Cradle of Filth – “Dusk… and her embrace”

Music For Nations

Rating: 9/10

Their first work “The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh” made them become one of the very few really important Black Metal bands. It was an absolute success that was followed by another pure piece of art, “Vempire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein”. Now the britons release their long-awaited “Dusk… and her embrace”, that with no doubt will also become one of the most sold albums in the BM genre, if not the most. This album starts with a classical music track titled “Humana Inspired To Nightmare”. There are two more songs like this one throughtout the album among the proper Black Metal songs. These are very inspired and it is obvious that the guys have worked a lot on them as the result is perfect. Too perfect, I’d dare to say: “DAHE” is too perfect, too polished to be real Black Metal. This is no way a complaint, it’s just that sometimes I miss a bit of brutality, madness, violence, the sort of feelings one expects to find in a Black Metal album.

About the songs concretely, “Funeral in Carpathia” begins with an IronMaidenoid riff, “A Gothic Romance” is as depressing as the lyrics, “Beauty Slept In Sodom” is pure Cradle of Filth and “Haunted Shores”, my favourite one, is to me the most killer song and right-to-the-bone song in “DAHE”.

All songs have different passages with Dani’s screamings and growlings, instrumental parts, classical-like passages and of course those godly speecjes that CoF have always done so well.

About lyrics… What can I say? We all know Dani’s writing style: megaloid novelettes with an old-styled English on complicated, even sometimes senseless (except for Dani himself, of course!) topics, Synthesizing, Cradle of Filth have composed a perfect opera. Too perfect, for me…