Having been around longer than some of their fans have been alive, CRADLE OF FILTH is still at it with their blackened, gothic metal. It's hard to be objective about a band who has generated so many opinions over the years. I confess that COF is one of those bands I knew of (and I knew of their stature), but I just never got around to hearing them. For those who know COF well, perhaps the gothic metal formula has grown tired. But for a "new" listener, I found myself being entertained more than I expected.

A notable characteristic of this album is bombast, which appears in spades here - and COF manage to pull it off, for the most part. As a seasoned band, they know when to really bring out the big guns, and when to hold back a little. That being said, the songs were so "big" that I found myself having to take a breather between tracks now and then. "The Seductiveness of Decay" and "Death and the Maiden" are big tracks, both in terms of sound and length. The former takes a slow approach in the intro, which conjures up an image of the years weighing on the protagonist. A thrash metal-like vibe makes for an interesting transition, with the rich bass maintaining a sense of gravitas. The "organs" add just the right amount of Gothic feeling to the proceedings. I liked the IRON MAIDEN-like galloping riffs, which contrasted well with the delicate strings. The drama reaches its zenith with a frenzied guitar solo over a classical rhythm part. On "Death and the Maiden", the sinister keyboards and horns add to a sense of foreboding. The dark vocal tone gives a sense of creeping dread, and the fragile acoustic riffs illustrate the transience of life.

Something people have brought up about the band is Dani Filth's vocal style. It took a little getting used to for me, but I think he uses his trademark shriek well for the most part. I found his often-staccato growls somewhat jarring at times, although I wouldn't necessarily dock points for that, since the other elements were strong enough to make up for them. For me, "You Will Know the Lion by His Claw" was one of tracks where Filth used his shrieks to good effect - they act as the climax to strings of vocal notes. His ability to hold a note is quite impressive. What wasn't so impressive at times was the production - the mix was rather loud. This loudness seems to be something that afflicts many contemporary metal bands, though, so this isn't specifically a COF thing.

Overall, "Cryptoriana..." is an enjoyable album with little filler (I'm on the fence as to whether it was necessary to include "Alison Hell", though). In fact, the album was enjoyable to such an extent that my curiosity is piqued by the prospect of checking out more of COF's discography.