CRADLE OF FILTH - Hammer of the Witches
Nuclear
Blast Records
Annihilating! A
great reminder of “Midian” replayed with a similar "kick" to
it. Not as well-flowing as that one, just great to hear that they've
stepped up once again from their previous “Manticore”. The energy is good,
still gothic/dark and heavy, another thing is that they've really acquired good
lead guitar-work when executed. I tell you, I was apprehensive in
purchasing this one because of one of the YouTube videos I saw then a friend
giving it an average summation which would equate to me thinking that it's
garbage. Way wrong! Really good music! It's all fresh, though
the constant line-up changes in this band has them changing concepts in
songwriting though this reflects the past as mentioned.
Dani is still going
hardcore intense throat though about the same as on “Midian”, I won't say way
back until “Dusk...and Her Embrace”. The music is really HEAVY and the
synthesizers make it into a darker aura reflecting the Lovecraft-laden
lyrics. The album is another long one, about an hour in
length. However, it doesn't weaken or bore the listener, it's actually
quite entertaining. The guitars are thick and in some instances
fast/tremolo picking with blast-beating. In other parts, mild and
melodic. The whole album has the music changing up that gothic sounding
keyboard always in the background making the release more "evil" in
entirety and chilling. Suffice to say here that CRADLE OF FILTH isn't
giving up, this is their vengeance!
It was unfortunate what
happened to the band's old site where the forum collected people from around
the globe, but I think that they did that to focus on a new domain and a new
era of extreme gothic metal, their currently defining genre. “Hammer of
the Witches” has some entertaining song titles as they are so notorious for
creating. I think that you can say that this is another "concept
album" by them and that "concept" is pure
blasphemy. There's no letting up in the dreariness or darkness, it's just
a reenacted “Midian”, I can't stress that enough. However, the recording
here is better than that one, you can hear it entirely plus they're always
changing things up here. Not a whole lot of repetition.
Among the CRADLE OF FILTH
albums, 3 of them stand out the most: “Dusk...and Her Embrace”, “Midian” and
this one “Hammer of the Witches”. The main reasons are not the lyrical
themes they touch upon, they've never reached me in that respect, it's the
music and vocals that I think are the strongest on these. These guys are
back with a vengeance. Totally not "selling-out" and you can
only find a few tracks on YouTube. They want their music bought in the
physical CD rather than what most bands have done as well as lost money by
going on YouTube, full albums that is. You can find a couple of songs, but
when you get the full-length, it's totally convincing and just head-pounding.
I think that what makes CRADLE
OF FILTH stand out in the metal community is their unique vocals, songwriting
style and entirely maiming listeners with their brutality in a gothic
fashion. World-wide fans is a known for a reason, mainly because they
really know how to hit home on making music. Check out some of their
videos on YouTube because you can hear how they've relived that past era of
style into a modern-day 21st century metal fashion. I support CRADLE OF
FILTH, not so much Dani's side project DEVILMENT. If the songs on YouTube
for “Hammer of the Witches” don't convince you, then a true fan you are
not. This album simply crushes from beginning to end!
Ryan “Death8699”
Fanucchi
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