Track Listing

1. Under Pregnant Skies She Comes Alive Like Miss Leviathan
2. Dirge Inferno
3. Tonight In Flames
4. Libertina Grimm
5. Byronic Man
6. I Am The Thorn
7. Cemetery And Sundown
8. Lovesick For Mina
9. Foetus Of A New Day Kicking
10. Rise Of The Pentagram
11. Under Huntress Moon
12. Temptation

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #102003 in Music
• Released on: 2006-10-16
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
A good proportion of the Great British public probably still know Cradle Of Filth best for their blasphemous T-shirt design, but Thornography - the seventh album from these first-wave British black metallers suggests that if Cradle occupy a niche, it's both a popular niche and an enjoyably camp one. That's not to say that Cradle have watered down their shrill, brimstone-scented metal rush. Unlike earlier, more symphonic albums like 2003's Damnation And A Day, Thornography finds Cradle possessed by the spirit of rock - the dual guitars of Paul Allender and Charles Hedger powering the likes of "Dirge Inferno" and "The Byronic Man" (featuring backing vocals from HIM's Ville Valo) on satisfyingly cruel riffs and solos of both barbed edge and ornate complexity. Two things mark this band apart from their extreme metal peers, however: a sense of humour – see how Dani Filth (credited on the sleeve as 'Harlot Church') invests his vocal with a camp, almost pantomime delivery; and an ear for mainstream (dare we say it) pop hooks. These dark metal alchemists are playing with a dangerous formula, but it works – at least until the closer, a cover of Heaven 17's "Temptation" that sees forked, lizard-like tongue pushed deep in cheek: a cheap shot, and given what's come before, somewhat unnecessary. --Louis Pattison

CD Description
Seventh album, and their sophomore Roadrunner release following 2004's 'Nymphetamine', from Colchester black metallers,the UK's prime exponents of the genre. Cradle have been dogged by controversy since their inception and this album is not going to change that, but here they continue their evolution towards a more melodic, streamlined sound, without totally abandoning their penchant for epic, gothic grandeur or their winning way with a witty pun.

Customer Reviews

The Filth - Evolved
As a long time fan of The Filth, I for one was starting to feel a little like it was all over. While Damnation and a Day and Nymphetamine are both solid albums in their own way, they are not a patch on what came before. I appreciate that Cradle are trying to take a new direction, I even welcome it in a way, nobody can truly wish a band keeps on churning out the same stuff forever. Even if I would like to see another Cruelty and the Beast. Sigh.

To be honest, when Thornography was first released, instead of the usual rushing out to buy it, I had that moment of wondering, 'Should I bother?' I'm glad I decided to get it anyway.

Thornography sees Cradle continuing the themes they started to explore on Nymphetamine. The emphasis on more straightforward metal tracks with, (Satan forbid) catchy choruses. But whereas on Nymphetamine I believe they largely failed to hit the mark, here they seem to get it spot on almost every time. The first few tracks represent the best opening of a Cradle album for a long time. Dirge Inferno, Tonight in Flames and Libertina Grimm are outstanding and Byronic Man has the first Cradle chorus that was so catchy it got stuck in my head. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not!

Elsewhere the songs are all markedly better than on Nymphetamine and the level of consistency is, for me, perhaps the best of all their albums (with the possible exception of Cruelty). Almost every track has a great riff and the drumming is nothing short of excellent, the production really bringing it to the fore, but without destroying the atmosphere of the tracks. Dani's vocals are different again from his style on the majority of their albums, the sustained high pitch screaming of Dusk and Her Embrace is long forgotten. A more varied range is on show here, and in fact, on a couple of tracks I do believe Dani is actually singing!

In Thornography, Cradle of Filth have proved that they can write metal tracks with great choruses and great riffs, and still keep an atmosphere of evil going strong. They have taken their sound and finished what they started on Nymphetamine. It may not be black metal any more, and I am positive that many long time fans will hate it, but in my opinion it is an evolution of a sound that actually works, and Dani & co deserve a lot of credit for this.

SURPRISINGLY VERY GOOD
Cradle of Filth is, without question, Britain's most popular, adventurous, funniest, and theatrical alternative metal band (they've actually smiled in photos in full corpse paint). They've been blogged about endlessly, and most recently about not being in the least bit a "black metal band" anymore but merely a good metal band -- they seldom wear corpse paint; they've been interviewed by MTV; have a MySpace page (not run by them); and lead singer Dani Filth sometimes goes by his real name Dani Davey now. Whatever. Cradle of Filth are not a good metal band; they are a great one. Over six previous full-lengths they've been able to make seamless the melding of gothic textures, symphonic music, drama and dynamics, bone-shattering death metal, high concept theater, great production, and humor. In short, they may be mainstream these days, but they can still shred the pants off just about any body musically.

Thornography follows Nymphetamine on the Roadrunner label and is produced by Rob Cagganio. And the band is intact with guests like the inimitable Sarah Jezebel Deva of Angtoria. While it's true that the new title doesn't match the last one (it was so brilliant, how could it?), the music certainly does. A deep, creepy gothic intro titled "Under Pregnant Skies She Comes Alive Like Miss Leviathan" (written by Chris and Tommy Rehn of Angtoria) that would have improved upon the one in the original Hellraiser film, with big choirs, huge organs and strings, it's almost Wagnerian in scope and sets the tone for those bludgeoning twin guitars and blasted drum work on "Dirge Inferno" (which is anything but). Dani Filth is as entertaining as ever as s singer, sounding somewhere between Cookie Monster with a razor stuck in his throat and Chris D. of the L.A. horror-punk band of yesteryear the Flesh Eaters. But it wouldn't matter if Miss Piggy were fronting this unit, they are so utterly accomplished as a metal band musically. Check "Tonight in Flames" with its references to the great metallic bands of the past for evidence. But Dani serves another purpose because he's so utterly entertaining. "Libertina Grimm" weds Lovecraftian horror filtered through Vincent Price kitsch, wedded to Sade-ian pornography via blistering metal: "God was six days sober/On the night that she was born/To the glistening star of a bible class/An icon now in religious porn." Offended? What did you expect from a band called Cradle of Filth? "Sweet Child O' Mine"?

This might be offensive if it could at all be taken seriously. Offense is the point, but so is the fun of classic horror. Better is "The Byronic Man," which follows. It's such an intensely high gothic concept, lamenting Lord Byron's fate and celebrating his many alleged crimes against culture, the church and the aristocracy: "As lonely as a poet on the walls of Jericho/Or the moon without the comfort of the stars/I am loathe to know it that a man without a soul/Is nothing but a spilt canopic jar/I proved it, improved it/Drove a sonnet right through it..." But none of this would matter if this band couldn't write songs, and be so utterly full of the dark side of Halloween and rock the joint to the cracked cement foundation. Who cares what the street thinks about them? Cradle of Filth have been trying to be the evil version of Queen for ten of their 15-year history. Whether its Edwardian decadence, classless humor, power metal in overdriven fury or over-the-top satire disguised as transgression; COF are so very consistent and sophisticated musically and sonically that they are virtually untouchable and in a class of their own -- which is where, make no mistake, they always wanted to be.

Other standout tracks on this set include "Cemetery and Sundown," with its woven vocal choruses, deep rumbling bass riffs, and melody line like something off the Damned's Black Album. The unhinged "Foetus of a New Day Kicking" simply kicks ass in the way that Venom did on their debut album with riffs as sledgehammer-like as early Iron Maiden. But nothing quite prepares the listener, whether old loyal fan or newfangled bandwagon jumper, for the cover of Heaven 17's "Temptation" that closes the record and, in addition, is the album's first single and video. Who said Satanic heavy metal bands couldn't crack a joke? Whether this will be the last straw for the COF faithful and/or win them an entirely new legion of fans is anybody's guess, but let's just say by the sound of Thornography, COF are aiming at playing an arena near you sometime in the near future.

Thornography
After Nymphetamine, I for one was starting to think Cradle had lost a lot of their originality, imagination and creativity and were merely rehashing a more commercially acceptable version of what had come before. Therefore, for me at least, Thornography was something of a "make or break" album. Fortunately for Cradle, they have yet again inverted fans' expectations and taken yet another turn in yet another direction.

Thornography does bear a lot of similarity to Nymphetamine, the guitars and drums are similar, Dani's kept up a lot of the new vocal twists he developed on the last album and on the whole, they've kept going in the slightly less gothic/melodic and slightly more "metal" direction they have been heading in recently. On the other hand, Thornography has much less of the commercial leanings of its predecessor and it is more or less the band quite simply having fun with no strings attached. The album is divided roughly equally between dark, energetic thrash and nightmarish gothic delights, slightly more reminiscent of their older music. The whole album evokes a dark, sinister yet somewhat decadent atmosphere, completely different from that of any of their previous albums. Despite the fact that all the silliness you expect from such a predominantly unserious band is still present, Cradle have grown up a lot from the days of Dusk and her Embrace, and there is a new maturity in their sound which can only be achieved after years of musical development and evolution.

Charles proves to be a more than adequate replacement for James and he and Paul clearly have a lot of fun creating endless twisting, complex riffs which weave an atmosphere of darkness but with their usual sense of fun. Dave in particular shines on this album, with his bass work becomeing noticably more ambitious and more prominent. Despite Martin's tragic departure from the band, they do remarkably well without him. Their sound has developed in a thrashier direction leaving less room for keyboards in some songs, though they are used to great effect in some songs such as "Tonight in Flames" and "Lovesick for Mina". In a way, Cradle's lack of a permanant keyboardist at this stage has allowed them to experiment with a different sound, relying more heavily on the guitars for the melodic side of their music.

The two pre released tracks on the album, which you have probably heard, "Dirge Inferno" and "The Foetus of a new Day kicking" are two of the best tracks on the album, but there are several other gems, particularly "Tonight in Flames" "The Byronic Man" and "Lovesick for Mina". The former is quite simply one of their best songs since Midian, with the typical Doug Bradley intro, incredible melodic guitar work, a beautiful keyboard section and some amazing vocal sections. It roughly follows the same sort of theme as "Nemesis", but is an infinitely better and more imaginative song. "The Byronic Man" features some somewhat incongrous vocals from HIM's Ville Valo, but is a fantastically debauched song about the life of the infamous libertine, Lord Byron, which is completely unlike their usual songs, but fantastic nonetheless. "Lovesick for Mina" is a little more Cradle's usual subject matter, with a combination of gothic melody and heavier sections, which is actually extremely catchy. Dani actually retreads several of Cradle's long forsaken themes such as the goddess Diana, who is beautfully portrayed by their resident siren Sarah, and vampires and such, featuring in both "Lovesick..." and of course "Cemetary and Sundown" as well as their usual themes. He also has fun with some less serious ideas, particularly in "Libertina Grimm" which is a distorted fairytale, featuring twisted inversions of classic fairytale characters, woven together into a debauched gothic fantasy character.

Maybe COF have lost some of their original atmosphere and beauty, but nonetheless, this album is a lot of fun, with some of everything you could want from the band, and whether or not you liked Nymphetamine, there are a lot of things to enjoy. My only criticism is the utterly insane decision to cover the absolutely hideous 80s pop song "Temptation". It is as awful as you expect!! But other than this, its a pretty solid album and if you haven't already bought it, you should!