The Great and Secret Show

As a long time Cradle of Filth fan when I heard that Dani was part of a project that wasn't CoF I was quick to find it online and very soon after buy it. Devilment is certainly different to CoF and should be listened to with an open mind, which doesn't go to say that there aren't similarities. It falls into a number of genres within metal, mainly gothic and groove metal but with a fair bit of experimentation.

I was immediately drawn in by the bands' energy, groovy songs and creepy atmospheres. This is something that makes Devilment more relaxed as compared to CoF and this makes the album as a whole seem more complete and easy to listen to. I mean the catchiness of the riffs throughout Even Your Blood Group Rejects Me is just energizing. And that is probably one of the best aspects of this album, the exceptional and experimental guitarwork provided by Colin Parks and Danny Finch. The guitars are prominent and are varied from song to song like the slow interesting solos from Living With the Fungus to the fast chuggy riffs from The Stake in my Heart.

Dani has very unique vocals which is one of the things that put Cradle of Filth on the map, and this vocal style has obviously been brought to Devilment but I believe he has expanded his range even more which I thought was impossible. This impressive range can be heard on songs such as Girl From Mystery Island and the stand-out track Sanity Hits a (Perfect) Zero where he whispers, growls deeply, screams in a crazy high pitch, sings softly and laughs like a mental patient. Not only is it his vocals that are transferred from CoF but also Dani's excellent command of the English language to make the song lyrics so good it's like poetry. Laudanum Skull is a great example along with the darkly poetic song about love, Living With the Fungus.

Rolling drums to blast beats to heavy use of double bass, drummer Aaron Boast gives it his all from start to finish. Although changing it up from song to song he keeps it so it doesn't sound unstructured or unbalanced and the right balance can be heard from the opening beast Summer Arteries and the Midnight Oil cover track Beds Are Burning that features guest vocals from Bam Margera.

The brilliant use of other instruments such as the keyboard and piano done by Lauren Francis and the epic and creepy orchestral arrangement are what give the album that experimental feel I mentioned. The most experimental tracks have to be the awesomely strange Sanity Hits a (Perfect) Zero and the creepiest song of the album Staring at the Werewolf Corps.

Maybe lacking stand-out bass parts, but this certainly does not spoil the album as there are countless other things that make it great. Like the production quality and the composition of every song. To conclude here, Devilment's The Great and Secret Show is a sterling release that doesn’t fail to impress. If you like it weird, epic and gothic this is definitely the album for you.

It took multiple listens to before I arrived at a firm conviction regarding this album featuring Cradle of Filth's frontman Dani Filth. They're more laid back than COF, though I really dig the vibe of this release. It fits into a couple of different genres of metal and a lot of the music reflects that of Cradle of Filth and Draconian. The main thing that keeps this album interesting are the guitars, they're all over the fret-board accompanied by some synthesizers and female guest vocalists. It's good a cool groove feel to it and Dani sounds like Dani on COF.

What distinguishes this band from the rest of the metal community are the innovation of the guitars. They down-tune their guitars making the music have a thick tone. This is all their own work, even if they reflect a little of Draconian's newer album, Devilment uses more of a gothic/groove metal fix to their song. Dani keeps the energy up with his moderate dark throat and some screaming. Definitely a band worth checking out because the music owns and the guitar compositions are pretty unique. I liked every song on here, no doubt.

I cannot relate to their lyrical topics, but the music is what's the most important. It would be good if more metal bands wrote about things more meaningful, however, that just isn't the case. It would make albums more worth relating to the listeners' own life. But let's face it, metal is an angry type to listen to, which demands morbid lyrics. It doesn't always have to go by those rules, maybe when I was 13 and first heard Destruction's "Live Without Sense", the music is what grabbed me the most. Devilment is a band that's an acquired taste.

The production for this release is fantastic. Everything mixed in accordingly. I cannot complain about that, it's absolutely superb. The fact that they were able to get in the guitars sounding kick butt, synthesizers not too drowning out the music but rather augmenting it, the drums rightly justified and the vocals in sync with everything. From someone that despised this album at first, I've turned into someone that really enjoy hearing it. It's rather diverse in many different senses. They change things up all the time, but are still heavy!

I just flat out bought the album when I heard about the band less than a year ago. My theory was that since it's Dani Filth in the band, I thought it'd be worthwhile. I heard a few tracks on YouTube and thought "Hmmm...." Turns out, I grew to like the album. It's more experimental than COF but it still has that vibe to it, the gothic sense and Dani doesn't sing very different on this one. It's pretty much him to the core. I will just say this, do some research and form your own opinion, it's worth checking out, metal well driven in to the ear!