Issue #20: Cradle of Filth – Dusk… And Her Embrace

Released:  November 19th, 1996

Recorded:  August – September 1996

Genre:  Extreme Metal, Symphonic Black Metal

Record Label:  Music for Nations

Duration:  53:13

Producers:  Kit Woolven, Cradle of Filth

Personnel

Track Listing

Singles

Why Dusk… And Her Embrace is One of My Favorites

If you have any interesting in modern-day metal, you’ve probably at least heard of Cradle of Filth.  And if you find the name as fascinating as I do, maybe you’ve even heard some of their music.  Dusk… And Her Embrace helped Cradle enter into the mainstream with its combination of black metal, slick production values, and orchestral arrangements.  In the years that have followed, many metalheads have discovered and enjoyed the band while black metal purists get ever louder about how Cradle is not black metal.  Although it isn’t in the same vein as Burzum or Darkthrone or Mayhem or any of the other Norwegian black metal acts, it is a hell of a lot easier to listen to and it does share many stylistic attributes with “tr00 kvlt” black metal.

Imagine applying tenants of opera and classical music to metal.  Dusk is replete with movements and storytelling that go well beyond the “verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus” model most of the time and rarely limits itself to “just” guitars, bass, and drums.  It’s a huge album that mixes the best of ultra-heavy metal with symphonic elements.  From the metal camp, there’s intense riffing, blazing drums, and Dani’s signature screeching vocals.  From classical music, it borrows strings, pianos, choir vocals, and more.  It sounds like a cheesy schtick, but these guys do a great job of integrating these styles together to create an entirely new sound.

Listening to Dusk for the first time is such a mind-blowing experience that it’s difficult to begin describing what makes the album so awesome.  I suppose what stands out almost immediately are Dani’s unique vocals, to say the least.  Most of us, despite our tastes in music, have heard the screaming, shouting, and growling associated with different styles of metal, but until I heard Dusk, I’d never heard screeching.  The majority of the album is sung with shrill, scratchy vocals that truly sound like a force from hell; the word “banshee” comes to mind.  How he does it with his voice I’ll never understand – it must be heard to be believed.  Dani is further able to alter his screeching from a rapid, nearly indecipherable pace to a slow and menacing half-whisper, half-screech.  He also switches to a deep and clear bassy tone at times, sounding like a creature from the pit.  Augmenting Dani’s unconventional style is Sarah Jezebel Deva, who adds a female presence to several songs.  With so much going on in just the vocal department, it’s easy to see how these “different voices” are telling a story and providing something much richer than a simple song about a breakup.

Musically, Dusk is built straight off of black metal.  It may not have the lo-fi production that some purists demand, but it does feature rhythmic riffing overlaid with lightning fast lead guitar in the higher registers.  Drums tend to employ blast beats for the most part, though to accompany orchestral sections they take on a booming, regal tone.  Strings are also used prominently, both in backing and focal capacity throughout.  Other odd instruments and sound effects are used from time to time, all with the intent of creating grand soundscapes.  I’m always in awe at so many elements working together to create such an original sound.

A lot of Cradle’s albums have been concept pieces telling a particular story that evolves as the tracks progress (Midian, Cruelty and the Beast, Godpseed on the Devil’s Thunder), though Dusk… And Her Embrace contains more self-contained stories.  And that’s what Cradle of Filth is interested in telling: stories.  As evident from the track listing, they revolve around the supernatural and the macabre, and I enjoy being able to immerse myself in their dark worlds via music.  Many songs also examine some facet of love, whether it be a tragic loss or a deceptive succubus.  To be honest, it’s almost impossible to understand Dani’s shrieking without assistance, and having the lyrics in front of you will really heighten the experience.  As impressive as the composition and musicianship is already, the lyrics are written in a rich, vivid, and at times archaic way of speaking.  They’re wonderfully descriptive and often sound like something culled directly from classical literature.  It may be 100% pure fantasy, but it’s great to see how seriously these guys have taken it and how dedicated they are to creating a genuine experience for those wishing to become completely lost in the darkness.

“Humana Inspired to Nightmare” is an instrumental that kicks off the album with ominous strings and the ringing of bells, seguing directly into “Heaven Torn Asunder.”  The second track begins with heavy riffing before introducing us to Dani’s voice, an overlay of both screeching and bellowing.  Like most songs, “Heaven Torn Asunder” goes through various tempo changes as it describes a literal attack on heaven with Dani rapidly shrieking lines like, “Invasion’s scale Babel’s ivory towers / Poised to sodomize a world upon its knees,” while Deva’s commanding female presence muses, “From this ransacked celestial temple / I hold the prophet’s severed head unto all nations.”

“Funeral in Carpathia,” my favorite track from the album, comes next with some of the fastest guitar playing and drumming on the record.  A love mourns the loss of his lover, and apparently her descent into an undesirable afterlife.  The tragedy drives the lover to seek out the darkness as well, and the track closes with, “I am now blessed / with this darkness / forevermore.”  Another of Dusk’s heaviest tracks comes in fourth: “A Gothic Romance.”  It sets the mood with mournful violins and eerie chimes followed by the howling of a wolf, with Dani’s low growls not far behind.  Maniacal witch laughs pepper the track, with one of the albums true highlights occurring twice during the song – an extremely fast and extremely heavy snippet straight from hell itself, “Through cobwebbed drapery to where she swoons / Goddess of the graveyard, of the tempest, and moon.”  Which is not to be undone by Deva’s own contribution a few seconds later, “So my cunt may twitch against thy kiss / And weep with new found life?”

…And that’s just the first 4 tracks.  It’s nothing new to embrace darkness when it comes to extreme metal, but here, Cradle of Filth romanticizes it, even sexualizes it.  If you have the words in front of you, it’s a fascinating listen.  If you don’t, it’s still brutally heavy.

It’s great to develop personal and emotional connections with music.  Music can be cathartic, comforting, empowering, and even insightful at times.  However, far too many artists (and listeners too, for that matter) ignore music’s ability to act like a good book, or a TV show, or any work of fiction, and transport us to a whole new place.  Dusk… And Her Embrace, even before I was able to catch more than a few words here and there, has always piqued by interest due to its rich narrative steeped in utter fantasy.  The icing on the cake is the music itself.  Rarely have I personally ran across anything quite as unique and as well executed as Cradle of Filth’s music.  Dusk is a hefty package to handle, but there’s an amazing array of different pieces to admire and discover.  I’ve had this album for probably 15 years or so, and I still find some new sound or notice a new beat or even put together a realization about the lyrics every time I sit down to really listen to it.

Written by The Cubist

Other albums from Cradle of Filth in the series:

• 1994 – The Principle of Evil Made Flesh – Issue #66
• 1996 – V Empire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein – Issue #83
• 1999 – From the Cradle to Enslave – Issue #67

Back to The Cubist’s 90’s Albums

Written by The Cubist

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