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KKKKK

Posted on February 12, 2008

Hot off the press… the new Cradle of Filth review in Kerrang! magazine – out today. And a stonking 5 out of 5 review it is too…. read on. NYMPHETAMINE KKKKK ADDICTIVE BRITISH STEEL FROM THE DEPTHS OF HELL THERE WILL be those who believe that Cradle Of Filth’s brief dalliance with Sony was evidence that the band had lost the plot. The fair-to-middling reviews that last year’s ‘Damnation And A Day’ album received certainly suggested that a few hapless dimwits were relishing the prospect that Dani Filth and co were heading for a post-pride fall and even though the album sold remarkably well and did little to dent Cradle’s status, the sound of critical knives being sharpened has been audible ever since. All those prophecies of impending calamity were outright bollocks, of course. Cradle Of Filth have long been UK extreme metal’s own Iron Maiden a prolific, consistent and reliable force that has only engendered animosity on such grand scale because they’ve had the audacity to sell lots of records around the world and display a frank disregard for pandering to either underground elitism or mainstream sensibilities. In the end, cynicism is easy. Making albums as good as ‘Nymphetamine’ patently is not. Despite what a handful of friendless purists will argue, this is the best album Cradle Of Filth have ever made. ‘Midian’ and ‘Damnation And A Day’ may have been held together with more powerful notional glue but, unhindered by lofty concepts, Cradle’s eighth studio effort revels in its own diversity, traversing countless different musical moods, employing many ingenious lyrical wheezes and doffing its hangman’s cap respectfully at generous fistfuls of metal’s classiest stylistic advances. There’s an almost compilation-like feel to proceedings as the brutal, blackened deathcore of ‘Gilded Cunt’ leads on to the stately but scathing ‘Nemesis’, the elegant menace of ‘Gabrielle’ and the shadowy horror of ‘Absinthe With Faust’. Elsewhere there’s a Maiden-esque melody pile-up (‘Coffin Fodder’), a dignified but caustic mid-paced elegy (‘English Fire’), some gleefully unwholesome punk-metal (‘Filthy Little Secret’) and a hideous, blast-ridden theatrical epic (‘Mother Of Abominations), not to mention the bold, sprawling, three-part title track that boasts more hooks than a coachload of Abu Hamza impersonators. Lyrically, too, ‘Nymphetamine’ marks a high point. Dani Filth’s reliably deranged poetic skills remain Cradle’s most sorely underrated weapon. Here, he consistently excels himself. This is the sound of a great band having a huge amount of fun with their sound, throwing every conceivable idea into their steaming cauldron and brewing up something dense, unholy and deliciously substantial. Cynicism be damned Cradle Of Filth are more vital than ever. And here’s the proof. Dom Lawson (KKKKK) ‘Nymphetamine’ is released next Monday, Sept 27.

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