It hit seventy degrees Fahrenheit here in the American Midwest yesterday. Spring is here, Spring is here. Well, almost. You can officially celebrate Spring’s trve arrival on March 20th with the charming villains in Cradle of Filth. The band needs no introduction. They have prowled the UK’s haunted shores for three decades and released their 13th opus Existence is Futile on Nuclear Blast last October. Their Principles of Evil Made Flesh album was honored in Decibel Magazine‘s Hall of Fame. Now Cradle of Filth will play their 1996 landmark album Dusk…and Her Embrace in a special performance on the Spring Equinox. The Infernal Vernal Equinox will include that full album, as well as a new music video and other fan favorites, on March 20th.
As the live music industry has started shedding pandemic rust, livestreams have become less necessary as a replacement for in-the-flesh gigging. But the medium has wicked potential in the hands of a darkly theatrical and visionary band like Cradle of Filth. This special event’s mix of vampyromantic ’90s nostalgia and “deadstream” technology is a winner. Here are three tracks from the album I’m personally psyched to see performed:
“Heaven Torn Asunder”
Cradle of Filth love their instrumental album openers. They almost always nail the Hammer horror atmospherics and set the tone for the album to come. But the beginning of “Heaven Torn Asunder” is so impactful and soaked in brooding moonlight that it really doesn’t need “Humana Inspired to Nightmare” as a wingman. Once you hear those first guitar riffs it feels like the fog creeps in around you.
“A Gothic Romance (Red Roses For the Devil’s Whore)”
It feels like Dani Filth has written a dozen songs about doomed trysts with mysterious woodland women. While “Her Ghost in the Fog” is the most recognizable, this is the best one. The vampyromantic keyboards are delicious, and it feels like the album’s thematic precursor to Cruelty and the Beast‘s “Lustmord and Wargasm (The Lick of Carnivorous Winds).” Plus, hot damn they get HEAVY at the five minute mark.
“Beauty Slept in Sodom”
This is another one of the slower songs on the album, but once again excels at setting the ambience of a cursed forest. If you want speed, you’ll probably prefer “Funeral in Carpathia.” But from the 2:15 mark on, this is one of Cradle of Filth’s best compositions. There’s a shadowy dash of British doom. Their signature harmonized leads cut through the cobwebs (although “Malice Through the Looking Glass” has the best overall guit-armonies on the album). I don’t think I have seen them play this live, and this event is a great way to change that.
Purchase tickets to watch the Infernal Vernal Equinox on March 20th HERE
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