CRADLE OF FILTH is one of those bands that have divided their fan base into two opposing sides. And as it usually happens, the one part likes the band's prime days and the second prefers the late one. But, the truth lies somewhere in between, since grading CRADLE OF FILTH asa pure Black Metal band would be a big mistake. I am not talking about the post "Cruelty And The Beast" days when, according to many, the British band decided to change musical direction. Dani & Co has been mixing the Gothic virtues with the Norse Black Metal from the very beginning. Just go through the artwork of all the albums and the accompanying photos and you will feel the gothic essence in the vampire figures and the evil yet sexy looking ladies in the provocative photos. Having said that, I have my consciousness cleared and I can now move on to talk about the ninth CRADLE OF FILTH album.

Dani is still responsible about the lyrics and this time deals with a story of his own dealing with Biblical Adam's first wife named Lilith (aka Eve), Greek mythology and the Templar Knights. Story wise I bet this is interesting since Dani has proved to be quite a story teller. I have to admit that this album caught my attention faster than the previous "Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder" that did not meet my taste. "The Cult Of Venus Aversa" opens the album with the characteristic church organ tunes that step aside for the guitar distortion and the fast repetitive riff I learned to love in "Crulty And The Beast". Dani has lowered the vocal distortion making his reading recognizable getting even closer the band's sound to the Heavy Metal brand. Now, this is not at least for the ones that have their mind stuck into the band's debut album. The Heavy Metal profile from CRADLE OF FILTH is even more enhanced by the very good riffs that often look towards the IRON MAIDEN twinguitar recipe that works perfectly here. Please, do not be fooled by these of words of mine and think that CRADLE OF FILTH have gone too soft; there are blast-beats, fast breaks, high pitched screams and as the icing on the cake, pretty solid drum work. Just like in the killer "The Nun With The Astral Habit" or in the "The Spawn Of Love And War" songs that lie between the catchiness of "Thornography" and the heaviness of "Midian". The addition of Ashley Ellyllon has given more air time to the keyboards justifying the term Gothic, listen to the killer "Harlot On A Pedestal" as an example, outside this album while her less operatic female vocals fit better to Dani's screams. Speaking of Dani I could not but to comment on "Forgive Me Father (I Have Sinned)" vocals that are the cleaner I can remember. In fact, listening to this song, I found myself thinking "They should do this more often".

So, this is a very good album that will definitely not build any bridge between the old and the new CRADLE OF FILTH but can allure many fans to this most influential band with the new elements, the keyboards and the fresh female vocals have brought. I am waiting for a better onstage performance in the following tour and hopefully Dani will not use the make up from the video below...