Album Review: Cryptoriana: The Seductiveness of Decay by Cradle of Filth

Does everything its predecessor did right, but better, and with more style, flair, and conviction. When Cradle of Filth released Hammer of the Witches to early critical acclaim, there were those that dismissed the praise without even hearing the album. They assumed any positive vibes were simply the result of 15 years of low expectations, but It turned out the accolades were totally justified. Not only did Hammer of the Witches mark the return of the band.

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Despite Cradle of Filth's ever-revolving door of members — seriously, there's an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to the band's 20-plus players — they've returned, remarkably as ever, with yet another release. Cryptoriana – The Seductiveness of Decay marks the band's 12th full-length effort and 26th year of service to metal. Typically, such prolific acts tend to find comfort in monotony and learn to do one thing very well, often predictably so, but Cradle of Filth are no typical act, and any long-time fan could attest to that ….

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Cradle Of Filth are one of the great British heavy metal bands. From their beginnings in the dank depths of the early 1990s as vampire-fixated black metal hobgoblins, they’ve blossomed – if that’s the right word –into the Hammer Horror Iron Maiden. Cryptoriana is a cinematic epic draped in shades of black and blood red, heavy on the orchestration and gothic camp. The nails-down-a-blackboard extremity of the past is still there but it’s a long way from front and centre, while frontman Dani Filth has dialled down his Nazgul shriek in favour of a cracked croon.

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