Existence Is Futile

Personnel: Anabelle Iratni (vocals, keyboards); Dani Filth (vocals); Marek Ashok Smerda, Richard Shaw (guitar); Martin "Marthus" Skaroupka (keyboards, drums).
Audio Mixer: Scott Atkins.
Illustrator: Dan Goldsworthy.
Photographer: James Sharrock.
The follow-up to 2017's Victorian Gothic horror-themed Cryptoriana: The Seductiveness of Decay, Existence Is Futile sees Cradle of Filth address a more cerebral sort of affliction. After a short and opulent introductory piece, the veteran symphonic metallers get down to business with the bleak, brutal, and grand "Existential Terror," one of several pieces that echo the unrelenting sonic might of their black metal beginnings. The crushing "Crawling King Chaos" follows suit, with Dani Filth detailing the coming of ancient Egyptian deity of mayhem Apophis over a churning, Lovecraftian ocean of blastbeats, minor-key guitarmonies, and spectral choral motifs -- it's one of the heaviest tracks the band have produced in years. New keyboardist/backing vocalist Anabelle Iratni, who replaced Lindsey Schoolcraft in 2020, provides plenty of lush, scene-setting orchestrations, and her impressive soprano soars over the ruins below like a bird of prey in search of a heartbeat. As per the previous two releases, new-ish guitarists Richard Shaw and Marek Ashok Smerda continue to elevate the material beyond its ghoulish B-movie aesthetics, dispensing inventive and appropriately apocalyptic riffs and dropping tasty leads into the maelstrom that flirt with power metal grandeur. Few extreme metal acts work harder than Cradle of Filth to make the genre accessible -- Scandinavian counterparts Dimmu Borgir and Dark Tranquillity come to mind -- and Existence Is Futile is as sumptuous as it is savage. The band's grandiose hellscapes can sometimes feel like horror-fiction cosplay, but in trading some of the myth and magic for the genuine torment of existential dread, they've managed to produce their most humanistic work to date. ~ James Christopher Monger