Hammer of the Witches

I still remember the very moment that I realised that ‘Hammer of the Witches’ was a vastly different beast when compared to the mediocrity that had been the Cradle brand for the previous twelve years, give or take.

I was sitting at home with the then brand new album on the stereo, but I was so jaded with the Filthers by 2015 that I wasn’t paying any attention to what was coming out of the speakers. I can’t recall if I knew specifically that new members were in the line-up, but even if I did I wouldn't have cared. My back was turned to the stereo and I was busy with something else. It was literally background music.

The first few tracks flew by without me even noticing what was happening, but at the four minute mark of ‘Deflowering the Maidenhead, Displeasuring the Goddess’ something happened that had not happened to me with a Cradle of Filth album since ‘Midian’. I stopped, felt a sudden chill run down my neck, and sat bolt upright. The metal had stopped and the keys swirled in an atmospheric passage replete with an eerie female voice, as the vocals informed me that “This judgement has come from on high”. It was, and remains, a glorious moment of genuine musical spirit that wasn’t just noise for the sake of it – it was a moment that reminded me of the greatest emotional punches from their 90s heyday. I listened to the rest of the album intensely before hitting play immediately upon its ending.

‘Hammer of the Witches’ really came out of nowhere. After the empty meaninglessness of ‘Manticore and Other Horrors’, the band essentially created a new timeline for itself with this album. As a civilian it is difficult to put a filthy finger on the shift, but you would bet ready money that it had something to do with the exit of Paul Allender and the introduction of Messrs Marek ‘Ashok’ Smerda and the less exotically titled Richard Shaw on guitars. The crispness of the riffage, the variety on offer, and of course the blistering and exciting solos injected new life into the Cradle corpse, and you really can’t say enough about what this change did for the band and this album.

The arrival of these gurus of guitar had a much deeper effect than simply adding a bit of shredding. Suddenly Martin’s drumming felt connected and appropriate. His hyperpaced energy matched the fabulous playing of Ashok and Shaw, as if they were destined to be together and for the first time since Martin joined the band, it actually made sense. The previously bland rent-a-keyboard slathering from the past was also suddenly in tune with what was happening with the rest of the music, whether it’s the piano flourish at the end of ‘Enshrined in Crematoria’ or the aforementioned magic moment in ‘Deflowering the Maidenhead…’. The recipe was working. Similarly, the fantastic vocals on Lindsay Schoolcraft, which appear to greatest effect on ‘Right Wing of the Garden Triptych’, but also at other great moments, matched everything so perfectly that it was almost too good to be true.

All of this contributed to some genuinely engaging and enjoyable tunes. The keys-based introduction of ‘Walpurgis Eve’ is a perfect example of how to get things right. It succeeds where so many other keyboard entities had failed in recent years for Cradle, because it has a goddamn direction, tasteful development with the introduction of the string sounds, and a crescendo that ushers in the energetic ‘Yours Immortally…’. In fact, I would argue that this keyboard introduction symbolises everything that is suddenly right in the band – the music makes sense again and has a purpose: to take the listener on a journey.

While there is still a degree of progressive choppy-changey riffage going on with the songs' structures, there are also hooks – remember hooks?! – that hadn’t been heard in years. The catchy Maidenesque melody in ‘Enshrined in Crematoria’ and the melancholic elegance of the lead line in ‘Blackest Magick in Practice’ actually allowed for some repetition, and therefore emotional investment from the listener. Similarly, the driving and engaging chorus in ‘The Vampyre at My Side’ sinks its hooks into you as Dani launches into the “This wicked bitch” sections. The songs here are memorable. It's not a perfect album, however. There is still a bit of blocky style riffing in several songs that sounds well enough, but usually has me patiently waiting for the more emotionally melodic moments to return. There are no bad parts here, though, which is really quite amazing.

The epic ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’, about the Crusades, followed by the atmospheric and emotional denouement of ‘Blooding the Hounds of Hell’ are a masterstroke of songwriting and theme. The lyrics throughout the album are brilliant and fitting, too, not least the ending of ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ where the Crusaders have broken through the walls of Jerusalem and the listener is met with: “No crescent moon/No prophet of doom/Shall wail above Jerusalem/Vast hypocrites/All grasping for glitz/Have taken the mount and the tomb”. You can see it in your mind’s eye.

The whole concept and packaging is also worthy of great praise. The album artwork featuring realistic-looking naked witches swooning with the goatlord is classic Cradle, and easily one of their best covers. There is mercifully with no sign of the cartoony vibes that have scuppered so many of their past album covers. The loose concept of the witches throughout the album is also a great one, as it allows for a broader scope of romance and atmosphere to drive the music as opposed to some of the more monster-based concepts that they’ve employed where there is little room for epic romance. The images within the booklet are also quite evocative and suitable.

While ‘Cryptoriana’ in 2017 would also offer some brilliant atmosphere and arguably even more classic twin guitar theatrics, it is ‘Hammer of the Witches’ that stands above it in Cradle's recent oeuvre due to its theme, its atmosphere and the sense that the listener is truly taken on a journey through quality and meaningful songwriting.

And the best thing of all, it’s hard evidence that you should never give up hope that good things can appear when you least expect them.

Although I personally felt that Cradle of Filth regained its footing on the 2008 album Godspeed and the Devil's Thunder, after a string of pretty average releases (after Midian), I think the consensus is clearly that Hammer of the Witches was their most impressive outing since the 90s. A lot of folks that had written off the band forever seemed to be back on the wagon, and it even garnered a measure of respect from some of the band's longtime detractors. I don't think it's hard to tell why, as this was arguably the heaviest and most focused recording they'd released in many years, and even though I might not harbor the same level of reverence as others, I've grown to appreciate more than the albums that lead up to it, Darkly, Darkly Venus Aversa and The Manticore and Other Horrors, both of which I do enjoy and might even hold up as a little more creative than this successor.

That's not to take away from what the band accomplished here, a 56 minute rager of a record which played to me like a natural successor to their classic Dusk and Her Embrace, albeit with a better integration of the symphonic and haunted castle components and a broader selection of riffs which built upon everything the group had really accomplished in the years between. Most importantly, I think the production here was a step above so many of their works...generally I might have an issue with one or two instruments or vocal 'personalities' taking a back seat to the rest, but I cannot think of a better example than this of when they all were balanced so well together. The grunts, growls and gremlin snarls of Dani Filth, the professional if still somewhat goofy female operatic parts, the panoply of shimmering synths and organs, and rapid fire drumming of Marthus Skaroupka, and of course the riff selection, which continues to walk the line between thrash, death, black metal and even some more aggressive heavy metal parts. That Cradle has all this weaponry at its disposal and can seamlessly plug it all into the whole of their aesthetic remains impressive.

For me, the favorite aspect to this band has always been Dani's florid lyrical treatments, this idea that he was like a Wordsworth of occultism, dark mythology and salacious Gothic smut, and as usual, even on the band's weaker records, the stuff he's written here is a pleasure to pore over line for line. Lots of verses here in tunes like "Deflowering the Maidenhead, Displeasuring the Goddess" invoke Martin Walkyier's vile meter and inflection, but of course Filth partitions this out into the various little personas created by his gutturals and higher pitched, effeminate rasping. He reacts well to just about every riffing change-up through the album's duration, which is saying a lot because the guitar duo packs in a lot of value for each track...individually, they might not seem complex, but there's just such an exhibition of riffs flying by on any region of this recording that it's hard not to be floored by the sheer effort it must take at remembering them all. Bass doesn't always stand out here as much, unless it's given the chance during a break, but you can always hear it hovering along and keeping the few fractional spaces between the guitars busy and the ears trained. Skaroupka's drumming is just ridiculous, and that he's also performing the keys and arranging the orchestration goes to show how overall valuable he's been as he's evolved through the band over the prior decade.

Hammer of the Witches is a pleasure to experience on the whole, though if we were to really break it all down, it's a refinement of riffing progressions, and a set of balancing scales between aggression and eloquence that won't be new to anyone familiar with their output. I myself found few of the sequences here to be truly memorable among old favorites from records like Midian, but even having said that it's an effort that I continue to sit through on occasion and listen to entirely rather than just cherry-picking individual tunes. The creepy orchestration and operatic interludes are very well done if you want something to conjure up that Transylvanian landscape you no doubt associate with the British veterans, and the prowess of the instrumentation and cohesion of the compositions is undeniable when you sit back and realize the scale of what they write, and how much is going on in so many of these songs. Love them or hate them, this album doesn't sound like they've lost an ounce of energy since they dropped their debut over 20 years before it...in fact it sounds like they've only ramped up their lascivious frenzy.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Yep. Obviously 2015 was an overwhelmingly great year for these guys. And I mean that. Paul was gone, the band did better and got better guitarists. And the band functioned better than they have in years. The environment of release feels a lot less "toxic" this time as well. And so, finally the band started functioning with EVERYONE doing their part. Instead of one person controlling the masses. It's easy to see why nobody liked Cradle of Filth since "Midian" (2000). But I can't speak for everyone. Though, I still, sometimes, try!

With a nearly-brand-new line-up for the band, it brought a lot of "good" for them. And new energy was brought to the table. Cradle of Filth needed a different approach, and now, since then, they've been on the right path for music-related themes. I'm proud of them, more than ever, too. That, I am serious about. If the band can deliver albums like this, from now on, they'll have more respect than they have ever had before.

The production is absolutely stunning. Probably Cradle's first-best album for production at the time. So, that shows how much "love" 'n' "care" this record ended up getting. The audio levels are heavily-balanced and compressed together nicely. It's almost like losing a bunch of weight, getting surgery to look "tighter", so you're less "ugly". I know, probably a bad example, but hey, I'm trying. Sometimes it's hard to find the right words for things. To put it simple...the album's mixing is practically perfect...all-round.

I've never heard guitars sound so...interestingly melodic before (compared to their other works, I mean). With fresh people, bursting with ideas, it shows the enhanced style that Cradle of Filth potentially "behind-the-scenes". They're very dark, evil, chilling and in some cases, cold-sounding. The riffs are very fast-paced and absolutely powerful. It's like watching a theatrical, on-stage performance that doesn't suck. The melodies are very memorable, it's a popular album to remember, not-only for its quality in audio, but for it's quality in physical construction. These musicians, especially Dani, should feel proud of this album. The bass level are considerably good as well.

The drumming is actually quite fancy. Reminds me a little bit of their 2012 album, but a lot better and constructed nicer, too. It's not overly-fast either. Though, they keep up to the guitars quite well. The drummer has been in the band for awhile, and he's been a pretty decent part of the band that does him well. I wouldn't really want to "gamble" on "losing" him. The vocals are insanely different. We finally get to hear how Dani's voice has changed in the three-year gap from their last record. And it has changed enough to notice a difference. His vocals have never sounded so clean, until you hear their 2017 album since I'm writing this at the time that was released. Then those vocals sound even cleaner. The highs, I mean. Not the lows. But he doesn't hit those as well anymore either. But generally, I feel his overall vocal performance is really spot-on. He screams more here than he did on the 2010-and-2012 record.

This album's artwork, overall, is very, very graphic, probably one-of-the-most graphic pieces they've ever released. And it was a nice change, too. Graphic Cradle of Filth, that seems so fitting, yet it's totally typical of them. I love the greenish-blue colouring, it feels so...forest-related. I happen to own this CD, I even went as far to pre-order it. It was very...very-well worth it. With all that thoughtfulness, love-and-care it ended up getting. It would have been a shame if anything bad happened to this record that prevented it from being released...like a studio fire! Uh-oh! All-in-all, keep them coming Cradle, this is new-found life...and if you lose it...can't say all the fans would "forgive" you.

Cradle Of Filth’s immense popularity is at least as much a result of their image and provocative shirt designs as it is of their music. That does not mean that they never made any good music, but at times, it seemed like the market desired the band to put out albums faster than they could actually come up with enough decent material. Often, hollow bombast covered up the lack of durable songwriting. The opposite is true for ‘Hammer Of The Witches’. The orchestrations have been dialed back considerably, resulting in what is essentially a great riff-driven modern metal album.

It is only natural to assume that the changes that Cradle Of Filth went through contributed to this sudden indrease of quality. No less than three members debut on ‘Hammer Of The Witches’, including guitarists Marek ‘Ashok’ Šmerda and Richard Shaw. And they certainly make their presence known on the album. Especially their riffs are highly prominent. And since these riffs are closer to traditional heavy metal than the band’s black and death metal roots most of the time, the album gives off a somewhat Mercyful Fate-like vibe at times. The keyboards are the most subtle and tasteful on any of the band’s records.

Where Cradle Of Filth used to cram its records full of contrasting sections, the songs on ‘Hammer Of The Witches’ appear to be written with the idea of just making the best songs possible and it certainly paid off. The album never becomes as overwhelming as most of the band’s records and is dynamically excellent. Apparently, the current line-up of the band consists of the best riff writers the band had in ages and judging from the solo trade-offs in ‘Enshrine In Crematoria’ and ‘Deflowering The Maidenhead, Displeasuring The Goddess’, Šmerda and Shaw are an excellent lead guitar duo.

Atmosphere used to be provided by the keyboards and orchestrations, but the band seems to have learned that the real atmosphere should be in the melodies. That would certainly explain the fantastic doomy riffs of ‘Black Magick In Practice’ or the dramatic melodies that pop up in ‘Right Wing Of The Garden Triptych’. Elsewhere, the band goes for sheer destructive force with riffs that are almost thrashy in nature (‘The Vampyre At My Side’, the excellent epic closer ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’) and several songs contain elegant guitar arrangements somewhat reminiscent of Dark Tranquillity’s ‘The Gallery’ (the middle section of ‘Yours Immortally’). And it all works. More so than on any of their previous records.

Anyone who didn’t like Cradle Of Filth before may want to give ‘Hammer Of The Witches’ a chance regardless. Even founding vocalist Dani Filth is surprisingly bearable on these recordings by only employing his high-pitched shriek strategically. Those who were enamored by the band’s gothic leanings may be disappointed, but even those fans may be pleasantly surprised by the consistently high level of songwriting on the album. Boredom doesn’t set in until the bonus tracks, which are decent enough, but notably less interesting than the main album. That still accounts for almost an hour of powerful heavy metal that is really only pushed into extreme territory by the vocals.

Recommended tracks: ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’, ‘Yours Immortaly’, ‘Enshrined In Crematoria’

Originally written for my Kevy Metal weblog

25 years deep into their career, Cradle of Filth would seem to have changed track from their original intentions. Beginning as symphonic black metal maestros, evolving into more general purveyors of extreme metal, then briefly dipping down into the popular waters of gothic metal, the English stalwarts have resurrected some of their black metal spirit in recent years while continuing their battle with modern extremity. And, after several albums that were met by shrugs, Hammer of the Witches finally seems to be the one to beat.

The chimerical vocals and extravagant lyrics of Dani Filth are unchanged, the symphonic interludes are still present, and the obsession with vampires and Satan continues unabated (now with extra witches!), yet two new guitarists mean that this album gets all of the riffs that previous effort The Manticore and Other Horrors lacked. Paul Allender’s lesser-known replacements impress on each of the eight main songs, with riff highlights including the cut-throat mid-section of the title track, the powerful main theme of ‘Enshrined in Crematoria’, and the backbone of two great choruses in ‘Blackest Magick in Practice’ and ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’. It would seem that the guitarists were allowed free rein to be creative, not least because they take ample opportunity to play guitar leads for perhaps the first time in CoF’s history. Some songs contain several lead moments, the finest of which forms the climax of ‘Deflowering the Maidenhead, Displeasuring the Goddess’, a song that also merits praise for lyrics that portray ecological tragedy in a poignant, though typically Filthy manner. Another way in which the guitarists make this album stand out from CoF's others is the looseness of the rhythms they use. There is no sign of the yoke to black metal's stock tremolos and blastbeats, nor much of thrash's downpicked speed, meaning that most songs contain hybrid styles of playing that work well in either high or low gear and make a nonsense of such words as "bridge" and "transition", since everything fits together so wonderfully.

There are also memorable moments from the other instrumental players, but what truly impresses about Hammer of the Witches is not the strong individual contributions of all band members, but the sense of purpose and unity of focus that drives the songs forward. Not since Midian in 2000 have the band managed to combine a sense of adventure, clear thinking, and great execution with such an even balance. Past issues with production, ill-fitting ideas, overuse of keyboards, and Dani Filth’s annoying high-pitched vocals are swept aside by a remarkably consistent and exciting set of songs, which even the presence of three interludes cannot detract from. Rather than attempting to up the scale of the drama in the storytelling or the intensity of the music itself, the structuring of these songs appears to have come from a more natural source and use more traditional heavy metal tricks alongside some classic features pioneered by the band themselves.

Launched into high gear by ‘Yours Immortally’, the album gathers momentum in its first half before dropping the more risky compositions ‘Right Wing of the Garden Triptych’ and ‘The Vampyre at My Side’. ‘Right Wing…’ oddly opens with electronic sounds and female vocals, which are used sparingly and successfully throughout the album, while Dani’s return to his favourite theme of female bloodsuckers begins softly, though develops into heavier territory despite the keyboards appearing high in the mix. The former manages to diversify the album and – even if the latter song proves to be the low point – it is followed by probably the strongest closer in CoF’s career. ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ is atypical for the Filth in more than a couple of ways: firstly, the subject matter is anti-Christian but done in such a subtle manner that one could almost believe the Crusades were being glorified; secondly, the feverish pitch to which Dani’s utterings rise during the “Papal-led to die” section, which simply demands attention; thirdly, the genuine sense of emotion that emanates from that escalation into climax and the strains of the outro that bear a real-world poignance rarely felt in this band’s work.

Hammer of the Witches proves to be a great album because it contains all of the things that makes not only Cradle of Filth exciting, but also metal in general: from the heavy and intricate riffs of ‘Enshrined in Crematoria’ to the lead guitar and lyrical brilliance of ‘Deflowering the Maidenhead, Displeasuring the Goddess’ to the epic conclusion of ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’, everything you could want is present. This album is immensely enjoyable and rich in content and I have no regret in declaring that I regard it as the band’s crowning achievement.

Originally written in edited form for Metalegion magazine #2 - www.metalegion.com

For the first time in over a decade, the metal world is looking forward to a new Cradle of Filth album. Anticipation for the band’s eleventh studio effort Hammer of the Witches has been mounting, and for good reason too: with three strong pre-release singles that hearken back to the sound of yore, how could fans not begin to care about Cradle of Filth again? After the over-dramatic Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa and the overwhelmingly dull Manticore and Other Horrors, the future of the group –which had long since been in doubt- seemed irreparably bleak. The balance between grandiose orchestrations and raging extreme metal that had made albums such as Dusk… And Her Embrace and Midian genre cornerstones had all but vanished, instead replaced by gratuitous keyboard flourishes and middling songwriting.

Though a beloved fixture in Cradle of Filth, when longstanding guitarist Paul Allender departed in 2014 it was arguably the greatest thing he’s contributed to the band in years. It’s saddening to blame him for the poor quality of the past few records, but the reality is that his playing since 2008’s Godspeed on the Devil’s Thunder had become completely ineffectual. In the effort cover for his declining skills, the group maximized their orchestrations; to their detriment. Now the music was comically pompous and it still couldn’t compensate for his withering guitar-work.

This is why when the band released first single “Right Wing of the Garden Tripytch” Cradle of Filth fans couldn’t contain themselves. As an introduction to the new lineup, it brought back the duel guitar harmonies of old while retaining the aggression of the group’s latter years; not to mention the sublime gothic atmosphere and cunning dynamic shifts. When the following two tunes “Deflowering the Maidenhead, Displeasuring the Goddess” and “Enshrined in Crematoria” followed suit, what began as excitement grew into hopeful frenzy. And rightfully so: heralding the return to the majestic symphonic black metal of their yesteryears, Hammer of the Witches is Cradle of Filth’s best album in over a decade.

It cannot be understated just how important the new members were in this success. Introducing Richard Shaw and Marek Smerda on guitars and Lindsay Schoolcraft on vocals, keyboards, and violins, the impact of these three has been immense. Returning to a collaborative style of songwriting and immediately immersing themselves in the creative process, the addition of fresh blood has revitalized Cradle of Filth completely. Opening track “Yours Immortally” is all the proof you need; its first few seconds eclipse every moment of the past three albums. As a beautiful marriage of classical symphonics and harmonized guitars, the song begins on spine-tingling note that doesn’t falter throughout its entirety. It’s the kind of track every symphonic black metal band aspires to write, and easily one of Cradle’s greatest musical achievements. Considering their recent history, it’s as unexpected as it is gratifying.

Ushering in a new, guitar-dominated era of the band, Shaw and Merda ensure that Hammer of the Witches is Cradle of Filth’s most aggressive album to date. “Enshrined in Crematoria” relishes in thrash brutality before opening into a stellar trade-off guitar solo, and “The Vampyre At My Side” is brimming with memorable lead breaks. Shaw and Merda certainly have their own style, but one can’t help but notice the occasional nods to the groups past; the Pyres/Antsis days particularly. Reminiscent of Dusk…and Her Embrace’s aural mysticism, “The Blackest Magick in Practice” evokes a palpably gothic atmosphere with its beautiful harmonized leads and battering, but melodic tremolo riffs. In short, the guitar is back where is should be; the forefront.

This isn’t to say the music isn’t balanced though. By allowing Lindsay Schoolcraft’s keyboards to work more in a supporting role, the album has an epic, cinematic backdrop that has been long absent on a Cradle of Filth record. “Deflowering the Maiden, Displeasuring the Goddess” is an excellent example of this: The swirling orchestrations accentuate the black metal onslaught from a distance, and when appropriate, take a more commanding role leaving you to revel in their grandeur. The symphonic elements may not be as prominent here as more recent records, but their restraint makes them more effective.

Used more calculatingly than ever, Dani’s piercing squawk-which has decayed ever so slightly over the years- is saved for only the most appropriate moments. Instead he relies on his devilish mid-range and deathly gutturals for the majority of the record. He has always been the most controversial aspect of Cradle of Filth’s music, but here is work may be just a bit harder to criticize. Acting as more of a team player than ever, his delivery choices in “The Vampire at My Side” and “Onward Christian Soldiers” are examples of excellent vocal/instrument interplay, while the dichotomy of his wails and Lindsay’s croons provide “Ring Wing of the Garden Triptych” and the aforementioned banger “Yours Immortally” with devastatingly catchy hooks.

Undoubtedly effective by the guitar-centric songwriting of the album, Martin Skaroupka’s performance here is the most aggressive he’s committed to Cradle of Filth as of yet. Out of the all the Cradle members of the last decade he’s been the most consistent, yet here he shines even brighter than before. His playing on Hammer of the Witches demonstrates a more blast-beat oriented style that helps the record achieve a more “black metal” feeling. Of course his reliance on frenetic footwork and cymbal use remain, utilizing both in tandem to make the percussion on songs like the title-track explosive and exciting. For a band that has always been fortunate enough to feature outstanding drummers, Martin proves time and again he’s the most impressive of the pack.

It’s hard to not praise each member for their individual performance on this album. Their work together has not only helped Hammer of the Witches completely defy expectations, but put Cradle of Filth back on the extreme metal map. As a band whose lofty ambitions to create gothic hymns in an extreme metal context caused them to descend into pantomime, it’s relieving to seem them once again striking the balance between theatricality and heaviness that made them the world’s most popular symphonic black metal group. Whether or not this is their best incarnation remains to be seen; but if this album is any indication, it very well may be.

I’ve been listening to Cradle of Filth’s depraved and nefarious creations on and off ever since the Principle of Evil Made Flesh album first came out on cassette tape 20 some-odd years ago. I stuck with them all the way up until Thornography was released and after that miserable festering disaster, my interest in them plummeted off a cliff. Cradle of Filth became a dead rotted corpse to me.

When Hammer of the Witches was released a couple months ago I honestly paid it little attention. It appeared to be just another lack luster post-Thorography garbage album. Then I noticed that it was starting to accumulate some excellent reviews. Folks were saying that most of the band’s line-up was gone and they somehow managed to reawaken their sound reminiscent of the Dusk… and her Embrace days. So I listened to a few samples, liked what I heard and decided to give it a buy and try.

Only two Cradle of Filth album has ever stood out to me as being total classics and those were Dusk… and Her Embrace and V Empire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein . My definition of a total classic is an album where every song is a memorable masterpiece and contains no radio-friendly garbage songs and/or boring fillers. Cruelty and the Beast had some of the best songs that they had ever created on it but it also had a few fillers on it too - leaving it out of the classics category. After my first listen of Hammer of the Witches it was immediately elevated to a true classic! No fillers, borers and/or radio-garbage snorers, just total fucking ass-whip from beginning to end. Even the two “Bonus” songs (which are usually Filth’s calling cards for disappointment) King of the Woods and Misericord are fantastic and enjoyable pieces as well. Cradle of Filth had indeed rekindled their original crushing gothic sound and more!

To go into detail on each song would triple the length of this review and waste everybody’s time. So I’ll focus on the basics overall for they remain consistent pretty much throughout the album. The first thing that I noticed was the two new guitarists Shaw and Smerda are no slackers by a long shot. They are in fact extremely talented and seem to strive for flawless perfection. They not only carried on the old Cradle sound but added their own flavor of intricate details and hooks. From crushing fist-pounding riffs and Norwegian black metal style volcano blasts to elegant duals and complex harmonies, they crush any guitarist that has ever been a member of Cradle of Filth’s past – I’m being serious. I don’t know where Dani dug these boys up from but he needs to keep em! Firth does a good job with the bass and keeps up with the dueling devils in amazing fashion. The keyboardist/drummer Skaroupka, the only veteran member next to Dani in the lineup, is definitely re-energized and on freaking fire. The keyboards are haunted and gothic again and loom in and out of the songs like a mournful ghost. The drums blast away like a thermonuclear bomb but never overpowers or becomes a distraction. Schoolcraft has kind of a goofy name but she’s no let down in the female vocal department and spoken perverted narrations. She brings back a nice Filthy touch of the good’ol days. Dani, the sick, depraved, Filthy glue that holds it all together, seems to be a phoenix reborn from the ashes. In the past few albums Dani’s vocals have been lack-luster to say the least but in Hammer of the Witches however, he howls, shrieks, creaks, hisses and screams forth with youthful and fervent passion once again.

All combined, they have improved their sound and direction greatly while resurrected the old Cradle from the grave. Hammer of the Witches sounds like Dusk… and Her Embrace played as a soundtrack to nuclear holocaust. It’s bombastic, crushing, beautiful and just Filthy as can be. If you get a chance, listen to the album with some high def head phones or quality speakers. There are a lot of hard to catch intricacies and multi layered details that are easy to miss in lesser quality speakers. If you were once a fan of the Filth but lost your enthusiasm (like me) over the years, Hammer of the Witches definitely stands a likely chance in rekindling the old fires once again. Is it a classic like Dusk… and Her Embrace and V Empire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein? Yes, I think so. Is it better? A few more listens and it very well could be. Best song on the album in my opinion – Onward Christian Soldiers – nasty Filthy lovely song.

British metal band Cradle of Filth have been one of the most controversial groups that UK could have contributed to the metal scene. From their raw death metal phase of "Total F**king Darkness", to their heavy gothic stage that was "Midian", down to their break into the mainstream scenery with tracks like "Forgive Me Father (I Have Sinned)" or "For Your Vulgar Delectation", this coalition has received all forms of criticism. Through all the judgment, the line-up changes, and overall hardships faced by this 20+ year band, they've maintain a presence that is all too evident to the metal scene. A perfect example of this is their recent release "Hammer of the Witches". This album hits heavy both to those die-hard fans and the casual listener. "Hammer of the Witches" delivers a heavy, aggressive, and explosive pack of songs into a single hour. Now just because it is heavy, aggressive, and explosive, does this mean it was effective in it's final hour? Let's further analyze.

Upon listening to the first actual track of "Hammer of the Witches" I was blown away. Literally I was blown away. The first impression this album gives off is explosive, overwhelming, and a feeling of confusion. With the track "Yours Immortally..." I was lost in the sense of I had no idea where the song was heading. I felt like there was no progression, only a blitz of all the musicians hammering away. Some parts of the song had a clear sound dedicated mostly to the twin guitars but other than that it's mostly Marthus' overpowering blast beats, guitars playing freely, and some background symphonies that added to the chaos. Other tracks that resemble this atmosphere are "Onward Christian Solider" and "The Vampyre at My Side". These songs are towards the end of the album and upon arriving to them it felt as if the band was so heavily reliant on the guitars that this first half of the album already tired me of them. At this point I was bored. Don't get me wrong these songs hold some dark and memorable riffs but after forty minutes straight they all start to sound the same. Honestly these three tracks are my least favorite of the album. These are songs that must be dissected independently when listening because they don't stand on their own on the album.

Please don't let this discourage you from listening to the rest of the album. Many of the tracks on the album are a creation of metal-grandeur. One track that I am thinking of in particular is "Blackest Magick in Practice". On the first listen to this song I was spellbound. The beauty in the riffs, the subtle drumming, the enrapturing atmosphere, provides the song it's pedestal which it stands on in my eyes. This song, especially, gives you a sense of closure at the end which I feel those three songs mentioned before weren't able to do. "Enshrined in Crematoria" is a close second to me just because it's another song that doesn't revolve around overpowering blast beats to keep the song alive. This song provides the speed when needed, thus causing the listener to really appreciate Marthus and his potent skills. "Right Wing of The Garden Triptych" is another song where the band takes it's time progressing and really nails the entire piece as a whole. These are songs I appreciate more just because of the fact that these tracks separate Cradle of Filth from any other death-metal sound (which this album does surprisingly invoke).

"Deflowering the Maidenhead, Displeasuring the Goddess" I believe deserves recognition for being such a long track that holds you till the very last second. I feel as if this song successfully shows the vast musicianship put forth on this album. The first half of the song is hell-raising; a dynamic between all the instruments and Dani Filth. Slowly the song begins to decrescendo in the last half towards a more poignant and nostalgic sound. The theme behind this song, according to Dani Filth, is a world being utterly destroyed by those who inhabit it. An apocalyptic downfall. The music itself really achieves at telling his story.

Finally the title track "Hammer of the Witches" is a song I felt completely neutral towards. I didn't dislike the song but I couldn't find much that stood out in this song. The twin guitars delivers some great riffs that really represent what Ashok and Richard Shaw gave to the album and the the band overall. Daniel Firth's bass shows us here the important fundamentals of his role in the band as well. Other than that I felt like Schoolcraft's vocals were irrelevant and used simply as a filler. Usually when Cradle uses female vocals, such as Lucy Atkins, there's a distinct uniqueness that she delivers that Schoolcraft could not achieve. It's a shame they didn't use Atkins on this album, especially with this theme.

Overall, to those first listening to Cradle of Filth (please remove yourself from your rock that you currently inhabit) this album may give you an impression of Cradle that will not carry for long once you go down their album list. Vice versa, if you've listened to Cradle before and it's just not your taste, this album may just suit your taste buds. Basically what I am trying to say here is that this album stands on it's own. There is no saying it sounds like the last album and there is no saying it sounds like old Cradle. What Cradle of Filth has brought to the metal scene, may just stand atop any other release this year. Die-hard fans may have trouble digesting this heavy-hammered album all at once, but if you slowly taste what you're served you'll see that the witches did indeed come back with a vengeance.

Review originally published at www.teethofthedivine.com by E.Thomas

There was a time in the late 90s and early 00s where England’s Cradle of Filth were one of my very favorite bands, and whether you liked it or not, they were legitimate superstars in extreme metal. I enjoyed 2000s Midian, 2003’s Damnation and A Day, and really liked 2004’s Nymphetamine, but I never really loved them as I did the band’s first four seminal efforts, The Principle of Evil Made Flesh, Vempyre, Dusk and her Embrace, and Cruelty and the Beast. All arguable classics. Then somewhere around 2006’s low point, Thornography, the band lost their luster and my devotion.

Admittedly, 2008’s Godspeed on the Devil’s Thunder and 2010’s Darkly Darkly Venus Aversa seemed to right the ship, but 2012’s utterly forgettable The Manticore and Other Horrors (so much so I didn’t even review it!) seemed to signal the death knell for Dani Filth. He’d seen his troupe essentially abandon ship, leaving him and drummer Marthus to soldier on with a new line-up of relatively unknown cast members: bassist Daniel Firth of Scottish death metalers Man Must Die, yet another female vocalist/keyboardist, Lindsay Schoolcraft, trying again to replace long-time female crooner Sara Jezebel Diva, long-time Root guitarist Ashok, and an unknown guitarist named Rick Shaw, from UK heavy metal giants NG26 (/sarcasm off). But somehow, Dani Filth has turned this motley crew into something that exudes the energy and vitality of the band’s early years.

No, this isn’t remotely as musically invigorating and sexually charged as the band’s first three albums, but for the first time in a long time, it feels like a Cradle of Filth album (heck, even that classic black/white logo seems to recall the band’s early days). With the legendary tome ‘Malleus Maleficarum’ as the album’s thematic and witchy lyrical base, now-skinny-again Dani is his usual gregarious self, and certainly as screechy as he’s ever been. And of course, the music is the familiar, Gothic, overly-theatrical and synth- drenched black/thrash metal the band has plied for over 20 years now, so at this juncture you either love them or hate them. And after the requisite spooky intro “Walpurgis Eve”, when “Yours Immortally” kicks in with one of Dani’s high pitched screams, dancing synths and rousing riffage, I could not help recall the band’s early sound – there is that sense of energy here.

Now of course, the entire album is not that hair-raising, but it’s often close, and certainly much better than The Manticore. I’d venture to say it’s better than the two prior albums as well. Dani seems invigorated by his new entourage, and COF is now clearly his sole vision. It seems to be back to a more sensual, symphonic/black tone rather than the Gothic-thrash tangent the band veered off on in the mid 00s. There’s more seething tremolo blasts and melodic, dancing, and menacing-but-erotic harmonies at play. And of course, synths and female vocals galore. Lindsay Schoolcraft performs in typically sensual/angelic COF fashion, but she’s understated and less prominent than past femme fatales (dramatic and solo filled “Deflowering The Maidenhead, Displeasuring The Goddess”, “Blackest Magick in Practice”, “The Right Wing of the Garden Triptych”).

“Blackest Magick in Practice” is actually one of the album’s other standouts. melding a sensual sway and tense blasts that recalls Cruelty and the Beast, while “The Right Wing of the Garden Triptych” delivers a raucous sexual stomp, befitting the above video (Marthuus’s strange looks notwithstanding). The album’s title track actually starts as one of the album’s weaker cuts, which had me a tad worried and remembering (or not) the last album, but its 2-and-a-half minutes or so really pick up the mood and pace with a stirring bass break.

The last two tracks before the instrumental closer “Blooding the Hounds of Hell”, could be construed as filler on an hourlong album, and certainly “Vampyre at My Side” seems like a solid but throwaway track. Yet “Onward Christian Soldiers” has the same rousing, redeeming effect as”Yours Immortally” did with the album opener, being the album’s most fierce track and featuring some really nice, furiously sweeping synth work.

It took three years – the longest gap between COF albums – for Dani and Co to deliver their 11th album. And while the band may be less relevant than they were 10 or 15 years ago, Dani and Cradle of Filth are not fading quietly into the night. They’re still lurking in the mist and the shadows, cloven-hoofed and foul throated, ill at ease with their fall from grace and now coiled, freshly envenomed, and ready to ravish those doubting souls out there…..or something.

Redemption is a funny business, especially with regard to the metal world. It’s a personal journey more than anything, with singular levels of revival and subsequent appreciation for the works to come based on that one person’s take on things. Take, if you will, Cradle of Filth, the band that’s cool to hate. After an attempt at the major label spotlight, at least twice in succession, the British vampiric horde returned to the independent (within reason…) scene with all the flair and inky-black wickedness that made them a household name in the first place. From “Godspeed…” onward, we were all greeted with a band seemingly rejuvenated, freed from the shackles that made at least half their work under the “big time” lights lamentable, and we the (remaining and/or otherwise) fans benefited from the end result. Though “The Manticore…” needed some extra time to get used to, but…well, that’s another story altogether. Regardless, the Filthy boys had to suffer through another line up issue with the loss of Paul Allender and the inclusion of a few new guitar slingers, and as such it took some time before the next album came our way…

“Hammer of the Witches”, for what it’s worth, is a spectacular release that proves how much CoF are still worth in the extreme metal spectrum. For as grandiose as the past few albums have been, I’ll admit that I’d not heard the band sound so…savage in a long time. Combining the aesthetics and atmospheres of the days of vampiric yore with a “sign of the times” modern tightness, “Hammer of the Witches” is a blitzing blast that in no way shorts you on grandeur, violence and gloss. With this the band feels plenty focused on the horrific tasks and tales at hand where all sorts of inhibition is cast aside in favor of an all-out assault that leaps an assortment of genre-based hurdles, from a few steps back to their black metal roots to their near-perfected sharp gothic sleekness with inklings of thrash and a bit of melodeath in certain riffing and lead structures to harden what soft edges would dare exist in an otherwise chaotic maelstrom of shadowy destruction. Guitar lines slice from every angle possible, the drumming flays every inch of your sorry form, the symphonics add that necessary dramatic autumnal chill and Dani’s vocals sound more spirited and full organic and insidious within the main musical focus (even the straightforward narrative style he’d begun ti employ around “Godspeed…”), where he adds extra amounts of fire and demoncy than many of us had heard in recent years. As a total package, the mighty Cradle is raging about extremely and vigorously than ever before, with we the poor mortals nothing but kindling to the ensuing hellfire burst.

What naysayers are still milling about slogging on the group for where they’ve gone since their burst into the “mainstream” (which, again, feels to be a rather dubious claim) may not survive the hammer blow of the witches, and as such they all really deserve it. There is a definitive lack of BS with this, a black fingernail-clad middle finger at the face of expectation and original disbelief. The new blood added to the group has been very beneficial to the old sentient corpse; new axes slingers Ashok, Rich Shaw and bassist Daniel Firth seem plenty comfortable and able to make this record their own over what Allender had provided as a guitarist since he dominated the creative ends (for all the efforts he put in to bring the group out of its doldrums post-“Thornography”, he was still a bit of a stiff and rigid player and songwriter at times…). Their offerings upon the bloodstained altar have an extra amount of expansiveness and panache, from the bestial to the broodingly serene (the leads and solos, for one, are really improved upon). As well, new keyboardist/backing vocalist Schoolcraft has the capacity to live within the seemingly inhuman parameters of the pedestal her presence to the group wrought her (I’m not being a dick about this…CoF almost went the full nine when it came to lauding her…), and in that regard her singing is quite pleasant and mixes with the rest where it really counts and flails about with more overwroughtness when they don’t (see: the narrative speaking sections in the title track which are a bit too much Helena Bodham Carter for my tastes…). But hey, if that’s the weakest link, then that’s something easy enough to overlook as the rest swarmed over you as a dozen leviathans.

All in all “Hammer of the Witches” is devastating, dark and easily the band’s best album since ‘Cruelty and the Beast”, a feat I thought they already achieved five years or so ago (guess I was wrong!). And as I continue to stalk through the haunted woods that is this newfound musical renaissance period, I can only imagine what’s to come next. Blackened hordes, night feeders and moshers, prepare to burn at the stake…