Cradle Of Filth - Nymphetamine
Roadrunner Records
Commercialized Punkish Black Metal
14 songs (75:39)
Release year: 2004
Cradle Of Filth, Roadrunner Records
Reviewed by Jay

What a difference a year can make. Cradle of Filth blew me away last year with Damnation and a Day. An album that shattered my expectations of what they could sound like and were capable of recording. The massive sound and the bombast of the Prague Symphony orchestra surprised me. This band proved they were ready for primetime and were not only for shy little weakling teenage eternal tortured gothic souls. It was a masterpiece and I sung their praises. Their new album proves that that last disc was a fluke of sorts. No more do the amazing sounds of the orchestra fill the album. The tempos have slowed somewhat as well. Speed does not make a great album but a slow Cradle seems to drag and get bogged down much more than a faster Cradle.

The album opens with "Gilded Cunt," a song which was the first free download and already the subject of a t-shirt banned from production. This is one of the more up-tempo tracks on the disk and surprisingly the riff is simplistic. The chorus while having a nice harmony fails for me because the overall sound is too thin. When Adrian Erlandsson starts throwing some blast beats in, the album gains some more points but this is one of the few places on the disc he does so. He also shies away from the blast beats and double bass many other times on the album. I know Erlandsson is an amazing drummer which is why the quality of the drum recording surprised me. Each drum and cymbal sound clear but overall there is a shallowness missing from the recording. Also conspicuously missing from much of the record are the keyboard harmonies that perfused the previous albums. Fast, frenetic death/black metal style riffing is often replaced with guitar leads and punk style four-chord lines. On a whole, musically, this disc is far simpler than their previous records. Many of the new beats are catchier and given their increasing popularity worldwide, catchy beats sell records.

As mentioned earlier, slow songs are the order of the day. The soulful manner this album tries to attempt would be bolstered by a symphony. Shame on Roadrunner for denying this band funding to record with an orchestra (if that is the reason for its absence on the disc). Tracks like "Absinthe with Faust" and "Nemesis" would shine like never before. A dose of the Cradle of old is found on tracks like "Gabrielle" which is a certain hold over from the Damnation and a Day sessions. The high point of the disc is the first single "Nymphetamine" which appears on the disc twice. First as part of an epic 9-minute track and also to close out the disc. A vocal duet between Dani and Liv Kristine (ex-Theater of Tragedy) is the highlight of the track. With symphonic elements adding to the track as well as profound backing vocals, this track shines through among the rest of the debris cluttering the sound of the rest of the disc.

If you do not like Cradle, you will not like this. If you like Cradle, I think you’ll be disappointed as I was. This band has amazing talent and potential as was demonstrated with their last release. In the future we can only hope they return to this great form

Killing Songs :
Nymphetamine
Jay quoted 55 / 100
Jeff quoted 80 / 100
Jack quoted 90 / 100
Other albums by Cradle Of Filth that we have reviewed:
Cradle Of Filth - Existence is Futile reviewed by Goat and quoted 80 / 100
Cradle Of Filth - Hammer of the Witches reviewed by Goat and quoted 85 / 100
Cradle Of Filth - Total Fucking Darkness reviewed by Goat and quoted no quote
Cradle Of Filth - Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa reviewed by Kyle and quoted 64 / 100
Cradle Of Filth - Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder reviewed by Goat and quoted 81 / 100
To see all 14 reviews click here
28 readers voted
Average:
 73
Your quote was: 80.
Change your vote

There are 36 replies to this review. Last one on Sat Apr 09, 2005 3:07 am
View and Post comments