From the Cradle to Enslave

Written and recorded between Cruelty and the Beast and Midian and released in 1999, From the Cradle to Enslaved is a transitional EP that finds Cradle of Filth with an incomplete line-up (Nicholas Barker had left the band and had not yet been replaced by a new full-time drummer) and, generally, going through a sort of inspiration drought, which is also reflected in the content of this record. The EP is comprised of two new songs, two covers, a techno (!) remix of one of the two new songs, and a re-recording of “Funeral in Carpathia” from their 1996 LP Dusk … and Her Embrace.

None of the material is truly exceptional and in fact most of it is rather mediocre. The two new songs leave me fairly cold. They are written more in the style of the forthcoming LP Midian than in the majestic, romantic style of Dusk or Cruelty and the Beast. The tempos are faster, the guitar riffs thrashy and aggressive, and so is the vocal approach, while the keyboards engage in elaborated arrangements that push the music even more in symphonic territory. The drums are less in-your-face compared to the Nicholas Barker era, both on the title track (where drums are played by December Moon / The Blood Divine drummer Was Sarginson) and on “Of Dark Blood and Fucking” (where the drummer is Adrian Erlandsson from At The Gates). The latter song is probably the one that resembles the most the material that will appear on Midian, where indeed Erlandsson will play drums as full-time member of the band. While there is nothing particularly wrong with either track, they come across as somewhat run-of-the-mill, lacking strong melodies or arrangements that can make them stand out from the other dozens tracks Cradle of Filth have penned through the years. In other words, on a LP like Midian these would have been easily the weakest songs.

The cover of The Misfits’ “Death Comes Ripping” is also somewhat lackluster. It’s a short, punkish piece that is as savage as it is unremarkable. The cover of Anathema’ “Sleepless” is much better, and probably the main reason to buy this EP. The original (from The Silent Enigma) was already dark and sinister, and Cradle’s treatment accentuates even more the morose nature of the piece. It has that haunting quality that one can find, for instance, on “A Dream of Wolves in the Snow” from the band’s debut The Principle of Evil Made Flesh.

The other two tracks of the EP are alternate versions of the EP title track and “Funeral in Carpathia” from Dusk … and Her Embrace. The techno remix of the title track is a curio more than anything else. I remember that at the time it stirred quite some controversy in the specialized press and among fans, as people started fearing that also Cradle of Filth had been “infected” by the electronic malaise that was running through much of extreme metal at the time (Paradise Lost, Theatre of Tragedy). It turned out not to be the case and we can look back at this little piece as a small, extemporaneous experiment that does not add much to the Cradle’s catalogue. The new version of “Funeral in Carpathia” (with Nicholas Barker still on drums) is faster (as per the track’s subtitle “Be Quick or Be Dead), less embellished and romantic than the original. It moves the piece closer to the Midian material than the original set of songs contained in Dusk. The song is one of the best Cradle have ever written, so it is hard to dislike it, but I am afraid that in this new vest it loses a lot of its original allure, at least for me.

Overall, From the Cradle to Enslaved is a fairly disappointing EP, probably the first record in the chronology of band’s releases to feel really superfluous and unnecessary. Cradle of Filth have a strong tradition of releasing good material on EPs between full-lengths (think of V Empire), but this EP fails to deliver the goodness. I’d say this one is for fans and collectors only!

Stop-gap EPs are a tricky concept. While I'm all for a band keeping the listeners' attention by releasing a little bit of new material between full-length albums, there are times where the material isn't as up to par as one would like, which could lead to accusations of using the EP as a mere cash-grab (which is an unfortunate occurance, seeing as some of them are more expensive than they should be). This, sadly, is one of those bogey-shot EPs.

The previous album, the brilliantly theatrical "Cruelty and the Beast", left some seriously big shoes to fill, ever-widened after the three increasingly incredible albums preceding it. So I picked this up, hoping against hope that the ever-flowing stream wouldn't be mired with pollutants after rumours of more line-up changes. What I got was...this. Two new songs, three covers, and a "remix" of a classic song. The good points this little ditty had are left to the original songs, which are pretty decent in their own right; the title track is the weaker of the two, showcasing a sensation of groovy hooks not always perfected in extreme metal, watered-down guitar riffs, downgraded keyboard lines and plodding, going-through-the-motions drumwork. Not by ANY stretch of the imagination a "Vempire..." part 2 in terms of killer EP material. Dani's lyrics also started to show a downward spiral, the original gothic and Satanic poetry now full of double-entandres and an infusion of tongue-in-cheek British humour best left to John Cleese. Thankfully things pick up in a big way with "Of Dark Blood and Fucking", which gives the listener the speed and intensity sadly left out of the more popular track; crushing guitar lines, horrific keyboards, and blast-beating monsterwork that demolishes with impunity. And while the musical side of things are in generously awesome doses here, it becomes apparent that Dani's vocals were starting to die out on him, if only a little bit. Still the same screechy mayhem that's been the at the helm from "Vempire" onward, this time they sound formulaic and moderate instead of fearsome. It unfortunately starts to go downhill from there...the MISFITS cover is a skipable roadblock, the ANATHEMA cover a decent entry (though they could've done better), the "remix" sounds more like a practice scratch track for the real thing, full of sloppiness and morass, and "Dawn of Eternity" ends the disc as a better cover than the previous two, showcasing a sense of dirtiness in the production that actually helps rather than hinders.

So all in all this is, I feel, the weakest chapter in the on-going CRADLE OF FILTH series. Best left for the completists, though "Dark Blood" would be worth a purchase for casual listeners. Thumbs slightly down.

Let me say this once: The only good songs are the closer and Sleepless. From The Cradle to Enslave (The song) is a boring waste of time that just sounds mallgoth and totally NOT evil. And the Misfits cover is about as horrible as the original (I hate the misfits.) Of Dark Blood and Fucking is filler in my opinion. It offers nothing new, and like the title track, sounds fake and contrived.

The remake of Funeral In Carpathia pretty much robs the original of all darkness and malice and the new version just can't stop sucking. The production is clean, pristine, pretty, soft, and totally lame. It robs the original of all life and shit. Let me make it clear: the version my friend lent me has Dawn of Eternity as a closer, so I'm not referring to the remake as the "good" song.

What particularly makes me sad is that Midian was their last decent release. Bitter Sweets to Succubi on is pretty much garbage. And they were going downhill from 1997 on... Cruelty and the Beast was good, but not great, like Midian, and this one just plain sucked.

It's mainly the fact that it's really inconsistent (three different drummers) and the fact that the production is really lame (a good production has all the instruments audible with atmosphere and grittyness at the same time.) The pathetic thing about the production on this is that the guitar and drums drown out the bass whenever the bass isn't going solo, and the drums have this "clicking" sound that is really annoying, and at the same time the keyboards have this tinny ring to them. Not only that, but it also succeeds at being very soft and lame and about as scary as a teddy bear. Avoid this release; even hardcore COF fans shouldn't get it.

Possibly one of the weakest single Cradle releases, being as it is an interim EP designed to take new members for a trial run, and to showcase the usual stars of the EP: B-sides. It starts off with two original songs, each sporting a different drummer behind the kit (the drummer for the second song, Adrian Erlandsson would get the permanent job) and the EP’s clear standouts.

The title track feels oddly Cradle-lite, but maybe only because of the setting, since it clearly demonstrates just about every aspect that constitutes the band’s winning formula. It’s alike in carnal delivery to “Midian” with a production giving it a “Cruelty and the Beast” air to it. It certainly feels like it should being where it is. “Of Dark Blood and Fucking” is a similarly structured venture through the dark cloisters of Cradle’s sound, but takes hold of thrash riffs and uses them for maximum impact. This would be the norm throughout the bulk of the next studio outing.

A cover of the Misfits’ “Death Comes Ripping” is delivered sans any transformation as a nasty shot of punk under Dani’s trademark shrill shrieks. It’s a far cry from their other covers and feels uncomfortable sitting here, and has little impact on me. They decide to go not so left field on their choice of covering Anathema’s “Sleepless”, a song much suited to them. Already a fan of the original, I really dig their rendition of it here which uses further swathes of keyboards to enhance its Goth gloom. Time for a really quirky experiment, a techno remix of the title track! Not that I’m against techno, it just goes in one ear and comes out the other as its ambience floats by without setting alight. It could have come out far better.

Padding out the running time to just over a half hour is an alternate version of “Funeral in Carpathia”. This is pleasantly rewarding and you can hardly go wrong with something off the classic “Dusk… and Her Embrace”. It’s highly stripped down which robs it of its milder gothic melancholy, but good as it brings the basic instruments to the fore to create a much heavier song. This EP then, should be picked up for the two originals, but there are a couple other things of interest on here. I’d only recommend for people who are already fans of the band though.

Let me start off by saying that the best song on here is, by far, From the Cradle to Enslave. It is easily the best thing that CoF has (and probably ever will) come up with. Not even Dani's vocals can ruin this one, but he sure as hell tries. Starting with a really weird yet interesting intro, the song kicks into gear with an incedibly cool verse/chorus melody. The symphonic nature of the music fits perfectly with the evilness of the riffs and makes for real ear candy. The song speeds through, with many vocal changes (the growls being preferred to the screams) and coming to a close with "This is the end of everythiiiiiiiiing!!!", which is the best line Dani has ever come up with (with the sole possible exception of Tortured Soul Asylum from Midian). The song ends with keyboard work that sounds strangely like it was lifted from the PC game Doom.

Of Dark Blood and Fucking is another good song, but nowhere in the pwnage capacity of the former. Death Comes Ripping is really cool, I severly dislike the Mis-shits but I have to give CoF credit, they really beefed up the song. The Anathema cover was surprising, especially for a usually faster band like CoF to do, but it turns out well nevertheless. My copy has Dawn of Eternity instead of Perverts Church. The song is pretty good, I haven't heard the latter so I cannot say which I would rather have. The EP ends with Funeral in Carpathia, which was one of the best songs on the Dusk...And Her Embrace album. It is fucked around with a bit, but to be quite honest sounds fairly similar to the original version, with minor changes. I still do prefer the original though.

Buy this if it's cheap, about half of the songs make it worth it.

From the Cradle to Enslave - 10/10
Of Dark Blood and Fucking - 7/10
Death Comes Ripping - 9/10
Sleepless - 8/10
Dawn of Eternity - 6/10
Funeral In Carpathia (BQOBD) - 9/10

= 81%