshing to see that the lyrics are reverting back to a more substantial direction, but thankfully the surprises don’t stop there. This is quite easily Cradle Of Filth’s heaviest and most brutal album to date, even incorporating some death metal style riffing on occasions. The majority of the songs are shorter and more concise with deliberate chorus structuring, making the end product far more accessible whilst retaining their credibility admirably. Damnation And A Day contains five musical pieces ( or scores as it were ) which are performed by the aforementioned ‘Budapest Film Orchestra’ adding a new depth of character and charm to the bands musicals that the synths in previous releases failed to capture. Another bonus that may divide long time fans is the range of diversity displayed, from the heavy and pounding tracks like ‘Doberman Pharaoh’ and ‘Better To Reign In Hell’, through to the lighter parts in ‘Thank God For The Suffering’ ( why this wasn’t the single in place of Babylon A.D I’ll never know ), or the experimental and quite stunning quivering feminine vocal accompaniment on ‘Mannequin’. Overall, Damnation And A Day ultimate heralds Cradle Of Filth’s salvation, and proves that you can still be heavy and extreme even on a major label like Sony.
Favourite Tracks – Thank God For The Suffering , Doberman Pharaoh , Serpent Tongue
Mark – 8.5/10

Cradle of Filth ‘Babalon AD, DVD Single’
Sony Music UK / Abracadaver, 2003
Gloon:
This novel limited edition DVD single contains the unedited version of the band's new promo video for Babalon AD from the band's latest outing 'Damnation and a Day' . The video was shot by director Wiz and filmed in a derelict Jesuit seminary with images within the video paying homage to '120 Days of Sodom' by the infamous Marquis De Sade. Unlike previous Filth videos this concept based clip takes a step away from the demons and supernatural themes and displays a much more real, disturbing image bringing to mind a cross between a snuff/S&M home video and Stanley Kubrick's 'Eyes Wide Shut'. Other features include a 2 minute visual feast entitled 'Serpent Tongue', a freakshow gallery with art from the 'Damnation and a Day' sessions, Merchandise details and a band biography. Priced at around $10 you can't really go wrong here, unless of course you don't own a DVD player, a cool if not essential bit a Filth memorabilia.
Feature Listing
1.Babalon AD (So Glad For The Madness) Unedited Music Video
2.Serpent Tongue (2 minute visual feast)
3.Freakshow Gallery
4.Merchandise Details
5.Band Biography
Rating - 7.5/10

Cradle of Filth ‘Nymphetamine’
Roadrunner, 2004
Gloon:
After the extravagant orchestral delight that was ‘Damnation and a Day’ Filth commit a complete back flip and opt for a more stripped down guitar driven approach and I for one love the new sound. While still incorporating all the core Filth attributes (screeching vocals, keyboards, dark poetry) the band focus more on the thrashing heavy guitars and a more simplistic verse-chorus structure to write some of their most memorable and catchy material since ‘Cruelty….’. Theres also some surprises with the band throwing a few curve balls in the form of the almost narrative tale of ‘English Fire’ and the haunting duet, almost ballad of title track ‘Nymphetamine (Overdose) with ex-Theater of Tragedy and current Leaves Eyes singer Liv Kristine. Experimentation aside however there are still plenty of ‘classic’ sounding Filth cuts from ‘Gabrielle’ to the awesome ‘Medusa and Hemlock’. And not to be outdone in the ‘shock’ stakes the band also pen the most offensive sing-a-long song to date in the form of the disturbingly catchy ‘Gilded Cunt’. The band finally seem to have found the perfect medium between accessibility and maintaining their identity (which they failed miserably with Midian). There isn’t a dud song on the release and clocking in at over a dozen tracks that’s no mean feat. Filth purists will no doubt have something to whine about but for the rest of us we can enjoy this album for what it is, a fantastic crafted slab of heavy atmospheric metal.
Favourite Tracks – English Fire, Medusa and Hemlock, Gilded Cunt
Rating – 9/10

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