It centers on the demon Lilith, believed by some to be the first wife of Adam in the Bible, and her return in the modern era as a goddess. Lacking the narrations of longtime contributor Doug Bradley, the storyline instead requires lyrical analysis to decipher. Unlike Godspeed, this record’s concept is not as immediately obvious. Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa, another concept album, is a daring release with its own batch of new twists that will delight fans and potentially convert some naysayers. 2008’s Godspeed on the Devil’s Thunder was a stunning return to form, and its intriguing conceptual storyline was remarkably well-executed. Even the band’s missteps ( Damnation and a Day and Thornography immediately come to mind) still have their hidden gems of inspiration and innovation. If a trend becomes popular, they were usually doing it before most others. Looking back at the black metal scene and extreme metal in general, Cradle of Filth has consistently been among the pioneering bands. But they are one of the few metal bands where the hatred arises not from lack of talent, but from an overabundance of talent and the inability of some listeners to recognize it. Extreme Gothic Metal is the new in thing.Few bands have attracted as much derision as Cradle of Filth has throughout its career.
After the longest period of time I can finally raise my horns in agreement with their music and considering its coming from their old fan, Cradle of Filth has finally managed to strike the right deal. Hats off to Cradle of Filth for pulling-off Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa. Mistress from the Sucking Pit is an average song and has been dragged for seven mintues. Keyboard has again become vital in the band and the tracks that bend the regular rules of playing the instrument are The Persecution Song, The Spawn Of Love and War, Beast of Extermination and Truth & Agony.ĭani Filth has also acquired a new look for this album and maybe that was the only change needed by the band. The band is seen pressing the accelerator on Harlot on a Pedestal, Forgive Me Father (I Have Sinned), Beyond Eleventh Hour and Behind the Jagged Mountain. Backing vocals have been cleverly fused to push up the emotional quotient. The guitarists have taken it upon themselves to nail the tracks. Few minutes into it and the monotonous touch returns but it is not tiring to hear the album evolve.ĭrumrolls and bang opens Deceiving Eyes, and things get groovy.
Tracks start sounding interwoven as Retreat of the Sacred Heart, Lilith Immaculate also feel like an extended version of the other tracks played till now but track five The Persecution Song‘s intro grabs you. No matter how bad Filth went in the last five to six years, Dani made sure his vocals remain memorable. Track three The Nun with the Astral Habit sticks to a similar routine but Dani is hands down the most unique vocalist in the genre. Successive track is One Foul Step from the Abyss and this one too is an acquaintance of fast riffing alongside some well crafted dark ambience, courtesy the keyboards. At over seven minutes the opening song is the longest. Trampling blast beats accompanied by Dani‘s windy screeches escort the fast keyboards. It can be instantly sensed that this is going to be an orchestral ride. Track one The Cult Of Venus Aversa begins with some keyboard work and female voice-over. The revival has been released in two cds with a total of 15 tracks on them. But this time team Cradle of Filth has sit down and come up with another dark fairytale album and the band is definitely working on their weaknesses. Although it was not as contaminated as the previous one it still lacked adequate amount of filth.
Ninth release was in 2008 named Godspeed on the Devil’s Thunder. Their seventh album Nymphetamine was the last time I made an effort for Filth and the next one named Thornography had me acting deaf to anything they played. Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa is their tenth album that they produced after a much needed gap of two years. A sigh of relief can be breathed by all those of you who hoped that one day Cradle of Filth would be back.