Black and Death Metal are genres that have no middle ground for me, I either like a band a lot or I don’t in this musical style. Cradle Of Filth are a band I like a lot. I’ll admit though that I kind of fell off after their album Thornography didn’t really do much for me and I just for whatever reason didn’t come back until this year, So going on a deep dive on all the albums I missed has been a lot of fun and it was The Screaming Of The Valkeries that really sent me on this journey.
Going back through the albums I missed I think they’ve been on a real hot streak for the last ten years musically, Hammer Of The Witches on up has been what I would argue is some of the best and most dynamic songwriting of this legendary bands career.
Maybe there’s something to be said of having a revolving door of musicians throughout the history of a band.
There’s an ominous feel to the beginning of “To Live Delicously” that really sets the mood before the furious and incendiary riffs kick in, But Cradle Of Filth are not a band that just pummels you with blast beats and lightning fast heavy riffs, there’s a finesse about what they do. Behind all the fury are dynamic chord changes and melody for days.
I would personally love to ask Dani Filth what he does to not decimate his vocal chords, Between his growls and high pitched screams the man has the voice of an absolute demon and to do what he does for decades is absolutely astounding, Especially when you consider he has lost none of his vocal prowess. This song is a mission statement and really sets a high bar for the rest of the album.
“Demagoguery” starts out with a harpsichord melody and choral vocals, This riffs in this song and Dani’s vocal flow are catchy as hell. There a lovely chime, strings, and choir section at the halfway mark here before some melodic lead guitar kicks in and for me it’s this dynamic sense of melody and atmosphere in their music that has made Cradle Of Filth one of the top bands in their genre. They aren’t a band that you put on an album and every song is predictably the same.
“The Trinity Of Shadows” wastes no time in unleashing the fury, The riffs and blast beats roar right out of the gate, the melody weaves into it all as the song unfolds. The nice surprise here are the vocal harmonies in the chorus which isn’t something you see a lot of with this band and honestly I’d love to see them do it more. There’s a fantastic guitar solo here that feels like something you’d see a little more from a power metal band, Black metal isn’t really known for its guitar solos. Chef’s kiss, This is a great song with a lot of things going on with it musically.
“Non Omnis Moriar” starts off with some lovely gothic keyboard melodies and drums before the guitar leads weave their way into the ambiance this song creates, This is meticulously crafted and paced well. The balance between elaborate layered melodies and heavy riff sections are masterfully done, The female vocals woven into this track are a nice touch as well, adding some beauty in contrast to the beast of Dani’s vocals.
There’s moments on this record where I see a strong Iron Maiden influence being laced with the darkness of Cradle Of Filth’s iconic sound and “White Hellebore” certainly has its fair share of that influence in it’s black metal DNA, I cannot give enough credit to guitarists Marek ‘Ashok’ Smerda and Donny Burbage for the incredible riffs and rich guitar tone in this album, Giving these songs the punch and melody they need to really elevate the sound and not be overshadowed by the keys and orchestral arrangements. Again, The operatic vocals of Zoe Federoff in contrast to the gothic vampire growls and shrieks of Dani really add a great dynamic to this song.
“You Are My Nautilus” starts out with some heavy riffs before slowing the tempo down and going into symphonic metal territory, This is definitely a mood piece that positively oozes with gothic horror. There’s a complex grandeur to the layering in this song and you’ll be head banging all the while. There’s another great guitar solo towards the last third of this song as well.
“Malignant Perfection” wouldn’t feel out of place on Midian, Damnation And A Day, or Nymphetamine. This is classic turn of the millennium Cradle Of Filth. Gothic, Melodic black metal excellence.
“Ex Sanguine Draculae” starts out with some incendiary mid tempo riffs before picking up the tempo and charging like an angry hellhound.
I think often it’s easy to overlook drumming in black metal, But the drumming by Martin ‘Marthus’ Skaroupka has a lot more rock and jazz influences incorporated into the blast beat drumming that is a genre staple and he displays that on this track really well.
The album ends with “When Misery Was A Stranger” another grand raging epic with excellent, Dynamic playing, Beautful female vocal sections, Titanic riffs, and excellent lead work. An absolutely astounding composition that ends this stunning record on a high note.
Wow! There isn’t a single weak track here. I’m glad I’m here to witness this album in the year of its release, This is easily the most from top to bottom great album from Cradle Of Filth since Damnation And A Day. The Pinnacle of their modern output in my opinion and that’s saying something considering the quality of their last three albums.
This is everything you could want from this band and more, It has every staple fans love as well as some musical surprises that give them new life.
If you have ever liked their music then you need to hear this record, If you’ve never heard them before then this is a damn great record to familiarize yourself with the music of Cradle Of Filth.
9/10
