CRADLE OF FILTH - Cryptoriana - The Seductiveness of Decay

 

CRADLE OF FILTH - Cryptoriana - The Seductiveness of Decay

Nuclear Blast Records

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Probably one of the better COF releases that's modern.  I like the guitar riffs but I never really liked the synthesizers that much, but it creates that dark atmosphere.  Dani's vocals are pretty much top notch but they will never be as good as on 'Dusk...and Her Embrace' or 'Midian'.  Being that he went through vocal chord surgery would be why.  The energy of the album is there and the riffs in the guitar department are up there too.  That's what sucked me into this release.  Though I think it might be a tad better than 'Nymphetamine' and 'Thornography', but it's a close call.  I'll just never like the synthesizers.

I think the guitars overshadow everything else that's going on during this release.  And of course Dani.  I would have to say that this is probably the best COF release in years.  I don't like a lot of their newer material, but this one kicks ass!  The leads are pretty good as well.  Some well put together music.  Of course the synthesizers just take getting used to and on this release they aren't overpowering.  They mesh well with the music.  Just sometimes they just seem chronic.  The song structures seem to be strong especially the guitars being in tact for the blasphemous sounds these songs emit.

Most of the songs I like a great deal of.  They seem to be influx with everything on here.  Nothing like the old days albums seemed to be the most creative.  I think here they used some of that creativity with the newer lineup with what they had to offer.  Some songs (though just a select few) have a clean guitar which makes the sound more mellow, at least for a short stretch of time.  Some of the riffs are the best I've ever heard from the band and the leads are quite good.  Though they could've taken them out I would've given them a higher rating.  But yeah, quite diverse and tempos all over the place.

The production quality was quite good on here.  And the female guest vocals they mixed in pretty well.  I would say the quality of the sounds is top notch.  I would've given this an A- if they would've taken out certain tidbits of things they had on here.  I would have to utter that it'd be best to hear these tracks digitally instead of on the CD.  Then you can judge whether or not this is for you.  My favorite highlights were of course the guitars and the vocals.  Dani does a great job on here (as usual).  Again, the strongest COF release in years.  Keep in mind what I said about this one in comparison to semi-older releases.  Check it out!

Ryan “Death8699” Fanucchi