Cradle of Filth: Metal Survival!
Along with detailing the inspiration behind “Godspeed in the Devil’s Thunder”, this article and interview details the band’s transitions to stay strong in an ever-changing genre and their feelings about it.
Check it out below…
Who can rock the Cradle?
Dark fairy tale tinged with brutality and bloodlust
By Stuart Derdeyn, The Province
For the past 18 years, British black-metal band Cradle of Filth has proved itself able to survive the scene's often brutal changes in taste.
In fact, the quartet is one of the few acts in its genre to sign to a major rock indie, Roadrunner Records, which makes it label mates with Nickelback. While this may seem odd company, increasing fame for CDs such as “Nymphetamine” and “Thornography” explains the buzz for the band's new concept song cycle, “Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder”.
Inspired by the nasty tale of Middle Age Christian soldier and über sicko Gilles de Rais, the disc is nothing less than a dark fairy tale.
All the way down to twisted Little Red Riding Hood imagery that's pretty gross considering the horrible things de Rais did to many, many children.
"We'd been looking into the Blood Countess, Elizabeth Bathory for our album Cruelty of the Beast in 1998, and you know how it goes," says Filth (a.k.a. Daniel Lloyd Davey). "One serial killer turns up another, particularly when they are so similarly aristocratic, rich, celebrated and ultimately very evil."
Gilles de Rais was a nobleman who actually rode at the side of Joan of Arc in the war against England, achieving the rank of Grand Marshal of France. But after her death, he descended into total playboy living, succumbing to the enticements of alchemists, sorcerers and such, trying to regain a squandered birthright. Somewhere in this descent, he bought the farm and became a serial killer. Total family fare.
"We aren't saying that and I wouldn't have my daughter in a role reading a nursery rhyme and laughing if we'd gone fully into his atrocities. Instead, we cover his life like a kind of fairy tale gone so terribly wrong."
Par for the course for a group known for its outrageous gothic stage sets, leather and demonic contact lenses as much as for its pummeling onslaught of progressive black metal. Nowhere is this more obvious than on the new CD, which contains as many classic rock hooks, vintage keyboards and backing choruses as it does the act's signature amplified howl. Filth is found speak/singing and actually descending into melody rather than the angry Muppet moans the style is filled with.
The band has taken some flak for this transition and expansion of its sound, too. He doesn't care.
"We've survived this long by keeping our heads into our work and ignoring what goes on in the scene, so why start worrying about it now?
"When you are that dedicated to your craft, things go in your favour and, as we're entering middle age now, I'm 35, and we've mastered how to do a lot of things right when it comes to touring, maintaining our energy levels and putting on great concerts whether it's in clubs or the big summer festivals."
For the local show, there will be an actor performing alongside Filth to tell the album story. The set design is "a pretty nice scary dungeon torture chamber affair." So what is his home decorating like?
"I was a very normal boy, quite straight and got my homework done. Pretty regular. At some time I just embraced this idea of gothic drama and content and here we are. I got to PTA."
For more Cradle of Filth news go at:
www.cradleoffilth.com
www.roadrunnerrecordsaboutbands.blogspot.com
www.roadrunnerrecords.ca
www.myspace.com/roadrunnerrecordscanada1
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=RoadrunnerCanada
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