Midian

When the video for ‘From the Cradle to Enslave’ was released in 1999 there were more than a few rustlings of discomfort amongst my youthful motley metal crue. First was the slightly ungainly pun in the title, which Dani Filth would unfortunately come to rely on as a naming tactic all too often in the future, but more disturbing was the C-grade style horror gore and monster focus. It was the first sign that Cradle of Filth were moving away from the nocturnal romance vibe of their first releases into the land of horror and… yes… monsters.

‘Midian’ would also immediately stand out due to its short and sharp title – a bit of mystery if you weren’t already familiar with Clive Barker and his land of monsters. Dani was obviously going through a serious Barker phase, not just with his drummer who had sadly left the band by this point, but with the author and associated films. The cover artwork would also raise a well-manicured eyebrow, with its attractive brunette on one side (thumbs up) and a bizarre scorpion-man monster on the other (thumbs down). A goofy looking purple monster face also looks down upon a strange gateway. The times they were definitely a’changin'.

Speaking of changes, variety is the spice of life apparently as there are no fewer than three band member in-n-outs since 1998’s phenomenal ‘Cruelty and the Beast’ (and more if you include the fill-in drummer on the aforementioned EP and video), making Cradle of Filth the band that everyone rushes to join and then everyone rushes to get the hell out of after a year or two. Paul Allender returns and would become a mainstay in the band, overseeing their reduction in quality for 12 or 13 grueling years, and two significant surprises turned up: Adrian Erlandsson from the mighty At the Gates and none other than the great Martin Powell from the glory days of My Dying Bride! It was all pretty exciting.

The album itself does sound considerably different from the classics that came before it. A fuller, warmer production is present, with everything sounding a little more powerful and substantial – perhaps a course correction after the (erroneously) perceived weakness of ‘Cruelty…’. After a nicely atmospheric intro, the mighty ‘Cthulhu Dawn’ bursts into life with a church organ flurry and a satisfying groovy riff, before those melodic Maiden-style guitars join the Halloween party. The difference in drumming style is immediately obviously, as the intricacies and deft touch of the mighty Nick Barker have given way to the more meat-and-potatoes tub thumping of Erlandsson, although this new style does fit the tunes nicely and they give the album a distinct flavour. ‘Saffron’s Curse’ is one of the strongest tracks here with a more mid-paced emotional crunch, with Powell’s keyboards flurrying all over it like heavy snowfall. This track is easily one of Cradle’s classics, and the section that begins around the 3 minute mark and moves to the “I splintered her coffin and lay on the floor, of a vault with her clasped as the moon hugs the shore” verse is simultaneously spine-tingling and fist-pumping with its energy and pathos.

‘Lord Abortion’ is another classic here, with a lyrical thrust that is decidedly unromantic, powerful, and yet utterly entrancing. Again, the narration that starts at 4:40, “My heart was a wardrum beat by jugular cults in eerie jungle vaults”, with a solemn cello and string accompaniment is a masterstroke within a song that focuses more on bestial metal power. Dani’s unhinged lyrical bent is disturbing, yet I can’t look away. ‘Creatures that Kissed in Cold Mirrors’ is a haunting keyboard interlude that we’ve come to expect on a Cradle album, and it doesn’t let the team down here. Probably the album’s best known track ‘Her Ghost in the Fog’ immediately follows with a more gothic style, as grand piano introduces some deep narration and a compelling chorus. Sarah Jezebel Deva makes a strong appearance on this track, adding to the romantic atmosphere. It's possible to see the slightly more commercial direction things are heading in, and it's no surprise that a video was made for it. Probably my favourite moment of the whole album occurs at its very end, beginning just prior to the 5 minute mark of 'Tortured Soul Asylum' (plenty of timestamps here, because for some reason this album has several brilliant ‘sections’ that deserve acknowledgement). Its epic, repetitive melodies that evolve to ever more greater impact, tug at the heartstrings and it's a real emotive punch in the guts. The ‘Exhuming the moon through the bars in my room” section is for the ages in its theatricality and emotional power. I can’t think of a better end to any Cradle of Filth album. Dani’s lyrics across the whole release are some of his best and he is bristling with motivation and passion for composition at this stage of his career.

Fighting words indeed. What of the downsides? I’ve never been able to enjoy the nerdy goth ‘Satanic Mantra’ track, a repetitive chant that is neither lyrically clever nor sonically enjoyable. I guess it’s a point of difference and a bit of a palate cleanser, but my palate was fine as it was. ‘Tearing the Veil from Grace’ has a fairly tepid choir melody that I find a bit underwhelming, and not every song here is a 'Saffron's Curse'. The overall context of the album is also a bit alienating, with its monsters and performance art vibe, especially if you're not a Clive Barker fan. The girl on the back cover with a shark coming out of her stomach is pretty dumb (check out the teeth of her stomach-mouth). Small gripes, though, and personal ones, so take them or leave them as you will.

Despite the line-up changes and shift in contextual focus, it’s not hard to conclude that ‘Midian’ is a brilliant album. For me it’s one of those releases that I know to be exceedingly strong, but it’s only when I put it on that it all really comes home to me – this is confident, competent and surprisingly moving and brilliantly sequenced. It's all the more worthy of cherishing when you consider what the next 15 years have in store...

The year 2000 is kind of an odd year for Cradle of Filth. While they were at the height of their relevancy within the extreme metal scene, not only have they've seen criticism from die-hard fans of black metal who saw the band as a McDonald's version of black metal, but they also saw themselves competing with another symphonic black metal band called Dimmu Borgir, who just three years ago released the critically acclaimed "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant". Despite all of this, the band didn't hesitate to release their next album of darkness titled "Midian", and while it's not exactly perfect, it is pretty damn close.

One thing to note is that Stuart Anstis left the band in 1999, leaving Paul Allender to replace, which makes it his first COF album since the debut. While Paul's songwriting isn't as sophisticated as Stuart's, he can still provide some chilling riffs, as shown in the first metal track "Cthulhu Dawn". The guitars on this track sound more intense and extreme than on the previous albums, and being more prevalent in the mix, the black metal elements shine more than usual. The drumming can also get really crazy at times, as its blastbeats sound more harsh and technical beatings more complex and intense. And of course, the synths remain great once again with its gothic sounds furthering the dark and goth elements. Despite "Cthulhu Dawn" being the shortest metal track on here, it still provides an extreme punch, and the same can be said to most other tracks. Two highlights in particular include "Saffron's Curse" and "Lord Abortion", as not only do they mainly continue in the vain of Cthulhu Dawn, but they also feel more epic-driven and atmospheric. And let's not forgive the hit "Her Ghost in the Fog", which includes even more sickening guitar riffs and some great melodic riffs in the mix. Midian is noticeably more extreme than other COF albums, but its what makes the riffs and synths all the more satisfying.

The vocals are also fantastic. Dani continues the vocals as usual, and they still remain as strong as ever. His usual style of intense shrieks and eerie whispers are still present, but given the more extreme and intense instruments, they somehow feel even stronger. "Amor e Morte" in particular is a strong example of this, as within the symphonic elements, Dani's whispers further enhance the gothic touches, with his shrieks also pushing the black metal elements even further. And let's not forget the backing vocals of Sarah Deva and Mika Lindberg, as their melodic singing pushes the gothic elements even further and mixes well with Dani's shrieks. Dani Filth once again provides a powerful vocal performance, with the backing vocals being just as good.

And let's not forget about the lyrics, either. Not only do the gothic stories continue, but they also feel more extreme. A good example of this is in the track "Death Magick for Adepts", where this verse quotes:

One half adrift in the vast
abyss of despair and misery,
the other a mask of rich red lips
whetted by the fevers of belief and greed.

Here, there are two sides to an area: One filled with misery, and another broken and abandoned. The old Victorian era style of writing not only works in the songwriting's favor once again, but the graphic details that happen within the dark magic feel brutal and intense. Not only that, but these lyrics are just about perfect for these types of instruments and vocals, as the symphonic black/gothic metal riffs and synths further perplex the extremities of the stories foretold, and Dani's shrieks and whispers further conveying the emotions felt within those involved in the madness. With Midian in particular, the more graphic and extreme stories are only fitting to an album filled with intense riffs and theatrical synths, and are written very well.

Despite the backlash COF went through at this point in time, Midian remains yet another slam dunk in their discography. Whether it be the more extreme riffs, the crazed and unsettling vocals, or even the beautiful poetry in the lyrics, this album is basically right up there with Dusk and Her Embrace in terms of being the best Cradle of Filth albums. If you haven't checked it out already, now would be a good time to give Midian a spin.

Midian is Cradle of Filth’s fourth full-length album and was released in 2000 on Music for Nations. The band underwent some major line-up changes between their previous LP Cruelty and the Beast and Midian. Old-time drummer Nicholas Barker left and was replaced by Adrian Erlandsson from At The Gates. Guitarist Stuart Anstis was also replaced by Paul Allender, who had recorded Cradle of Filth’s LP before quitting to form the short-lived doom/gothic project The Blood Divine. Meanwhile, Martin Powell from My Dying Bride replaced keyboard player Les Smith who went off to join Anathema. The production team was also changed, after the disastrous sound production of Cruelty and the Beast. This time Cradle of Filth went to Parkgate Studios, Sussex, to record the album under the supervision of producer John Fryer (Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails), who did a great job in giving the album a powerful yet nuanced sound.

All these personnel change are inevitably reflected in a progression in the band’s sound relative to previous releases. Midian is more guitar-driven and less romantic/gothic than Cruelty and the Beast or Dusk … and Her Embrace, perhaps harking back to the heavier and thrashier sound of Cradle of Filth’s debut LP. On the other hand, the symphonic influences are also accentuated considerably on Midian, also thanks to the inclusion of operatic vocals (both male and female) and the use of a cello in a few songs. These changes contribute to give the album a sound that is at the same time more metallic and more nuanced than before. What’s more, it shows that Cradle of Filth are a band that does not easily rest on laurels. Although the previous records had been highly successful, Dani Filth & co were still hungry for pushing boundaries and did not shy away from experimenting with new sounds and bringing in new influences into their sonic palette. Needless to say, this is a characteristic I hugely appreciate in any band and even more in acts that could in principle be satisfied with what they have reached and keep producing the same record over and over again.

Many of the 11 tracks of Midian are fantastic tour-de-forces that showcase the band’s unique sound. After the traditional instrumental prelude, the breakneck pace of “Cthulhu Dawn” makes it immediately clear that Midian is going to be a comparatively heavier affair relative to the gothic romances of Dusk and, to a lesser extent, Cruelty and the Beast. The guitar riffs are massive and thrashy as hell, and are nicely complemented by Martin Powell’s keyboard arrangements, striking a great balance between aggression and melody. The chorus is ominous and ferocious and sticks in your head like a ravenous tick, not because it’s melodically accessible but for its sheer brutality. It’s an approach that the band will repeat on a few tracks that are placed in the first half of the album, like “Saffron’s Curse” and “Lord Abortion”.

The second half of the album is less frenetic and more experimental, and I appreciate it all the more for it. “Amor e Morte” (Italian for “Love and Death”) is an astonishing piece of music that weaves together epic mid-tempos, fast paced sections, operatic choruses, cello melodies and a ton of excellent guitar riffs. It’s a fantastic ride where it is really hard to guess what’s coming next, making this one of the most exciting tracks on the whole record. “Her Ghost in the Fog” is another great song: moody and romantic, it brings back the atmosphere that the band had so successfully mastered on Dusk, turning this into an all-time classic for fans of the band. Another highlight is “Tearing the Veil from Grace”, which starts with one of the best (clean) vocal melodies of the album before descending into a more aggressive mid-section that gives way to a truly majestic finale.

Alongside these strong episodes, the album does contain songs that are slightly less interesting and exciting. I would not call them “fillers”, but tracks like “Death Magick for Adepts” (which, however, sports some tasty Maidenian guitar melodies), “Tortured Soul Asylum”, and “Saffron’s Curse” are a tad too formulaic and repetitive, diluting a bit the overall impact of the record.

Nevertheless, Midian is a very strong record, well-written and well-produced and containing some innovative and experimental songwriting from the band. It does not quite reach the level of majestic splendour of a timeless masterpiece like Dusk … and Her Embrace, but it does get damn close, and it certainly deserves a place among the top 5 releases of the band across their whole career. Highly recommended!

Midian was the second album in a row where I felt Cradle was dropping the smutty Gothic vampire Wordsworth mentality to explore some more compelling concepts that fit their musical style pretty well. I'm not saying that there isn't still a bit of that libertine sizzle in there, or that the delivery of the lyrics or the instruments had changed terribly much from efforts like Dusk and Her Embrace or Cruelty and the Beast, but I can't think of many bands that, from their inception, were pretty much destined to pay tribute to their countryman writer Clive Barker than this one. If the album title didn't give it away, he was a huge influence on this, with a healthy helping of Lovecraft for good measure. The cover artwork on this might not be their sexiest or highest quality photography; the creature looks a little cheesy as does the figure up in the purple clouds, but at least it has some detail to it and a nice color scheme that differentiated it from their others, with their awesome logo just at home as on any other of their releases.

What isn't in any question for me is the quality of the writing here, because SPOILER ALERT, Midian is my favorite album of their nearly three-decade career to date. The compositions are rich in variety, with a salvo of riffs in every track that instantly stamped me as memorable. This also has to be one of their best incorporations of pianos, synthesizers and ethereal female vocals that work in lockstep with the metal instruments, never coming across quite like a gimmick but rather a stew of components that would seem mandatory to create such a paean to the horror material which inspired them. I think the production also holds up quite well, especially at higher volumes, despite everything going on I can hear all the little guitar zips, every percussive strike, all the panoply of schizoid Dani Filth vocals and the numerous guest vocalists like Sarah Jezebel Deva and Mika Lindberg. Having Pinhead himself narrate on three of the tracks could have proven goofy if handled incorrectly, but instead he gives us a tone like the deepest lines of his iconic Cenobite and it blends right in. And while Cradle of Filth by this period was already a target of mockery for the black metal gatekeepers, before they seemed to magically reclaim acceptance in the late 'Oughts, Midian was sure as shit more creepy and evil sounding than a lot of the other bland purist third wave black metal spewing forth from Europe and the States by the turn of the century.

But it's the SONGs, the songs that draw me back to this one time and time again, and I've made it a habit that I listen to this one every October, a staple to go alongside the first five King Diamond discs, the first two Danzigs, Keeper of the Seven Keys, you know the drill. It's a perfect haunted house sort of sound, only more like a haunted labyrinth with unknowable Escher-like dimensions. "Her Ghost in the Fog" is one of top Cradle tracks, with its snake-charmer rhythms that range between warm and chilling, excellent flow of keyboards and some of the best Dani vocals ever which maniacally shift between throaty whispers, petulant sneers and guttural shadows. "Cthulhu Dawn" is one of their most impressive, charging nocturnal black metal pieces with great tremolo guitar lines and an almost weirdly Wagnerian vibe to the synthesizers, plus some of the more spooky female vocal harmonies they've ever used behind the surging verses which still have Filth plastered all over them. When it breaks into that high speed organ bit and the guitar melodies burn back in I swear I felt like I was in a tryst with with Peter Cushing, Vincent Price and Christopher Lee simultaneously. There is no track I would toss out of this..."Death Magick for Adepts", the more brutal "Lord Abortion", the thundering "Tortured Soul Asylum", even the purely instrumental synth piece "Creatures That Kissed in Cold Mirrors" is fucking Tales of the Crypt-level wonderful.

That the lyrics absolutely rule is no surprise, that's been the case for almost everything they've put out, even their most mediocre records like Midian's followup Damnation and a Day can be fun to read through; Filth puts more thought and time into composing these than almost anyone in the entire genre, and even if the guy could be teased for having the presence of a Gremlin tearing up the display shelves at a Hot Topic, I would probably just buy books of his lyrics alone, even if no songs were written to accompany them. A Byron to counter the twerk generation, as fluent in penny dreadfuls and occult lexicons as he is those most acclaimed Major British Dead Guys. Midian really puts the third-time charm in their most pivotal streak of records beginning with Dusk and Her Embrace, and for the life of me, even though I've enjoyed their last decade or so of albums from Godspeed to Cryptoriana, I can't tell you with a straight face that they've ever surpassed or progressed beyond what is written here. All mere permutations on peak Filth, platitudes for the appreciators of their perverse pantomimes. Jesus, now I'm beginning to sound a lot like this motherfucker, put a stake in me.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Well, at this point in the band's career in 2000, people shouldn't be asking "Who're Cradle of Filth, anyways?". This is when the band started really creating "memorable" tracks. And generally speaking, a lot of people considered this to be Cradle of Filth's last, best album before going entirely downhill until "Hammer of the Witches" (2015) (and onward, so far), revived the old style, like this record "Midian" (2000). Now, I'm perfectly fine with all the Cradle of Filth releases, but this record, in my view, is their best, earliest album. It was refreshed considerably, you know, since it had such an interesting, dark vibe that brought a totally different atmosphere than usual. I'm surprised that this record hasn't got a higher, overall review than it does here on Metal-Archives, at the time of this review's acceptance. And I always here how good "Midian" is, so...it's a little surprising.

This is also around the time Cradle of Filth went "commercial", but at least they're still good, if not, better than they used to be at this point. The production was slightly better, but still foggy, but it showed more in-depth audio capabilities than their previous works, which I think was great for this band and their record. It's less filthy (that was a little gag) and cleaner. The lyrics didn't fail to deliver either, though, it happens to be a lot less wordier than the other albums, I guess Dani got a little lazy during these times, but it's alright. He's no idiot, not with his brain. I also notice a difference with Dani's vocals here, too. He does a lot more of the traditional "black metal" vocals on this record, compared to "Dusk and Her Embrace" (1996) and "Cruelty and the Beast" (1998). And his highs have dropped in usage here, just a little bit. I guess all those live shows really do a number on your chords, huh? A bit of a shame, really.

The guitars sound so awesomely dark with their low-toned pitches. And magickal essence of plugin distortion. The melodies are constructed differently, it's more melodic and fancy. It's pretty refreshing from their previous styles and guitar-tuning(s). Which are dull on those releases. The bass, still....not really noticeable throughout this record...including the others. Bass never seems to be a large feature in this band, it seems. I don't know why it's mixed the way it is, but it doesn't seem right that the bass is always the hidden element (literally) . The keyboards are amazing well-made. I still get literal chills at the end of "Her Ghost in the Fog", with that last keyboard note that echos at the end, it's like waking up from a fucking nightmare. That's the Cradle of Filth I can appreciate. And their promotional music video for that song...was totally hampered and destroyed because it was "too long" of a song, to fucking do a video that was "lengthy"...but they do it now? So...what the fuck was that about?

October 31st would have been perfect, but it's OK. One day before is accurate enough... Now, I'm going to cry... Anyways... My final thoughts of this record are...pretty good. But still not my favourite Cradle album, but one I do consider to be better than some of their earliest ones. Dani's ex-wife, Toni, is also featured on this record, briefly for an intro voice on "Lord Abortion". She's got a really nice voice. Very goddess-like. A shame they split. Something deeply came between them. I suppose we may know in time, but then again...might not? Who knows? It's not honestly my business or yours. So, we'll leave it at that. The artwork is purple, basically...and it's a nice colour change. Also, it visually shows where and when this album's story is generally taking place, so that's fucking cool. Though, I'm sad this album didn't feature a better mix and more melodies than it did, but I can easily accept this for what it is. It's like power-up version of the band's former releases. This is practically golden to me...but it's tarnished...and scratched, but still good. And so are the band.

This album was released on Halloween (or one day before? - I cannot tell) and yet it is difficult to say whether this is a treat or a trick played by the band on their fans. This was not classic Cradle sound around its time of release and one can see why it is regarded as controversial. However after some listens it starts getting more and more enjoyable. As you might have assumed by now, this album is not without its flaws but as always, I'm willing to forgive those.

Merely two years had passed from their previous album (the two year space between albums is a staple for Cradle). That being said, they drastically changed their style, not for the better but it was still bearable. There are moments where old Cradle meets new Cradle, with excessive synth use and thunderous guitars, galloping bass and technical drumming. There also appears to be a concept behind this record but I am too afraid that the lascivious lyricism on which Dani excels, will devour the overall effort as if it was Cthulhu. So yeah, I'm not that eager to find about that right now.

The album also marks the return of Paul Allender in the ranks of the band. Some years ago I thought that was great (yay!) but now... not so much. I'm not quite sure that Paul was the band's savior. Actually if you think about it, it is Gian Pyres that was present in all Cradle's masterpieces apart from the debut. He is present here too and he saves the day. Before Cradle turned mellow pop they actually used to be black metal. So we'd really have to wonder how is it possible that one member which is not even the mastermind had such a massive impact on the final outcome. After this album Cradle started to sound like a bunch of old wrecks who try to revive their former glory. Unfortunately thinking out of the box was one of the virtues that couldn't find their place in the album. It is holding too tight on the same ideas and refuses to let go resulting in a somewhat boring 65 minute run.

It is not without any merit though and the truth must be spoken (okay the truth is always subjective but let me give this a shot). First of all, this is no 'Nymphetamine' or 'Thornography'. It has ideas that evolve throughout the album. The drums sound better than their third effort as well. Generally the instrumentation is well structured and without much blank spaces. The imagery is kind of gloomy and creepy and I believe that was the band's intention after all. Dani's voice is still great and his lyrics still bearable so no complaints about that either, even if they take a more 'dirty' and inappropriate-for-young-audiences turn. The production is not top notch especially the additional instruments sound like pure synth (which they probably are, but come on man, can't you just make a fool of us?). I'm mostly okay with how the other instruments sound apart from the fact that the guitars are a little compressed and the bass a bit low in the mix unlike the vocals which are placed in the front. In the non-musical part of the album, the artwork is mediocre to say the least. It is quite uninspired and predictable. I still believe that 'Dusk and Her Embrace' is the album with the best cover art (the best in general).

To summarize this, 'Midian' brings together various influences most notably King Diamond and some Iron Maiden. Needless to say that the album is nowhere close to these artists' value and contribution to the genre in general however it makes a good effort and it pays the minimum homage to them. What is that? Lyrical concepts, fast paced music and a rather theatrical performance. It is an album that Cradle can be proud of it. Not their best for sure but also far from their worst. Have a go and explore the world of 'Midian'. You might feel comfort or be appalled by its content but one thing is for sure; you will not be easily distracted as you listen to it. I've made my mind... this is a treat.

Favorite tracks: 'Saffron's Curse', 'Amor e Morte', 'Her Ghost in the Fog', 'Tearing the Veil from Grace'.

77/100.

Cradle of Filth started off as a symphonic black metal venture that was only a mild sidetrack from the more orthodox Norwegian bands of the early 90s: those albums showed a willingness to go further and be more varied than the Darkthrones and Burzums of the world, but they were not experimental in any sense, and sometimes could appear one-dimensional. A transition occurred around the time of the millenium, which led to CoF incorporating more outside influences into their black metal template and significantly broadening their appeal, perhaps watering down their extremity. 'Midian' is the first very deliberate step away from the underground and into the eerie spotlight of a red dawn, but it doesn't feel like a band abandoning their scene and grabbing for the coattails of another; it feels like a step forwards.

There are a few things that are apparent upon listening to 'Midian', some of which will be more apparent if you are already familiar with the band behind its creation. Firstly, this is clearly the most successful Cradle of Filth have ever been at getting all their ambition in the same place and making it come off. The band never had a problem with creating bombastic soundscapes and detailed songs, but they did sometimes have a problem incorporating those symphonic elements into their sound and crafting songs that required extra levels of performance. All of the songs on 'Midian' are fully realised and rarely suffer from sounding either overblown or lacking in ideas. There is intent. There is focus. And, more often than not, there is execution too. Take a song like 'Death Magick for Adepts': this kind of composition usually ended up very messy if it was recorded later than 2002, while it would probably have been orthodox and flat had it been recorded in 1998. Here, it does everything right even with the odds stacked against it. After the grandiose build-up, there is a guitarless verse with blastbeats, followed by a mindblowing riff that isn't black metal, nor quite death, but simply extreme; a classic melodic riff follows in the vein of Iron Maiden, then some sludgy death and sprightly melodeath accompany the sputtering of Dani's squealing vocals; we are brought to the calm narrative section, which surprisingly barely features keyboards except in a kind of awed silence; a majestic riff follows to close the song - one that Amon Amarth would kill many armies for and would repeat more than four times. That's the kind of ambition we're talking about.

The second thing that one notices from this description of 'Death Magick for Adepts' is that nothing in that song is described as black metal. 'Midian' is not a black metal album, but none other than the most obstinate purist would refuse to accept that this bears more of an adventurous spirit and dangerous whiff than 'Cruelty and the Beast', which was uninspired in places. CoF combine black, death, melodeath, classic metal, symphonic music, and something slightly unique into an amalgam of general extremity. This might imply confusion and sudden switches in style, though mostly those elements coalesce into one chimerical beast who rears different heads - both vicious and more docile - as needed. Freed from the shackles of the restrictive black metal template (which CoF were never quite masters of), their creativity makes songs more unpredictable and rewarding, since there is no longer that laboured transition between blastbeats and gothic symphonic interludes or narration which was more common on their 90s material. There are some of those moments, but they are used sparingly or in an interesting way. Take 'Lord Abortion', one of the nastiest CoF songs ever recorded. It's heavy as fuck in a steamrolling death/black style, yet it doesn't become monotonous in its downtuned riff assault: we get a furious death metal riff which trades off with a choral lick, plus another tremolo that has its ending lick embellished with a choral cadence, several extreme riffs with a melodeath edge of catchiness, and the interlude (while overdone vocally) fits well within the composition and makes use of a simple cello rather than the whole gamut of the keyboard and orchestra.

This kind of variety and subtlety gives the album depth and rewards intensive listening, though there are also recognisable hooks that I find easy to remember. Barring 'Tearing the Veil from Grace', there is something in every song - sometimes many things - that I can call to mind immediately and feel pleasure in recalling. Those inspired riffs in 'Death Magic for Adepts', the gorgeously fluid solo in 'Amor e Morte', the frantic melody and bowel-churning scream of 'Cthulhu Dawn', the eerie vocal motif in 'Tortured Soul Asylum', the heroicallly un-gothic thuggery that heavies up 'Her Ghost in the Fog'. 'Cthulhu Dawn' is probably the pick of the bunch because it doesn't let up from beginning to end, assaulting the listener with four or five fast-paced extreme riffs (thrash and death fans will lap up the verses), that crazy melodic motif, and great structuring that allows the heroic guitars to stand alone at times.

Those guitars are audibly downtuned, which would become a problem for CoF before long, but here they have riffs to play, so sound more ruthless or like the yawn of the abyss, which is no bad thing. The riff creativity is fantastic and unrestricted, even if one might like to see more solos, since the only one present here is clearly a success. The keyboards will be a problem for some listeners and are overdone. Some songs would have benefitted from losing about half of their accompaniment, especially those parts where it just seems unnecessary, since the rest of the band is already holding one's attention and need no distractions. However, 'Saffron's Curse' works a surprisingly high amount of keyboard presence into its shape and triumphs for the most part, keeping its character and adding extra magic to slower and more chaotic sections. Keeping the interludes to a minimum is also a blessing: 'At the Gates of Midian' is a typical CoF introduction, though actually decent, while 'Creatures Kissed in Cold Mirrors' is three minutes of nothing, and the mercifully short 'Satanic Mantra' doesn't do much harm, though is decidedly surplus to requirements. The rhythm department are important, maintaining extremity and focus throughout the larger movements and actually adding atmosphere to the guitarless sections. Vocals are the usual mix of every creature under the sun plus Dani Filth's own take on God and Satan, so listeners are bound to find him ridiculously overblown at times, though he will also raise the hairs on the back of your neck every now and then. He dropped the undetectable screechy vocals, but his narrative vocals are tiring (not the deep-voiced speaking, more the huffing and puffing of different characters), and the more straightforward death metal tones work best, especially when he varies his range.

'Midian' is an album with a hell of a lot in it and much of it is worth listening to. Out of eight songs, there are five that will draw you back time and time again, while the end of the album is slightly weaker and occasionally descends into riffless gothic cliche. Every song has a surprise and the number of great riffs is still apparent to me eight years after purchasing, though the keyboards have worn on me, as well as the vocals and lyrics, even if they are an amazing feat of poetry. This doesn't quite match the overall standard of CoF's earlier 'Dusk...and Her Embrace' or 'Vempire', but the general ambition as well as some individual songs rise mightily high in their discography and should be saluted for exciting and unique services to metal.

Cradle of Filth have been a band surrounded by controversy since the beginning. On the one hand you have the fact that they are a more mainstream band than most in their genre giving them a spotlight to the media who has branded them much the same way as Marilyn Manson, a "satanic" and blasphemous group of lunatics. On the other hand you have the true metal heads that believe them to be sellouts to their genre. These two elements have made it very difficult for Cradle of Filth to maintain a fan base as the years go on.

In their early days (their first three albums in my opinion) their product was very much black metal; their sound, their message, their overall delivery oozed with it. Their first full length album, "The Principles of Evil Made Flesh", was pure black metal, as was the following EP, "V empire." The arrival of their next two releases ("...Dusk and Her Embrace" followed by "Cruelty and the Beast") showed a slight departure from black metal but still showed a lot of promise. I personally feel that COF found their true sound here. Then arrived an EP that changed everything..."From the Cradle to Enslave" showed a dramatic change of pace, being slower, cleaner, almost greedy approach to their music. At that time it became apparent that COF decided to make their music more mainstream in the hopes of making more money to a larger fan base. Even the title of this EP says "We aren't really taking this seriously anymore" and that is precisely when most fans began to feel the same way about the band.

Now, onto the album at hand. "Midian" came out immediately following the aforementioned EP that put a sour taste in my mouth from the get go. Prior to my purchasing the album I came across the music video for the first single, "Her Ghost in the Fog." My fears were all but confirmed by this "pop black metal" travesty. The song was mediocre (not terrible but won't get much play from me) but the video is what was most appalling. This is exactly what black metal isn't...The bands singer (Dani "Filth" Davey) seems to be the only band member not taking this seriously. With "Twilight-esque" makeup and an almost comedic delivery this video screams "look, I'm crazy...your parents will hate how demented I am". So the video put my interest in buying the album pretty low on my to do list, right after learning to break dance and waxing my ass crack. Then a few months had passed and I found the cd used at a record store for five bucks and I said what the hell, I'll check it out. I have to admit, even though this was no black metal masterpiece or an album rivaling "Dusk" or "Cruelty," I was pleasantly surprised by its content.

First off let me say that the single, "Her Ghost in the Fog," has never grown on me. That song is easily the worst on the album, which is really unfortunate as I'm sure I'm not the only person that chose against buying "Midian" due to this song being used to promote it. "Midian" starts off with a short instrumental (keyboard) track like most of their albums do which led right into the might song "Cthulhu Dawn." The guitar work here, though not the best I've heard the band play, is quite sufficient and does well to preserve the atmosphere of the album. From here the album flows quite nicely through the next few tracks. Track number 5 is where the album begins to unravel a bit. This is where the listener gets hit with "Lord Abortion" and "Her Ghost in the Fog" and an instrumental track titled "Creatures that Kissed in Cold Mirrors" with only one decent song "Amor e Morte" to break them up.These are the two "attention seekers" this album offers to make sure every pimply seventh grader bored of Marilyn Manson finds this album.

By this point in my first play through I figured the album was just going to fizzle out and this was going to be an album that started strong before the ideas dried up and ended the album with filler tracks. How thankful I am that I kept listening as what was to follow is to this day my favorite tracks by the band. After track number nine, a short eerie chant repeated until climax, the dark masterpiece titled "Tearing the Veil from Grace" unfolds. This eight minute beast is the redeeming quality of the album that made the preceding four tracks worth sitting through. The song begins with keyboard work while Dani alternates his vocals with that of a choir creating a building up effect that is answered about one minute in when the guitars and drums explode into a symphony of aggression that "Midian" had failed to demonstrate to this point. Then the vocals hit, and boy do they hit. Dani is on the top of his game here and even as an adult now, and quite schooled on true black metal, this song still rates on my top ten list. This song goes back and forth in stages from operatic to all out aggression. The lyrics portray a dark hymn of satanic uprising that any black metal elitist could be proud of.

That's pretty much the end of the memorable moments "Midian" has to offer. About half of the songs we have here have more of a pop metal sound, far from black metal, but it's enjoyable for what it is. The keyboards throughout the album sometimes take the overall sound to almost more of an industrial sound rather than that of a dark ambience that you'd expect from black metal, but at this point I'd be very hesitant in calling this a black metal album. Lyrically speaking sure, but the delivery is more like what you would expect from Marilyn Manson if he decided to make a "black metal album."

Ok so, overall I'd say if you are new to the black metal or extreme metal genres this is a good album to get, though I'd recommend starting with "Cruelty" or "Dusk," or better yet...some of Dimmu Borgir's earlier work. If you are a veteran to heavy metal, especially black metal, you will find very little interest here, though I'd still recommend buying "Tearing the Veil from Grace" off iTunes. I like the album personally, but the worst part of this release is best described as how I felt about Metallica's self titled album (the Black Album). I liked the cd, but it was a sign of what was to come. In both cases I was right. Metallica abandoned their sound in search of something more profitable, Cradle of Filth did much the same. Midian is the last release by the band that I actually enjoyed. After this album the band sank like the Titanic with all their previous fans on board.

Think of COF as a gateway band, like marijuana being the "gateway drug". It's best purpose being an introduction to black metal. In fact that's exactly what they were for me. Perhaps that was the bands intentions all along....or maybe they just lost their edge with the loss of all the founding members (except Dani) by this point. Who knows, bottom line is Cradle of Filth's album "Midian" is an indisputable definite maybe. Get it, give it a listen, but don't expect to be blown away.

Best tracks: "Tearing the Veil from Grace," "Saffron's Curse," "Cthulhu Dawn, " "Death Magic for Adepts"

Over the course of recent years, British symphonic black metal band Cradle Of Filth have become little more than a parody of their former selves. Since their glory days with albums such as Dusk And Her Embrace, the band have taken many turns for the worst, with their low point being found on Godspeed On Devil's Thunder. Given the disaster the band's career has become, one would be forgiven for forgetting how solid the band's earlier works were, from their debut through to Midian, and some would argue even proceeding onto the next album they were continuing their good run. Where the band's high point was met on has become subject of discussion, as with all long-running bands of any genre, but in my opinion their peak was on Midian.

Midian is arguably one of the best symphonic black metal albums ever recorded, featuring many of the band's biggest hits including the fan favorite Her Ghost In The Fog. This album embodies everything that made all of Cradle's early work so enjoyable, with fantastic high pitched shrieks from Dani Filth, a wide variety of lyrical themes including a warped love song and the usual Satanic imagery found within the genre, and some fantastic use of keyboards. Some may consider this to be the band's major cash grab, with Her Ghost In The Fog in particular clearly being geared toward a more commercial sound with its catchy vocals and haunting lyrics and overly accessible nature, and this may well be true. However, to say that this is a bad album due to its commercial side is bordering on blasphemy, as Midian truly is a solid release.

One of the major highlights of this album, as with all Cradle albums, is Dani Filth's vocals. Dani has one of the most unique voices in all of the music industry, and a rather wide range, including his signature insanely high pitched shriek, a slightly calmer style of this that is semi-clean, and the occasional old mans spoken word sections. When you first heard Dani's shrieks, you may be more than a little put off by it as it is so unique among black metal vocalists. Whereas many of the genres vocalists have an unintelligible style that involves putting as much aggression into their vocals, Dani instead relies on hitting some of the most inhuman notes out there whilst always being one hundred percent understandable. After a while his voice will grow on you as you get more used to it and you will realize just how good a vocalist he truly is. Out of all the black metal vocals in existence, Dani's shrieks go down as some of the best and most memorable.

Another thing worth noting is the lyrics Dani pens that are spewed from that mouth of his with absolute venom. As a graduate in English Literature, one would expect some deep and interesting lyrics to read, and Dani Filth provides exactly this. The best lyrics also accompany the two best songs on here, Lord Abortion and Her Ghost In The Fog. The latter is the one that stands out the most, dealing with a mans love for a girl who was raped and murdered by five men. Whilst it may seem ridiculous that a black metal band are telling a love story, it really does work within the context of the song. All throughout Her Ghost In The Fog, there is a real atmosphere of longing and desperation, mainly created by the beautiful keyboard work dancing around in the background. This is an album where the guitar work actually goes largely unnoticed throughout which is so rare within extreme metal.

If you pay attention to the riffs, they are actually rather decent although they are nothing too special. For the most part they rumble along at a fast tempo whilst you primarily focus on Dani yelping his lungs out and the keyboard work that is so prominent in the mix on here. However, the guitar work truly does make for a fantastic backdrop for the rest of the instruments to build off. The same could be said for the drumming which is both intense and well written but is also something that does not particularly stick out against the keyboards and the vocals. This release really does take a few listens for everything to sink in purely for the fact that there is so much going off at once. Throughout the duration of this album there are constantly numerous different sounds being showcased, carried through the masterful keyboard work that creates a beautiful melody, with the crushing riffs and fast drumming and Dani screaming that one simply does not know what to do upon first listen.

Despite the fact that there is a lot to love about this album, and even though there are so many good points to it, there are a few points that really do detract from the album as an overall product. The first of these would be the completely unnecessary interlude track entitled Satanic Mantra. Essentially all this is is Dani Filth making evil noises and the sound of a Satanic ritual but instead of sounding cruel and dark, it sounds completely ridiculous and makes it nearly impossible to take the rest of the album seriously. Also, the songs are far too long at times, with Tortured Soul Asylum and Tearing The Veil From Grace both being around the eight minute mark and not holding the listeners interest for half of that. These songs are not enjoyable throughout but instead fast lose your attention as they simply do not have enough substance and repeat themselves too much. Also, Dani Filth's old man spoken word sections of a few of the songs really do detract from his credibility and take away from the songs. It is nothing too crippling for the album to have a few moments such as these but his spoken words really are horribly done and are cringe-inducing.

This album has enough good about it to more than outweigh the few negatives that can be found in it, and is a fantastic release that everyone should experience. This was from the year 2000, when Cradle Of Filth were still a more than respectable band within the extreme metal community and really is a brilliant album. It may be a little long and inconsistent at times, but the beauty of the keyboards contrasting with the aggression and passion behind Dani Filth's vocals is more than enough to make this worth buying alone. I recommend this to anyone looking for a varied experience that is firmly rooted within the Symphonic Black Metal genre but has so many deviations from the formula that would usually be expected from the genre that it is one of the most unique and interesting releases out there. The recommended tracks are Lord Abortion for its brilliant vocal performance and Her Ghost In The Fog for the dark atmosphere created by the keyboards.

One thing that I've always admired about this band has been their powerful vision - not only their visual expertise, their marketing, their tight control over their own progression, etc. - but the dark world they have always tried to move further into with each release, and the communication of certain vital obsessions (I am guessing these interests are Dani's) which make grand drama on the scale of popular art or music. One thing I have never heard widely disseminated is an appreciation of this band's lyrics - they have always impressed me...and in a music scene that is usually filled with dreamers who are almost pathologically incapable of communicating their visions, it will probably always be a pleasant surprise to read lyrics like I find in the records by this band, where all of their romantic fixations or lurid preoccupations come to a head in swiftly-narrated epic poems filled with ripe sensuality and a carnivorous sense of the cruel. When reading through the lyrics for 'Cruelty and the Beast', for example, I was struck by their attention to detail and the perversely eloquent way they unfolded. The one thing that this band's lyrics always convinces me of is, again, that they have a definite sense of purpose in their art, and that powerful vision bleeds not only into the music and the words behind it, but into almost everything else they touch. This is a very rare characteristic in the metal scene.

Another thing that I admire about this band is their unabashed sponsoring and invocation of eroticism or 'aberrant' sexuality - another rarity among metal bands (I am talking about actual sex here, not the raping and killing of women - that doesn't count, my fickle friends), and something I have always enjoyed when they present it in the correct light. I have actually witnessed some metal 'personalities' recoil in horror at the thought of promoting an honest portrayal of 'dark' sensuality - or indeed, of any kind of eroticism - in their work, and I have never understood this. Of course this reaction had more to do with the specific individuals and their own problems dealing with sexuality on any front, but I admit I can not understand the 'boy's club' mentality of the metal circles and their repressed misogyny/prudery - one would think they would ban the female form altogether if it was not for certain calls to 'the ethereal' that it represents to them. And so I enjoy, with a typical and natural relish, with a morbid Rabelaisian spirit, the sensuality of Cradle of Filth's music and lyrics. I can not speak for the profundity or cultural pertinence of their obsessions, but I enjoy their result. Let me ask the red-blooded males out there who may be reading this, which would you prefer: running around on an ice floe or across glaciers hacking at penguins with the irrepressible Horgh, or reclining in a plush, purple, velvet-backed antique chair, a glass of finest vintage in one hand, Sade in the other, and a willing nymph without moral reservations in between? That's what I thought.

Sadly I don't have the lyrics to this release, as the advance CD package I was sent by their record company included the barest minimum of information relating to the album itself. I will have to talk about the music, I suppose.

Dani and bassist Robin (he of the emaciated frame and skull-like visage) have dropped most of their earlier musicians for this release, picking up again the talents of original guitarist Paul Allender and some other notables. It doesn't really make that much of a difference. With the new 'expanded' production on this album that their bio relates with something akin to triumph, I can not really tell who is responsible for what in the sound here. The guitars have a larger presence than ever, however, and I am thankful for that. I admit that I was never that much of a fan of Stuart's guitar playing - it seemed a little too anemic to me, a little too clean - and here the band has returned to a sound not heard, really, since their first release: a deep, vicious wall of guitars that brings out the 'death metal influences' of this material. The song 'Lord Abortion', for example, is a real highlight - it contains a vicious hook and pounding, percussive riffing that will probably take long time fans of this band by surprise. For the most part, though, this is Cradle of Filth as we have always known them, and all of their natural/instinctive characteristics and idiosyncrasies remain intact - the high and low vocals and harsh screams of Dani, the winding, whirling, expansive riffing, the overflowing carnival keyboards (now courtesy of Martin Powell, who wisely abandoned My Dying Bride), the 'Victorian - Gothic' ritualized atmospheres, etc.

To be truthful, I think I enjoy this release much more than their prior material...I don't really know why. And all of their references to pop horror culture (Clive Barker, Lovecraft, and all other obvious allusions) aside, this is probably the best music they have written since 'Vempire'...hopefully it will bring them further success.

Erebus Magazine
http://erebuszine.blogspot.com

Almost an hour of vintage Cradle of Filth. The intensity, darkness, riff writing, vocals, and more deserve praise on this release. No song on here is lacking in any way as they put forth something so unequivical reflecting a bit upon their older work, but a little less intensity here though the music is surely the highlight. Atmospheric too and Dani's vocals are varied quite immensely. Not as high pitched as on "Dusk...And Her Embrace", they are still good despite that fact. They didn't really slow down here, I think that the guitar reigns on this one. Almost as good as Dusk, but not quite there.

There are blast beats, intensely made guitar action seemed to be in D-tuning as it sounds like, and variety in the vocal work. It's one release by this band that really hits a hold of vengeance and unmerciful outputs. Something that's lacking in their later works, although their newest has featured mixed ratings. Restoring the edge of the extreme gothic metal scene, COF is domineering and merciless on "Midian". They really belt out some of the most rad guitar riffs which fit perfect with the vocals. They are simply some of the most memorable guitar work on here that really packs a punch.

Never boring, never ceasing to amaze, COF really intrigues me in the best way possible. Most of the songs feature great rhythms and there is a heavy use of synthesizers that accompany the music. It really is a damn good extreme gothic metal release. An album that I could never get sick of hearing though there are parts where there is no guitar, just atmospheric synthesizers with Dani's high end vocals. Not as intense as Dusk, but the guitar still to me is quite original sounding. What I always look for in a band is the music itself. If it falls short on that measure, then the whole album suffers. "Midian" captivates me.

A lot of low end vocals spewing forth rigorous lyrical topics constructed by Dani alone. He doesn't lose his outstanding vocal duties with a nemesis here, he puts together an output that simply reigns. I'd say that there was a big use of the synthesizers here, but that's to create an atmosphere that simply dominates. It doesn't drown out the guitar work. It really augments it and fills it with something so irreperable. "Midian" to me is one of their greatest releases ever. The production simply reigns and all of the instruments here are well mixed in together and they all flow with magic.

If you want a kick ass COF album that in no way bores you or leaves you disappointed, then "Midian" is it. Simply captivating piece of work. Everything about the album to me is irreplaceable. So much atmosphere, doom and destruction in the music and to the listener's ear. It really hits home to me. If you dislike all of the synthesizers and low end vocals, forget all of that and just listen to how well they blend everything in together to make it an outstanding album. Nothing negative to say about this one, it really packs a punch in one's metal collection. Own it immediately!

Cradle Of Filth is an institution that, until just a few years ago, I was largely unaware of due to a combination of an individual boycott on all things MTV for their lack of actual musical content, and also due to the advice of purist friends who assured me that they were nothing more than a homosexual version of Slipknot with keyboards and makeup. In truth, what the band is actually about is something much more benign. I might even go so far as to say that the great Persian flaw in the band’s sound, at least as far as their more well known material is concerned, is that it is largely an inoffensive combination of extremely high-pitched witching cries, symphonic black metal spliced with gothic and operatic aesthetics, and over the top lyrical imagery.

This assessment of the band might be a little unfair because of their violent spurts of evolutionary mutation in sound, a common thing amongst bands associated with the 2nd wave of black metal, are not really on display in their middle era releases. This is essentially where “Midian” resides, in limbo between the symphonic scene from hell with vampires to boot from the mid 90s and the inferior gothic crazed material that first started popping up on “Nymphetamine”. While still heavily steeped in the pervasive keyboard trappings that can be heard on the average Dimmu Borgir and Emperor album from around this time, the riff work has taken on a strong helping of Teutonic thrash characteristics and a somewhat muddier, early death metal sound. It’s hard to hear with all the keyboard and vocal theatrics going on, but an occasional Sodom, Kreator, Death or Morbid Angel sounding guitar line in spite of the so-called mallcore hyperbole thrown around by critics.

For better or worse, this can still be qualified as a black metal album, given that the label is broad enough to include a number of releases by Immortal and Satyricon that have further stretched the boundaries of what can be considered as such. It is loaded with other influences, some compatible and some not, but it is still draped in the common aesthetic that typifies the sound. Particularly when dealing with the blazing speed and irreverent darkness of “Saffron’s Curse” and “Lord Abortion”, combining the pioneered coldness of early Emperor with a sort of creepy, film score sounding convergence of synthesized orchestral lines, the genre tendencies are pretty well present though somewhat diluted. “Amor E Morte” takes things in an overtly death/thrash inspired direction, even going so far as to include a King vs. Hanneman influenced lead interchange that is generally ignored by most Hot Topic cowboys with a taste for pseudo-metallic cuisines, save the occasional oddball who may enjoy a listening session with “Spiritual Black Dimensions”.

But the greatest strength and weakness of this album is the lyrical ponderings and storytelling of Dani Filth, who I will refer to affectionately as the prognosticator of profane poetry. When he gets into full out conceptual mode, his work ranges from sheer brilliance to awkward campiness, often with little accounting for subtlety. The combination of depressive neo-romantic melodies, blinding tremolo riffs and muddy power chords, and Dani’s neurotic vocalizations of a tale of death and love in “Her Ghost In The Fog” is utterly poignant, and sort of an odd choice for an MTV/radio hit, except for its infectious catchiness at several key points. Simultaneously, the instrumental keyboard endeavors found in “Creatures That Kissed In Cold Mirrors” and “At The Gates Of Midian” is intricate, though a bit overblown and slightly comical. But in spite of all the sheer lack of nuance going on here, the only place where things get too gratuitous to stand is “Satanic Mantra”, an A capella chant that is mercifully short, but goes way overboard on cheesiness and perfectly invokes that image of teenybopper Goth chick fodder that the band often gets stamped with. I skip this one every time I listen to this album, just to further illustrate the point.

For the prospective metal head who is on the fence about whether to try this band, this is probably the best album to look into given that from a stylistic standpoint, this is also somewhat on the fence. People that are gun shy about fully taking the plunge into black metal may find this inviting, though “Damnation And A Day” is a bit more geared towards death/thrash enthusiasts. Filth’s vocals are somewhat of a polarizing aspect of the band for some reason, though it isn’t really all that more offensive than anything that Abbath, Pest or Ihsahn has put out with their respective bands. An album lives and dies by its musical merits, not its support label or sales numbers, and that holds even to bands that commit the cardinal sin of being on MTV and being booked at Ozzfest, whether repentance occurs afterward or not.

I barely listened to Cradle of Filth. I only knew them for "Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder" but only because of the name of that album. Then a friend of mine asks me to download Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth for him. The only thing I found was "Midian" by Cradle of Filth. One day it goes on my music player then I decide to listen to it. I thought it was going to suck, especially since I heard that Dani Filth "squawks".

I actually found myself wrong about my previous expectations. I enjoy the sound of keyboards in metal and Cradle of Filth uses them very well. They add a symphonic feel to the songs and the closeness of the real instrument played on the keyboard is great, it shows they didn't use some cheap ass one that sounds like shit.

The vocals are actually well delivered. I thought I wasn't gonna like it but it was better than most black metal outfits and their singers. Dani Filth's squawk is better than whatever the hell half the black metal bands do today. The words can actually be understood and the deeper, spoken vocals made me feel like I was listening to In Flames for awhile. I thought it would be a complaint I would have but it didn't bother me as it really built on top of the atmosphere. The female vocals were interesting and a great addition.

The guitars are very interesting. They play some chords and single notes so it's more of a mix of metal genres instead of the black metal bands who abuse one note on a 16th-note count for 4 measures straight. The band really switches up the sounds with the guitars so you don't feel like you've listened to the same thing. Also, Cradle of Filth uses guitar solos in a time were solos were seen as lame but also in black metal itself where solos are used very rarely. They have solos in about 3 songs. I've never seen anything like that on another black metal release. The bass is barely audible which doesn't surprise me.

Despite the length of the songs, about six or seven minutes is average, Cradle of Filth does a lot of variation. This is good as they switch it up so it doesn't bore you. There also aren't those parts in songs where the instruments play for about 4 minutes in the song because the band wrote almost no lyrics for the song. Mentioning lyrics, Dani Filth sings a lot which adds character to the songs as they don't suck and it doesn't bore you either. The songs consist of abnormal song structures. As far as I heard there were no specified choruses and bridges which is different.

The production quality was pretty average. I was a little surprised it wasn't flawless production since "Midian" was released in 2000, a time were everyone was getting great sound quality just because they existed. The production is more reminiscent of an 80s band.

This album greatly differs to that of other black metal bands. It holds some unique characteristics. I do want to mention that the name "Midian" sounds like an "Elder Scrolls" game and this album would be the main plots premise and the game's soundtrack. Some stand-out tracks were "At the Gates of Midian", "Santanic Mantra", "Her Ghost in the Fog", and "Soul Tortured Asylum". Some tracks to definately check are "Her Ghost in the Fog", "Tearing the Veil from Grace", "Lord Abortion", "Death Magick for Adepts", and "Cthulhu Dawn". This album really changed my opinion of Cradle of Filth.

Despite what most modern black metal fans will want you to believe, Cradle of Filth isn't all that bad. Eccentric and mediocre, maybe, but it's no Brokencyde in terms of shittiness. Midian is an album that, though bland and overly theatrical at times, satisfies the listener with its crushing riffs that are some of the heaviest noises resembling gothic metal out there.

If you come into this album looking for anything like conventional black metal, you may as well turn around and head out the door. This is hardly black metal in any way: the screams aren't raspy in the loosest sense, the riffs resemble death metal more than black metal, and then you add in the synth elements which are the nail in the coffin. This is Cradle of Filth displaying their new gothic metal sound, stripping away whatever resembled black metal in favor of a much more mourning, melodic sound.

Unlike their also-mainstream partners Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth have wisely made the decision to utilize their guitars in the music more often, which is very helpful: not only would a lack of guitars as predominant instruments make the synth parts that sucked, suck more; but without the guitars, the tone of the album would secure its place as ridiculously cheesy flower metal. The guitars still sometimes only feel like a supplement to the symphonic riffs, but they still keep the music sufficiently "metal" when this occurs. Tremolos abound throughout the music (though eighth-notes are popular as well), and the riffs usually resemble a darker version of power metal in that they are still melodic, but a bit slower, and contain taints of evil and sorrow. As for the symphonies, they are usually hit-or-miss, sometimes genuinely helping the music and at others simply bringing a good riff down to nothing. One of the best symphonic examples is the intro, "At the Gates of Midian", which feels like it could be the opening theme to some epic movie about ancient war. "Creatures that Kissed in Cold Mirrors" has another epic (albeit darker) feeling, but drags down to utter drama at 0:55 when the piano kicks in. As I just described, there are some parts on this album that just feel so melodramatic and cheesy that I can't stand them. (I'm talking about you, "Satanic Mantra", and your ridiculously stupid chants.) Some of them are decent slabs of music, but they're simply out of place and just shouldn't be anywhere near an extreme gothic metal album; others are just fairyish in their prancy, rhythmic tone and shouldn't be anywhere near any serious musical compositions. The music changes tempo quite a bit, not annoyingly, but in such a way that it changes the tone of the music before it gets boring. Drums are a high point for this album. The playing style is decent, I suppose - typical syncopated blasts, hardcore punk beats, and bass drum rolls - but the sound of the snare isn't emphasized at all, so when a full-out blast beat arrives, it doesn't break up the song's rhythm with every hit and instead leads to a very fluid, guided sound to the music. As for the bass drum, it has a very low, well, bass-ish sound, and with most bass guitars nowhere to be found in modern metal, it's a welcome addition to the music.

Dani Filth may be the vocalist who gets the most shit in the world of metal, next to Jonny Davy and Don Campan (of Job for a Cowboy and Waking the Cadaver infamy, respectively). Honestly, I don't see where all the butthurt comes from. Sure, his voice sounds like his balls are getting caught in a bear trap every time he screams, but sometimes it actually works with the music. Well, for what Dani does, he does it right, as he manages to use the same vocals techniques throughout the album. Then, like Dimmu Borgir, you get the low, muttered vocals that sound like self-musings. Every now and then, you'll find a raspy, so-so, death growl. Finally, you have my favorite, the mid-level vocals that are sort of like vehement spoken word passages. Add to that the deep, old man vocals (no, Shagrath, they're not electronic, so you can't sue for plagiarism; that's still your purely original, shitty idea, ), the female whispers, and the choir in "Lord Abortion", "Amor E Morte", and "Tearing the Veil from Grace", and you have an album that simply never runs out of ideas vocally. As for lyrics, well...the lyrics tell some story about...something. I am truly terrible when it comes to interpreting lyrics, so I would just say that most of them are about some sort of demented love story, incorporating necrophilia, coprophagia, and God-knows-what-else. So yes, the lyrics are pretty meaningless (at least to my anti-poetic mind), but the vocal execution is very good because of the perfect timing used in the words Filth is saying.

Though there are quite a few boring parts in Midian, some sections show what the band is capable of if they combine the great symphonic parts with the great guitar riffs with the good parts of the vocals. Of special notice is 1:43 in "Death Magick for Adepts", where the dissonant screams and growls of "ENTER PENTAHOLOCAUST" are melded with a melodic riff and beautiful symphonic support, soon followed by the fluid blast beats I spoke of earlier. Also of notice is the song "Lord Abortion", which is a cut above the rest of the material in general. If the whole album was like this, it would very well be the best album of 2000, but most of the album struggles to break above mediocrity because of a lack of coordination between the instruments, which all have a ridiculously different feel to them.

It will take a few spins for this album to grow on you, and even then, it's not groundbreaking. But there are moments on it that are absolutely stellar, and almost worth looking through an hour's worth of material to find them. Though certainly not for everyone, Midian pretty much knows who its target audience is and sets out to please them. It's not an essential listen, but I mean, it won't assrape you to attempt to listen to it, which is a favor Dimmu Borgir won't give their listeners.

After four captivating, mesmerizing and destructive bouts of blackened vampyric fury, you'd think that no matter the weather the fire would still burn on. Everything seemed to be coming up roses for the Filthy Cradle, as they branched away from the simplistic corpse-painted throngs in order to develop their own identity, to which further popularity and derision on opposing sides fell into place. And after a one-off EP of original tracks and rather unimpressive covers, the shit would hit the fan and the dividing rod between the "tr00" fans and the "mainstream" group would drive even deeper.

And so we have this...

To be fair, this is not a bad album at all. It's just harder for the older fans to swallow, as the dark, dramatic romanticism and chaotic, fiery hatred was definately toned down for an album with the dramatic equivilent of a dark Disney film. CRADLE OF FILTH still showcase their tried-and-true formula of coupling crushing guitar riffs with gothic-dipped keyboards, but the recipe seems watered-down this time around, partially due to the departure of riff-smith Stuart, drum-lord Nicholas, and keyboardist Lecter, whose contributions gave us some of CoF's best material. The re-inclusion of Paul and new arrivals of Martin and Adrian stirred the pot a little too much, thinning the musical stylings into a more acceptable "goth metal" format. But even then the songs still stand the test of time, with both heavy numbers ("Chthulu Dawn", "Death Magick for Adepts") and heart-rending gothic meanderings ("Her Ghost in the Fog" "Amor E Morte"). And on Dani's part, he leaves a touch to be desired; yes, his screeches are still there, and his lyrics are still the well-thought-out poetic grace missing in all sorts of bands...but on this they come off a bit more hokey than usual, as though he remembered he was British and needed to inject some of that tongue-in-cheek humour in his performance (moreso on this than other future works). If nothing else, one could consider this album to be "black metal on training wheels"; fast and epic in and of itself, but not quite as miasmic or anti-social to be looked over.

So in the end, this is still a worthy addition to one's metal collection but may not get the attention their earlier acts would get. Things would get both better and worse as years progress, so if nothing else consider this the crossroads to what would come to pass.

In a sense, Midian is both the best and worst album for Cradle of Filth. This album single-handedly divided the band's entire fanbase into several camps, and made tons of little goth kiddies swarm to the feet of this band. (Most likely due to the promotional video for "Her Ghost in the Fog".) At the same time, it also showed the new face of Cradle of Filth with its then new to the fold members. Midian both helped and hurt the band; this is the album that always gets praised by the fanboys, and is the same one that gets slammed by long-time haters or old-school fans. In another aspect, it brought back the gothic edge to the band's sound, but in a much different and accessible way.

Firstly, I will say that the induction of new members did seem to help the band. Adrian took a big step by stepping into Nick's shoes; and though he isn't a technical or mind-numbingly fast drummer, he suits the music better. The majority of his work here is pretty simple, but he can rip shit up on "Tortured Soul Asylum", "Lord Abortion", and "Death Magick for Adepts" with skull-crushing double bass and some impressive blast beats. Adrian also uses a more natural drum sound than Nick, but this can falter at times; the snare is a little too boxy for my tastes, and the production renders the cymbals inaudible at times. (This is only a minor complaint, since a lot is happening in the music.) Paul's guitar lines breathe new life into the band's sound, as do Martin's keyboards. Paul puts a larger emphasis on melodic riffs and harmonies, as seen on the powerful "Saffron's Curse". Even with this, he still bashes out power-chord based passages that bring the band's earlier work to mind. There aren't many solos to be found, with "Amor E Morte" being a slight exception.

Martin Powell's induction to the line-up also helps things out, but his work on this album was also a catalyst for many to take shots at the album. I've never heard so many fucking organs in my life, people. Sure, it works out on the opening track, and for some of "Cthulu Dawn"; but holy shit, it gets nerve-grating by the time you're halfway through the album, and there's plenty more where they come from. When organs aren't present, it's either harpsicord, which is used rather effectively here; choirs, always a trademark of the band's sound, but are way overused; the occasional string section, which is more annoying than atmospheric here; or the grand piano, which has its moment of fame on the openings of "Lord Abortion" and of course, "Her Ghost in the Fog". Yes, Martin does a great job of providing atmosphere and tension; but he overdoes it, which is Midian's downfall. Everything gets to a point where it can only be described as cheesy, forced, and stale. There is no emotion in the synth work, and it makes the rest of the band look bad with its B-movie simplicity.

The ultimate thing that kills Midian is Dani's vocal work. Not only are the majority of the lyrics low-brow and pretentious, ("Tortured Soul Asylum" and "Saffron's Curse", being exceptions) but Dani's delivery is sloppy and irritating. His screams are lifeless and weak, and though the lows were tolerable once upon a time, they sound nothing more than terrible on this album. He also uses a senseless "narration" voice, which is a mix between a whisper and low talking voice. And damn, it's annoying. You'll hear it in full swing on "Amor E Morte". Another fault is the layering of the vocals; I'm convinced that Dani layered his vocals this much to hide the initial weakness in his voice, but his vocals overpower the music to a point of almost ruining it.

Now, the thing that really gets to me about this album is the unnecessary use of Sarah's female vocals. It's totally effective on "Her Ghost in the Fog" and "Saffron's Curse", as the operatic touch does help to add some texture and beauty to the songs. But other than that, they're always in the background and do nothing worth adding to the album. The bad thing is, they never stop; in one way or another, those damned female vocals are always lingering.

Despite these large problems, Midian still does manage to have some classic tracks. Though "Her Ghost in the Fog" is overrated, it nonetheless is an important display of the band's evolution into their current musical style. "Saffron's Curse" easily tops most of the band's other songs in melody and atmosphere, and "Tortured Soul Asylum", while a bit on the cheeseball side towards the end, is one hell of an epic track with impeccable songwriting.

I'm a bit stuck on this one. It's very possible to love and hate a release at the same time, and Midian is a prime example of such a scenario.

Although just about everyone hates Cradle of Filth these days, I’m going to be daring and say that this album is pretty decent. First things first: There is NO black metal to be found here. None whatsoever. The guitars are a mix of heavy (noodly melodic leads, occasional Maiden-esque riffing) and death metal. The drums are pure death metal, with the bass drum very high in the mix. The fills leave a lot to be desired, but overall the drumwork is very tight and precise. The keyboards are actually very tastefully used for the most part- there’s a lot more emphasis on the guitars than in, say, Dimmu Borgir. Combined with the occasional use of strings and decent, though not earth-shattering, female vox, they create a beautiful, dark, feminine atmosphere. Dani’s vocals sound like some small animal being painfully raped, except when he’s trying to growl (these aren’t as bad, but are still pretty half-assed compared to most vocalists out there). The lyrics are just… silly. They sound like the faggy “poetry” of a particularly literate mallgoth. The production is very clear and bass-heavy, making the music sound almost… watery. I can’t really describe it further, but it’s a cool effect.

To sum it up: Midian is a very good album instrumentally, but it’s taken down several notches by shitty vocals and lyrics. I can’t fully recommend it, but if you’re looking for an enjoyable time-waster, then by all means give it a try.

I too, must confess to having walked the path of CoF-fanboyism. This album in a way saved me. The MCD 'From The Cradle to Enslave' was in a way a warning of things to come: a warning against Midian.

That MCD had a few new songs, remixes and bad covers. But one thing gradually became clear during that period: Dani had to be a prick, otherwise he wouldn't be constantly losing skilled bandmembers, during and after both 'Cruelty..' and 'From the Cradle..'. And what happens when you alienate everyone with a grain of talent because of your egotistical wiles? You end up with a band lacking any form of creativity, a band that has to go by a familiar formula in fear of losing the succesfully selling bandname Cradle of Filth, simply because the creative input is replaced and you can't end up with a new band AND a wholly different sound.

Thusly, we got Midian. Simplistic, keyboard-driven fastfood; lacking substance, originality, creativity and downright appeal. Now don't get me wrong, I actually liked Cruelty And The Beast. I thought it was a great album in terms of escapism and building a horror-atmosphere, while still stunning the listener with an albeit non-novel, but still a properly developed theme. None of that on Midian. It's the same formula, but none of the thought behind it.

The album starts of nice, with an omnious intro with sampled female chants in the keyboard like we're used to, and then bursts into Cthulhu Dawn, a song on Lovecraft mythos. You know Lovecraft mythos don't you? One of the best horror-themes ever, with an eternally appealing theme of impending doom slowly encroaching on your reality, and unimaginable supernatural horror? Well Lovecraft-mythos, and notably Cthulhu mythos, is a theme done to death in metal, but luckily Cradle is here to show everyone how to do it properly, similar to how they elaborated on the Ersebeth Bathory legends, right? FUCKING WRONG. This is just another typical Cradle song, with dominant keyboards doing simple 'haunting' melodies, simple chord-pickings, and Dani grunting and screeching over it. A plus is that Dani's vocal style doesn't oscillate like an unstable particle across different states on this track, and that they don't use the overused 2 fated lines from Lovecraft's Cthulhu story that everyone uses. But the music has nothing to do with the lyrical contents!! It's just a copy and paste job, of the same tired old powerchords and mixed up with dug-up obtruse words, the finding of which is Dani's only talent. Atmosphere? I think not.

Every song is like that. None of them are inspired. They all just use the overly dominant synths, combine it with chants from Sarah Jezabel Diva (ok, one of the elements I do like, were it not overdone and employed so haphazardly), simple guitarriffs and then Dani screeching over it. Slower and faster passages, it does not matter if they're strung together randomly. Every element on this album I've heard before, and it just treads on the beaten path of all the previous albums. I'd be more mild if this had any grain of inspiration, and wasn't such a step back from previous efforts.

Cradle of Filth might be a disgrace to black metal, but Midian is a disgrace to Cradle of Filth. Not that I think highly of this band (which is lead by an unscrupulous greedy egomaniac..and I can't apreciate a band knowing I'm listening to an asshole all the time when I'm listening to their albums), but CoF at least had a musical nieche they're were filling: that of theatrical horror gothic. Thanks to this album they can't even be taken seriously in that role any more. The 'I'll-shock-your-parents' artwork fails to impress anymore, and lyrics have become, like the music, predictable.

I hope this album will achieve for all it's listeners what it achieved for me: stopping bringing up any sympathy for an obviously crappy band; a band lead by a desire for tapping money from it's fans in exchange for the cheapest product possible. Let's collectively move away to better music kids.

Although this album has been a deception to many old COF fans, I am happy to differ and say how great this album is. Of course it does not sound like any of their old albums. Is this bad? The answer is a clear NO! Midian brings us a new concept. It does not talk about vampires, but a place where demons, fallen angels, and monsters dwell, an idea whose origins come from the Old Testament.

I will start by saying it is good to hear Dani "singing" and doing less of those glass-breaking screeches. The guitars are really good, they are fast, melodic, and most importantly I think they emanate a bizarre and scary sound that seem to recreate nicely the ambient Dani had in mind for this album. Adrian was a great addition to the band. Frankly, I think he does a better job than Nicholas ever did. The drumming is noticeable faster and more elaborated than in previous albums. Martin does a good job giving the musical pieces the perfect ambient. Musically, Cradle of Filth has matured, and in Midian songs are more mature than those in previous albums like the great Amor e Morte. This album comes with a set of melodic, complex and heavy songs ready to defy whatever you thought Cradle of Filth has to be (for some people they have to be “vampiric” metal forever or it sucks).

I want to make a special mention regarding the Lord Abortion song, which I consider to be an unbelievable awesome song; I cannot get enough of it. Have you read this song’s lyrics? Dani wrote a great story about a guy who becomes a sexual maniac, serial killer bastard. It’s so sadistic I love it, this is poetic gore! Also there are cool fast death metal-ish riffs in the song that just kicks ass, and still black metal fans are whining about COF not sounding like “true” Norwegian black metal. Fuck that, Cradle of Filth incorporates elements from different metal styles that makes it more interesting to listen than those grim and necro stuff, in my opinion. Last, I want to mention that the Japanese version of this album comes with a bonus track; a cover from one of the best thrash metal bands UK had called Sabbat. I think COF did a very good job with this cover. Adrian does a good display of his abilities in this song as well. I have had this album for a while and I liked it, but I was not aware of its great characteristics. Now that my tastes have matured I can comprehend how good each song of this album is.