Cruelty And The Beast - Cradle Of Filth > Reviews > Supreme Vampyric Evil

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money

Advantages:	Intellegently written .
Disadvantages:	Dani's vocals are not for everyone, the drum sound it terrible .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Yet another rewrite…

This is the band that got me interested in the more extreme aspect of metal, indeed, they seem to act as the gateway to the dark side for a great many people. During 1998 I was growing incredibly weary of my rather meagre CD collection (a few Iron Maiden, some Megadeth and an AC/DC live album – nothing wrong with any of it, I just needed a change!). I decided I would start buying Kerrang! and Metal Hammer again to see what was going on in the rock scene. Both those esteemed publications (yeah, right!) had started to include free CDs on the front, so I began to trawl through hundreds of bands I’d never heard of to find something I might like. Mostly the CDs were packed with the likes of Korn, Limp Bizkit, and other such nonsense, then out of the blue came "Lustmord And Wargasm (The Lick of Carnivorous Winds)" by Cradle of Filth. It was like nothing I’d ever heard before, but at the same time, felt kind of familiar – as though I was destined to hear it (melodramatic I know).

Now seems like as good a time as any for a track listing, so here goes:

1.Once Upon Atrocity
2.Thirteen Autumns and a Widow
3.Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids
4.Beneath the Howling Stars
5.Venus in Fear
6.Desire in Violent Overture
7.The Twisted Nails of Faith
8.Bathory Aria:
Benighted Like Usher
A Murder of Ravens in Fugue
Eyes that Witnessed Madness
9.Portrait of the Dead Countess
10.Lustmord and Wargasm (The Lick of Carnivorous Winds)

Celtic Cross and 2 CD Set Includes:

"Lustmord & Wargasm (Re-licking of Carnivorous Winds)",
"Black Metal", (Venom cover)
"Hallowed Be Thy Name" (Iron Maiden cover)
"Sodomy & Lust"
"Twisting Further Nails (Crucifixion mix)"

Conceptually speaking (yes folks, this is a concept album!), “Cruelty And The Beast” tells the story of Elizabeth Bathory, the 16th Century Hungarian Countess who would bathe in virgin’s blood in search of eternal youth. Dani's lyrics are excellent, he uses a lot of olde English (at one point they were tipped to be part of a Millennium Dome presentation about the use of English through the ages). There are some very inventive story telling techniques used, he is also fond of using ‘play-on-words’ to help with the rhythm of the song. I would rate Dani as one of Metal’s best lyricists, he really is a cut above the rest, though sometimes prone to getting carried away with himself. Obviously there is a certain amount of artistic licence involved in the story in order to make it ‘fit’ with Cradle Of Filth, but its not a history lesson, its HEAVY METAL!

Musically speaking, Cradle Of Filth are a very talented band. The guitar work on this album are very reminiscent of 1980s British Heavy Metal (the riffs are very Maiden-esque), but still retains some Black Metal riffing, particularly on “Lustmord….”. Strangely enough, the drums are the weakest point and one of the strongest points of the album! Nick Barker is surely one of the best drummers about (second only to Mayhem’s Hellhammer), his performance on this album is utterly astonishing. Listening to Nick Barker drum is hearing a master in action, he is very inventive, particularly with his use of double kick-drums. Blast beats are used sparingly, instead two separate rhythms are drummed, one with his feet and another with his hands it is amazing (as is his work on the new Dimmu Borgir album). However, the sound of the drums is awfully weak and brittle, and does ruin the overall sound of the band somewhat. A better drum sound would have given the overall recording a far more solid and aggressive sound. Elsewhere Les’ keyboards are suitably gothic, but are not really pushing any boundaries. The weakness Cradle have always had is their use of keyboards, particularly when they are imitating an ‘orchestra’, this is all too evident when you compare the sound to that of the latest Dimmu Borgir album (Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia) where they used the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Lastly, but certainly not least, the vocals. Dani has a style which is best described as ‘unique’ (!), certainly a ‘love it or hate it’ style. Black Metal vocals are by their very nature extreme, Dani’s style is more extreme than most, alternating between rumbling growls and the kind of high pitched shrieks which drive dogs mental. His voice has evolved over the course of the band’s career, but in my view this album was the last recording by the band where Dani’s voice didn’t just get on my nerves – they are actually very good on this album.

Since 1996s “Dusk… And Her Embrace” album the band have been cultivating a sound removed from their Black Metal roots. They still have the screeches, distorted guitars etc. but have taken on a much more gothic “Hammer Horror” sound. This is largely down to their use of keyboards, but also the guest appearance by the one and only Ingrid Pitt, who has played the part of Countess Bathory in an Hammer Horror film.

As I was saying at the beginning of this review, Cradle of Filth re-awakened my passion for music (particularly metal) and introduced me to a whole new world of music – extreme metal. That said, this album is not actually that ‘extreme’ (Dani was annoyed with Kerrang! because they said it was “to extreme for some”, thus putting a lot of potential listeners off), with the exception of the vocals. After I had absorbed this record I was seriously interested in Black Metal – the most enigmatic sub-genre of metal, I was hungry for more, so I trawled the Internet for the bands listed in the “thank-you” section in the booklet and other related bands. What I came across were the likes of Emperor, Immortal, Darkthrone, Burzum, Mayhem, Anathema, UB40(!) and Dimmu Borgir. When I had tracked down various releases by these bands (except UB40 – I already had them all!) and Cradle’s first album “The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh” I found that they nearly all outclassed “Cruelty And The Beast” in various ways.

In short, I reckon this is an excellent heavy-metal record with strong Gothic undertones, but it’s not really a Black Metal record. Get it if you like metal/Goth and fancy something a bit different, or maybe are interested in the more extreme end of metal, this is a pretty good place to start – it worked for me!

Extra Info:
Record Label: Music For Nations
Catalogue Code: CDMFN 242
Running Time: 58:55