Everything is funny when you think about death, said a great German writer Tomas Bernhard. What’s not funny is when those who sing about death turn out to be rather funny than respected. Those who are in love with Cradle of Filth believe how their 2000 album Midian was the last creative accomplishment of once influential metal band founded in British city Ipswich. With each following album, this belief got more and more evaluated. Cradle of Filth are miles away from their mature culmination. Just remember the 90s when they were rocking the metal scene with The Principle of Evil Made Flesh (1994) and Dusk and Her Embrace (1996).
I was never against progression is sound but when it comes to their torturing experimental escapism during the last decade and a half, it clearly was counterproductive both to the members of the band and to the fanbase. They were different from the rest of the metal bands. As the years have gone by, frequent changes of line up have certainly caused changes in music style and their image was disturbed by bad live performances. In 2014, when guitarist Paul Allender has left the band, many have deleted Cradle of Filth from their playlists.
Having all the above in mind, I must admit that Hammer Of The Witch is their best record since Midian. It is exactly what fans are looking from them - a concrete, powerful, huge album without unnecessary experimentation and mainstream approach. First of all, they didn’t try to bring back the sound of their oldest releases.
Hammer Of The Witches is oriented towards melody, orchestra, goth, death and groove\trash metal. Combination of dark guitar distortions and demonic growl vocals hits the right spot. Constructivism of feelings in guitar sound and transformations of riffs to the solo sections are true refreshment.
There are no big innovations in vocal, although, Danny lost a bit of his power. When Lindsay Schoolcraft joins him, she lights the spark with her transitions from emotional and theatrical narratives to terrifying ones. On instrumental level, this is a heavy and complex album, balancing between slow tempo and hyper-explosive tempo. Subtle piano parts and symphonic forms are perfectly mixed with obscure subtext. I even liked the interludes. Violins have also added their influence to the dramaturgy, dark gothic romance, melancholy and creepy atmosphere. Lyrics are mostly about erotica, evil, death and mythology and they are all based on a Latin book that describes witch hunts in middle century.
Is Hammer of The Witch going to be a crossroad in the career of Cradle of Filth? It is difficult to predict but it’s good to hear that they are still able to produce something solid.
