J-Man When it comes to Cradle of Filth, the general consensus within the metal community is that their earlier output is far superior to anything they've done in more recent years. That's not to say that most folks will claim that their newer albums are horrible - in some cases, it's quite the opposite - but most of the attention is often given to the band's first handful of records. As a result of this common mindset, many newcomers to the band may be inclined to initially skip over 2008's Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder - a real shame, as I'd actually consider this to be one of the Cradle's finest moments. Complete with a chilling, bombastic, and downright evil story focused around the life and wrongdoings of infamous French serial killer Gilles de Rais, this masterpiece showcases Dani Filth and company at the absolute top of their game. If gothic atmospheres, symphonic overtones, and overblown arrangements are what you crave in extreme metal, it's tough to go wrong with Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder.

Cradle of Filth's sound has become more polished over the years, but their core mix of symphonic black metal and gothic metal has more or less remained in tact since day one. Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder is undoubtedly an acquired taste, as the overblown and pompous nature of the album is likely to turn away quite a few of the more conservative 'purists'. If you're open to the idea of having a choir, loads of keyboards, and classical flourishes in your metal, however, you'll find that symphonic gothic/black metal doesn't get a whole lot better than this. Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder is an exceptionally well-made album, and it's clear that the band put a lot of thought into the compositions and arrangements of this observation. The crystal-clear production allows the listener to easily experience every small detail in the music, and upon repeated spins, many subtle intricacies do begin to come to life. Everything from the eerie choir arrangements to the brilliantly intertwined recurring themes just reek of sheer perfection, and coming up with complaints for an album this good is quite a challenge. A cinematic overture in the form of “In Grandeur and Frankincense Devilment Stirs” instantly sets the mood for the entire album, and the subsequent dive into sinister symphonic black metal on “Shat Out of Hell” is simply enthralling.

Thankfully, the band maintains this level of intensity throughout all of Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder; although the album will be playing for over 71 minutes before it ends, it never feels stale or drawn out. The epic interludes, crushing metal riffs, and chilling narration always mix things up, and this is truly one of Cradle of Filth's finest moments from a compositional standpoint. There's really not a weak song in sight, and the musicianship is also among the finest in extreme metal. The drumming from Martin Škaroupka (or Marthus) just blows me away every time, and his chaotic mix of blast beats, frantic fills, and technically demanding rhythmic patterns never cease to amaze me. The man is simply a monster, and a complete treat to listen to for any drum nut.

Though I am in a rather small minority, I consider Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder to be one of the best albums from Cradle of Filth. The chilling concept about an absolutely vile human being is brilliantly realized to its fullest potential on this observation, and the riffs and arrangements are among the best in the band's discography. Music this pompous is bound to sound a bit cheesy at times, and although this does happen in a few instances on Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder, I wouldn't say that it necessarily detracts from my overall experience. If I'm in the right mood for it, Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder always scratches my itch for bombastic and overblown extreme metal; and, in reality, that's all it really needs to do. A very effective, well-produced, and brilliantly composed album, Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder is an essential listen for anybody curious about Cradle of Filth's music.

Warthur Cradle of Filth's Darkly, Darkly Venus Aversa is a concept album about dark, gothic Goddess worship with S&M overtones. You might be thinking "Wait, that's kind of what all of their albums are about", and you'd be 100% right; and along with what is for them quite an unimaginative concept (seriously, how many songs does Dani Filth need to write about how dominant women make him hot?) we have a fairly unimaginative musical backing from the Filth this time. With phoned-in melodic/symphonic black metal licks and a new raspy vocal delivery for Dani which doesn't quite work, this album is just a dull chore to listen to.

Warthur To my ears, Godspeed On the Devil's Thunder sounds like a throwback to the sound of Cruelty and the Beast, which I suppose makes sense since you could see it as a spiritual sequel to the earlier album. Both pieces are concept albums based on extremely fanciful retellings of the lives of medieval nobles accused of serial murder, witchcraft and Satanism; Cruelty was about perennial black metal muse Countess Bathory, whilst Godspeed finds Cradle of Filth telling the tale of Gilles de Rais, former companion of Joan of Arc turned murderous pedophile.

Whilst it isn't an especially original piece, there are some improvements over the earlier album; the production is better, as are the performances, and the poetic lyrics are much less clumsy and verge on being genuinely clever at points. On the whole, it's the most entertaining Cradle of Filth album since Midian.

Warthur After overreaching themselves on Damnation and a Day and taking the whole "back to basics" idea a little too far on Nymphetamine, Cradle of Filth seemed to regain their equilibrium on Thornography. Not as overblown as Damnation and not as over-sparse as Nymphetamine, Thornography is Cradle doing what they do best: goth-tinged extreme metal with silly lyrics about sex and horror. This time around, a few of the segments with clean vocals almost seem to show a very, very mild influence from Opeth, though we're still miles away from prog metal territory. On the whole, it's not a brilliant album, but it's an entertaining and listenable one which sets goals for itself which aren't too ambitious and doesn't have too much trouble achieving them.

Warthur Cradle of Filth's Nymphetamine is their first album for a long while that's merely a collection of songs rather than being a concept album. Oh, the idea of women and sex and sex with women and being tied up and flogged whilst having sex with women rears its head regularly over the course of the album, but that's a perennial Cradle of Filth obsession; to be honest, I was kind of embarrassed by some of the stuff Dani Filth said in press interviews surrounding the album, because he seemed to go out of his way to find the most pretentious ways possible to say "I write about BDSM because it makes me horny".

But enough of that, what about the music? Well, after the deliriously over the top Damnation and a Day, the band seem to have felt the need to get back to basics, which means that the black metal side of their sound is pushed to the fore in a way it hasn't since its debut, and their lusher, more symphonic gothic metal instincts are ruthlessly suppressed. Now, the Filth are a bit more adept at this whole extreme metal deal than they were on their debut album, so overall this approach results in a reasonably listenable sound, but by toning down the very features that make their sound distinctive they more or less sabotage any hope they had of making the album truly great; it comes across as a Cradle of Filth album which, for the first time, is kind of ashamed of being Cradle of Filth.