CRADLE OF FILTH „Damnation and a Day”

Music: Blackened Gothic Metal
Duration: 75:00 minutes (17 songs)
Master songs: Hurt And Virtue, Better To Reign In Hell, Babylon A.D.

After I heard the new CoF was out I immediately tried to get my hands on it, hoping the music was as good as the cover looks, and I still don't regret buying it, for this album is the best ever produced by Dani Filth and his mates. It's better than dusk and her embrace, better than from the cradle to enslave and even cruelty and the beast, better than midian, and definitely better than those last two commercial releases. Cradle Of Filth is back on track, darker than ever…
For those who have never heard what CoF sounds like (what I can hardly imagine) I'll give you a short description:
The band is unique in the fact that it succeeded in making black metal (well not real black metal, but quite black) commercial. The music has a strong classical influence, lot of keyboard-effects and even complete choruses are used. Tracks are long (5-7 minutes) but short classical orchestral (real orchrest) tracks intermit these longer tracks, those intermissions can be annoying but they make the better songs and starting melodies jump out and unleash hell! The songs are fast, varied, magic and mysterious, every single one of them stands out. What really makes this sound black (except for the drums & gutars) are the vocals, extremely high or very dark and low and sometimes both styles are mixed together. But gothic metal can also be found in the music. The songtexts are satanic all the way, you'd better not listen to it if you don't want to end up in hell 😉 Cradle Of Filth is also about catchy melodies and complexity, constant changes its speed, riffs and melodies and always seems to try to convince you that you should really warship evil. Another aspect of CoF is that the music has a very deep (black) sound, creating a horror atmosphere, thanks to the keyboard, 40 people counting orchrest, 32-person chorus and a female band member. And since it's on Sony Music the production is perfect.

CoF's new label is Sony Music, and I think it's a good thing to have a good band on a major label, for it might get more people into metal. Usually those labels force metal bands to change their styles into a more poppy one, but I'm really glad that didn't happen this time, the music just improved. This album is an album that will influence metal, go get it and listen to music that almost makes you cry sometimes (at least it almost made me).

Cradle Of Filth has evolved from shrieking music with overshadowing drums (in the very beginning) to a band with extreme quality. I have to add this: you love it or you hate it, the only way to find out is to buy some CoF, and btw, don't be influenced by its popularity.

note: 10/10

Tracklist

01 A Bruise Upon The Silent Moon
02 The Promise Of Fever
03 Hurt And Virtue
04 An Enemy Led The Tempest
05 Damned In Any Language
06 Better To Reign In Hell
07 Serpent Tongue
08 Carrion
09 The Mordant Liquor Of Tears
10 Presents From The Poison-Hearted
11 Doberman Pharaoh
12 Babalon A.D. (So Glad For The Madness)
13 A Scarlet Witch Lit The Season
14 Mannequin
15 Thank God For The Suffering
16 The Smoke Of Her Burning
17 End Of Daze