Cradle of Filth have become an institution.
With 15 years passing since the band's first release, Cradle of Filth have forged their way as the centrepiece of the extreme metal scene. Of the band's longevity, frontman and original member Dani Filth, who joined the band at the ripe old age of 18, says, "I can get a Cradle of Filth tattoo and not feel embarrassed," with his trademark, self-deprecating English wit on full display.
Through the years, there have been many critically-acclaimed releases, marathon tour cycles and spurts of controversy, simply because the Grammy-nominated Cradle of Filth refuse to blend into the nefarious scene which birthed them. Cradle of Filth welcome raised eyebrows and second looks from those who don't quite "get" what they do.
The band opened doors for a scene that is no longer as fringe or sectarian as it once was. They've taken a sledgehammer and smashed away at new ground. They've maintained a steady pace, while so many of their peers have imploded, crashed and burned.
So, how exactly, has Cradle of Filth managed to outlast 'em all and arrive at their latest album, the controversially dark fairy tale, Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder? Simple. By doing what they've always done and spiking their sonic punch with ethereal keyboards, bloodcurdling screams, riffs that can make lightning shoot from your bedroom walls and a fictionalised re-imagining of a decidedly troubled historical figure from the late Middle Ages: Gilles de Rais. (More on him in a moment!)
"We've survived [all those black metal] episodes because we were more mature than other people were at the time," Dani says. "We're not being big headed by saying that. We were English and had a tract of water separating us from other black metal bands. We're still one of few English black metal bands. We have had line up changes that have helped. Our fans understand that. People want to find a chink in the armour regarding line up changes, but it's utter crap! I think we endure because we explore every facet of our art. We were into this aesthetic before forming a band and I don't think it's a hard thing to do if you are into it. All things that surround the nucleus of the band –the nucleus being the music—like our look, lyrics, how we portray ourselves on stage and our artwork, tie in all these dark elements."
Indeed, Cradle of Filth offers fans a full sensory experience and there are certainly no grey areas in their blend of black metal. It's loud. It's fast. It's hard. It's subversive. Dani continues, saying, "We never shy away from saying or doing outrageous things, but on the flip side, it's never contrived."
One thing that is outrageous but certainly not contrived is the not-for-the-faint-of-heart concept that Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder orbits around. The album is a dark fairytale centering on Gilles de Rais, the French nobleman who carved out his place in history as a brother-in-arms of Joan of Arc, as well as a prolific, sick and twisted serial killer who began his life as a devout, pious man before devolving into full-fledged evil. De Rais, also an alchemist who squandered his vast fortune, was eventually hanged for his crimes against humanity, especially children. This is sensitive material, but Cradle of Filth handle it with signature aplomb. Rather than glamorising or glorifying de Rais, the band found an artistic way to explore his story.
"Read the lyrics," Dani encourages. "It would have been so bloody easy to have gone overboard when writing about his crimes, which was really sick stuff. I would not put my daughter in a role on the record—she does a nursery rhyme and her laughter appears on the album—if we hadn't handled the material with kid gloves. It is a black metal record, after all. But there is no glorification of the crimes. We treat the subject as a dark fairytale. It is fascinating and his story has bewitched many other people. There are at least 15 pieces of work written on him by historians who are as fascinated as we are. We just put it to a soundtrack."
Cradle of Filth chose to create a another concept album after their stint on 2007's Viva la Bands tour. Dani recalls, "We were fired up and we had the skeletal structures to five or six songs. I knew I wanted to outdo our previous efforts. We had a new drummer and the music we were writing was coming from the excitement of the live setting, which can give you that emotion. The feeling of the music reminded me of when we did Cruelty and the Beast, which was 10 years prior. I was pouring through all the notebooks I had kept from investigations I had done into Elizabeth Bathory, who was the conceptual figure of Cruelty, and Gilles de Rais' name cropped up back then. I remember thinking that story would be great to follow up our first concept album, only ten years later, since we didn't want to do two concept albums back to back."
In honour of the tenth anniversary of their first concept album, Dani and his bandmates were more than inspired to revisit that aesthetic territory, which had served them well in the past. "The music had that same magic as when we were writing Cruelty, and it was very symphonic, as well," the singer says. "The more I started reading, the more I realised that this story is better than Elizabeth Bathory's. Gilles was such a well-known man in a more well known part of the world. Elizabeth was Eastern European and not a lot of information survived her. With Gilles, we have the trial transcripts of the man who was essentially the bodyguard of Joan of Arc. He was Grand Marshal of France, for God's sake. The more I read, the more the story germinated."
Cradle of Filth have long been interested in the occult, as individuals and as a band and that's why the story of de Rais was so appealing a person to set to a soundtrack, Dani explains, saying, "The fundamental basis of what we do is turning things into dark fairy tales and romanticising them. Every single line of the album is a part of the story. It's not like we have footage of his dungeons, so we are filling in gaps. Some scholars believe he was framed. He was a man of war in a brutal time. I don’t think we could ever embellish the nasty parts to the extent of reality." In a sense, Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder is like fan fiction of sorts. Cradle of Filth draw their fans and listeners into a story, something that has endeared the band over the years, making the band a "lifestyle" for their dedicated followers. Dani says, "With this record, you can immerse yourself in stories I've written and the music the band has written and you can also go and investigate and find out more for yourself by reading about the case."
In a way, Cradle of Filth studies de Rais because "he was a man of extremes who ended up at the gates of hell," finishes Dani. "He was in love with the whole enigma of Joan of Arc and when she was captured and burned, he saw she was like everyone else and he felt betrayed. Since they had saved France against the English, he got close to God, as close as anyone could at the time. When that was gone, he fell from grace and went the complete opposite way. He was excommunicated and never got into heaven, which back then was the worst thing that could ever happen. He was a marriage of extremes."
Cradle of Filth are a marriage of extremes as well, taking a controversial character in history and fusing his story with thunderous, scarred 'n charred metal on Godpseed on the Devil's Thunder.
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The first of these, DARK (HONEY ... 23/12/2008 - TRIVIUM QUIZ AIRBOURNE Continuing our festive series of bands interviewing bands, check out the latest installment featuring AIRBOURNE answering questions 'randomly generated' by 17/12/2008 - KILL HANNAH QUIZ TRIVIUM Continuing our series of Random Question Generator interviews, below you will see Floridian thrashers TRIVIUM answering questions from Chicago's electro rockers 16/12/2008 - DANI FILTH ON METAL HAMMER TV! If you head on over to METAL HAMMER TV you will be able to see a new interview with CRADLE OF FILTH'S 16/12/2008 - CRADLE OF FILTH QUIZ KILL HANNAH It's part 2 of the Random Question generator!! 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The British Broadcasting Corporation are into a bit of extreme metal- well, on their radio rock shows at least!Tonight (OCTOBER ... 03/07/2009WHAT'S ON YOUR IPOD- MARK MELICIA (THE PARLOR MOB) This week sees THE PARLOR MOB's vocalist Mark Melicia take the iPod challenge. Some pretty interesting tracks here... Genius Next Door by Regina Spektor This ... 26/06/2009WHAT'S ON YOUR IPOD- DAVE PYBUS (CRADLE OF FILTH) We have set another band member the weekly iPod shuffle challenge in an effort to uncover some guilty pleasures, and we think this time we ... 26/06/2009THIS WEEKS TOP NEWS!! Who put the week on fast forward?? It's freakin'Friday once again. Oh, hang on- THAT'S A GOOD THING! And here, as ever are the top ... 14/05/2009TWITTER UPDATES FROM THE CRADLE OF FILTH VIDEO SHOOT Today saw CRADLE OF FILTH film a new video for a track from current album GODSPEED ON THE DEVIL'S THUNDER. 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Hailing from Grand Rapids, MI, Still Remains has rapidly established themselves as one of heavy music's ... 27/08/2008'GODSPEED ON THE DEVIL'S THUNDER' ARTWORK AND TRACKLISTING REVEALED CRADLE OF FILTH have revealed the rather dazzling artwork for their upcoming album GODSPEED ON THE DEVIL'S THUNDER, which is due for a release on ... 12/02/2008A MUSTAINE FOR MEGADETH FANS Dave Mustaine and crew played as part of the Gigantour 2006 in Sydney, Australia on 22nd October. Megadeth fans can watch clips of their awesome ... 12/02/2008Top 10's Over at ShoutWeb they've been polling artist's favourite albums of 2004. Here's the choices from some of our guys, but you can check out the ... 12/02/2008What's Your Favourite T-Shirt? Talking of surveys and polls and things, Teeshirtstore.co.uk has announced the results of its public poll to find the most popular (and unpopular) t-shirt designs ... 12/02/2008Paul Allender talks to The Gauntlet about recording their new album Thornography Recording an album in an old church must be creepy enough, but to actuually experience a supernatural event is something else… Cradle Of Filth's Paul ... 12/02/2008Instalment of Cradle Of Filth's tour diary The third installment of Cradle Of Filth's European tour diary is up online. Click here to view! SOURCE: BLABBERMOUTH 12/02/2008Cradle Of Filth Explain Ecuador Cancellation CRADLE OF FILTH wish to apologise to all their fans in Ecuador for not making the show in Quito on Saturday. This was entirely out ... 12/02/2008OUT NOW Cradle Of Filth's 5K-rated new 'Nymphetamine' album hits your local store TODAY and you can pick it up for around £11.99 from HMV, Virgin, MVC, ... 12/02/2008The Word Of Killswitch Engage - Word is Killswitch is still banging out the recording of their debut Roadrunner release, Alive Or Just Breathing, at Zing Studios in Massachusetts. - ... 16/12/2008DANI FILTH ON METAL HAMMER TV! If you head on over to METAL HAMMER TV you will be able to see a new interview with CRADLE OF FILTH'S 30/01/2009HEAVY METAL A SCAPEGOAT AGAIN? DANI FILTH DISCUSSES... CRADLE OF FILTH vocalist Dani Filth was interviewed recently by Canadian newspaper THE VANCOUVER SUN in a 12/02/2008Rock Deaths Top 20 Rock Deaths All this week on Scuzz, they're dedicating the channel the the rock legends no longer with us. Take a look at ... 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