Damnation and a Day

Cradle Of Filth: Dani Filth (vocals); Martin Powell (guitar, keyboards); Paul Allender (guitar); Dave Pybus (bass); Adrian Erlandsson (drums).
Additional personnel: Sarah Jezebel Diva (vocals); Dave McEwen (spoken vocals); The Budapest Film Orchestra And Choir.
In the beginning there was metal and it was heavy. In the mid-'80s an underground sub-genre made a name for itself based as much on satanic imagery as on extreme music, with bands like Bathory and Mayhem. Enter England's Cradle of Filth, who took black metal to new heights in the '90s. DAMNATION AND A DAY finds the band at the artistic pinnacle of its controversial career, with the unprecedented-for-the-genre support of Sony firmly behind them.
Forged with fire and brimstone, DAMNATION tells the biblical tale of temptation ("Serpent Tongue") and the revenge of outcasts ("Carrion"), a theme present in many Cradle albums, be the subjects cast out of society or heaven. Dani Filth's multifaceted whisper-to-a-scream vocals are operatic in scope and anguished with pain. Not unlike a more evil manifestation of Iron Maiden, double-time melodic riffs gallop and trample the senses. Brass-heavy orchestral interludes like a Verdi requiem and Karloff-esque spoken passages lend a horror-film quality. Goth ("Thank God For The Suffering") and Egyptian ("Doberman Pharaoh") vibes add depth and texture. DAMNATION is an all-out aural assault that will force you to take notice.