Cradle Of Filth Nymphetamine CD

Cradle of Filth: Paul Allender, James McIlroy (guitar); Herr Pubis (bass guitar); Adrian Erlandsson (drums); Dani Filth, Martin Foul.
Personnel: Dani Filth (vocals); Martin Foul (piano).
Audio Mixers: Colin Richardson; Daniel Presley.
Recording information: Parkgate Studios, East Sussex, England (2004); The Chapel Studio, Lincolnshire, England (2004).
Unknown Contributor Roles: Adrian Erlandsson; Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull; Sarah Jezebel Deva.
Arranger: Daniel Presley.
When was the last time you saw anyone in corpse paint smile? It's further proof of their flair for showmanship that two of the "slick perverted wraiths" in Cradle of Filth's 2004 publicity shot are flashing the pearly whites. The longstanding English group was never devoted purely to the black metal aesthetic; Dani Filth and his minions flaunted decadence amid their gravestones, and supported the usual atonal growls with the melodic gallop of metal traditionalism. This approach has always assured the listener a little entertainment with his fear, and Nymphetamine (what a name!) is no different. The laughably overwrought novellas of Damnation and a Day are gone -- Cradle's focusing on songs, not suites. Does this have anything to do with the band's new home at Roadrunner? The label is very good at encouraging the music to say hard while working to make it marketable, too; witness its co-branded Headbanger's Ball compilations. Whatever the reasons, Nymphetamine is an extremely entertaining album. Filth's vocals shift between roof-of-mouth-tearing screams and primordial yowls; coupled with the oft-melodic guitar lines, Cradle can at times resemble any of the slogan T-shirted American post-hardcore units (Used, for example). Thank the dark lord then that they don't forget their place. We don't listen to these albums to empathize with Dani's pain; we listen because they sound like a play list on Pinhead's iPod. After a typically spooky intro -- picture black-robed choirs and gargoyles coming to life -- Cradle drops the hammer on "Gilded C***" (you figure it out), a muscular rocker with wind-whipping time shifts and lyrics you can actually understand ("My preference leans to killing you quickly/Scissored in the gizzard...."). Most of the album plays dueling power metal guitars masterfully off a slower or more gothic choruses. "Absinthe With Faust," for example, departs from its Metallica-type speed for a firelight reflecting in the catacombs interlude. Hello, my pretty. Other highlights include the rapid-fire "Medusa and Hemlock," a guest appearance from Leaves' Eyes chanteuse Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull, and "Filthy Little Secret," which is utterly cinematic in its orchestral, choral, and ultimately explosive scope. ~ Johnny Loftus
NYMPHETAMINE (according to the band, a term defined as a ravenous addiction to classically beautiful women) is Cradle of Filth's sixth full-length album, and third in a row on a new label (in this case, Roadrunner Records). It's also stripped of the grandeur provided by a full orchestra and choir on 2003's DAMNATION AND A DAY. Time spent on the road with 2003's Ozzfest left the band with a need to simplify the arrangements, in an effort to capture the ferocity of their legendary live shows. What's left is heavily thrash-influenced and teeming with fluid guitar lines rooted in the classic British metal of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.
Relying less on synths, strings, and operatic background vocals, Cradle of Filth turns up the guitars a notch and delivers wave after wave of brutal yet melodic riffs anchored in the band's early influences. Guitarists Paul Allender and James McIlroy twist lines into dark harmonies on "Nemesis" and "Coffin Fodder," while delicate piano intros add atmosphere to "English Fire" and "Absinthe with Faust." The title track features a duet with Liv Kristine (Theatre of Tragedy, Leaves Eyes) that epitomizes the idea of beauty and the beast. NYMPHETAMINE proves that less can indeed mean more.Alternative Press (p.154) - "[With] coruscating, minor-key thrash riffs, tasteful keyboards and a retreating gothic edge." - 3 out of 5
CMJ (p.5) - "[T]hey've noticeably broadened their stylistic palette..."
Kerrang (Magazine) (p.52) - "[A] diverse and ingenious masterwork; a kaleidoscopic trawl through every conceivable extreme metal subgenre."