Cradle of Filth – Cruelty and the Beast (Re-Mistressed)

Erik T — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 11:08:14 +0000

If you were to poll die hard Cradle of Filth fans and even casual black metal fans and ask what the long running UK black metal band’s best album was, it would likely be a mix of 1996s Dusk and her Embrace and 1998s Cruelty and the Beast, maybe with a few votes for 2000s Midian thrown in. (Sorry, the V Empire release is an EP…). Certainly my vote would be for Dusk, with Cruelty as a close second. But as with many records from the 90s, Cruelty suffered from a thin production that sapped the magnificent material of its glory, though still a classic release.

Well, Dani Filth has done a bit of a 180 degree turn from the band’s last reissue of Dusk and Her Embrace, where the original, more raw material was re-issued and enlisted Scott Atkins (who has produced the last few Cradle albums) to polish and clean up the album’s flat original sound, and boy does it make an already classic album even better.

With already classic material, the remix/remaster gives the album a vibrant, vicious edge. The guitars are fuller and crisper, the drums and bass (the main knock on the original) are thicker and more bombastic and the keyboards seem to be bigger and have a a few more layers added with a few more bridges added. Also, Sara Jezebel Diva’s female vocals seem to have been either added or brought to the forefront more. Dani’s vocal also appear to have been tweaked, as they are more clear and vitriolic, especially the layered growls, making his brilliant prose concerning the album’s name sake, Elizabeth Bathory, even more lucid; “Scar-riddled saffron eves bleed like the conjugal. Vestal daughters giving throat to the priest. A psychophant, the despoiler of faith,now his skinless crucifixion feeds a winged diocese.For her interred, I tore a battle banner from his hide.Splashed in red goetia, hues of Hell and deicide.“. So Good.

As a result, already brilliant tracks are even more dynamic. The un-fuckwithable opening trio of “Thirteen Autumns and a Widow” (that opening stanza is just bombastic as fuck now) , the erotic defacto title track, “Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids”, and one of Cradle’s most scathingly seductive songs ever, “Beneath the Howling Stars” (that throbbing bass run is even better now), all sound amazing, especially on headphones, where Atkins’ work really can be appreciated.

Other tracks that benefits are the blistering thrash of “Desire in Violent Overture”, where the remixed synths really stand out and “Lustmord and Wargasm (The Lick of Carnivorous Winds)”, which is probably one of my top 5 cradle songs ever (and responsible for my long running online name/gamertag), where those killer, slicing riffs leap from the CD with vehement intentions. The sprawling, 3 part, 11 minute “Bathory Aria” certainly has more depth with what appear to be more grandiose keyboards and vocals and “Twisted Nails of Faith” still stands as the album’s weakest moment, despite the new sheen.

Non-musically, this reissue does little. Some linear notes from Dani and British music journalist Dayal Patterson, a slightly different cover, and the band’s energetic cover of Iron Maiden‘s “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, previously released on other reissues of the album. But when the music itself is so seminally influential and classic, it does not need to be dressed up or glossed up with needless fluff.

Certainly more of a release for Cradle of Filth fanboys or completionists such as my self, but for new fans or metal fans just now delving into the band’s catalog, they can now hear a reinvigorating version of a classic black metal release until a new album drops.

Lost Horizon – Awakening the World

Chris Dick — Sun, 20 May 2001 16:09:53 +0000

Heavy metal really hasn’t changed in the 30 odd years the music genre has been invading the humble homes of suburbanite, disenfranchised kids. Whether it serves as a confidence booster, a unifying rally cry or simply music to party by, heavy metal has and always will be a part of the general overview of music. With that train of thought and in that order, Sweden’s Lost Horizon brings the world yet another platter of unabashed fantasy-driven heavy metal with enough pomp to make Rhapsody look humble in comparison. While that’s a grand feat in and of itself, the overabundance of band photos (bare-chested shots only, of course), ultra-cheesy cover artwork and stage names (Preternatural Transmogrifyer, et al.) doesn’t detract from the obvious fact that Lost Horizon writes impossibly catchy heavy metal in the classic vein of Helloween, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest with subtle infusion of progressive rock thrown in for good measure. Quality notwithstanding, does the world need another band of this style? Statistically, the answer is no. The quantity over quality ratio in heavy metal greatly leans to the former, which is why Kamelot, Evergrey and, of course, Lost Horizon are required to balance the scales. Whereas Hammerfall, Primal Fear, and the myriad of pretenders to the throne simply ape the formalities of the genre for a brief moment of glory, Lost Horizon actually realize their songwriting prowess and craft an album’s worth of songs that are unmistakably predictable in the traditional sense of structure but feature a gigantic sense of melody and profound musicality. With a latent songwriting talent helmed by former Luciferion axeman Wojtek Lisicki, Lost Horizon is also home to a great vocalist, Daniel Heiman (aka Ethereal Magnanimus), whose pipes fit firmly and confidently between Ronnie James Dio and Forbidden’s Russ Anderson. From “Heart of Storm” to “The Kingdom of My Will,” Heiman’s rock-solid performance is yet another example why Lost Horizon, as a musical force, is an exponential improvement over many of their peers. The guitar work of Lisicki throughout Awakening the World is nothing short of extraordinary, as evidenced in the stunning fretboard marvel of “World through My Fateless Eyes” and the overt harmony of “Denial of Fate.” In many ways, the guitarist combines a classical sense of composition without sounding at all like the soundtrack pretense of, say, Rhapsody – everything here is steeped in tradition, but not so to the extent that it’s merely another bout of nostalgia for 80’s metallers. Rhythmically speaking, Lost Horizon expertly grounds and then propels each song into the stratosphere. Bassist Martin Furangen and drummer Christian Nyquist are definitely the foremost musicians in their field, using tact, restraint and raw talent to their fullest advantage. If there’s one complaint to hurl in Lost Horizon’s direction it’s in the appearance of the band and art direction: far too often bands of this nature rely on gimmick to sell their music. Lost Horizon, on a musical level, are mature enough and simply can’t afford people to dismiss them as ‘just another power metal band.’ To reiterate, Awakening the World is far from groundbreaking, so those looking for an album with a deeper sense of purpose should look into Borknagar or on a lyrical basis In Flames. Yet, heavy metal this proficient and powerful is difficult to deny and, ultimately, enjoy for what it is. Lost Horizon do indeed have a promising future ahead of them. Awakening the World is testament to that.

Music For Nations – Teeth of the Divine

Cradle of Filth – Cruelty and the Beast (Re-Mistressed)

Lost Horizon – Awakening the World