Fairly Unblack Metal Alert: Cradle of Filth
It’s been years since the truest of black metal fan had given up the belief that the far too polished sounds of Cradle of Filth belonged in their world. Despite the corpse paint*, long hair and punishing rhythms Cradle of Filth reside in a sort of metal grey area, far from the mainstream and ever further from black metal credibility. I often classify the band as similar to the likes of other popular acts such as Finland’s Children of Bodom and Norway’s Dimmu Borgir, and do so with no black metal connotation whatsoever. When was the last time any of those guys killed someone, I ask you that…hmmmm?
Anyways, I asked Black Metal Dialogues orchestrator, and otherwise all around kick ass guy, Dave Hill what he thought of a track from the band’s upcoming release, Thornography, and he pretty much thought it sucked. “This might go over big with Nickelback fans, but any true black metal fan wouldn’t even get their hair cut to this music. But of course a true black metal fan wouldn’t even be getting their hair cut in the first place.”
It’s probably not far from the truth, suggesting that Cradle of Filth are to black metal what Nickelback is to rock n’ roll, but in some ways the band is moving away from their former position within the metal community. In a recent interview with MTV.com** singer Dani Davey*** discussed the months leading up to the album’s release and the sessions’ final product, “It’s like Slayer meets Napalm Death in a vat of acid.” Now I’m not exactly sure that a Slayer/Napalm Death merger would be such a great idea in the first place, but especially so if it were in a vat of acid. Actually, I think that rather than an X-Treme display of grinding metal glory, all we would really hear is “Help get us out of this vat of acid. Why did we ever think this would be a good idea?!” But I digress.
I think it’s fairly safe to say that at this point in time the band is just another metal band. A good metal band, but just a metal band. Dave Hill has a few words for those who still think that the band represents itself as some sort of black metal icon, “They’re English, which okay generally speaking, but if you’re playing black metal this just doesn’t cut it.”****
If you’re looking for a little black in your metal, Cradle of Filth probably won’t satisfy the soul (or twisted lack thereof). But if you are looking for some seriously hard rocking, they’ll suffice. Oh, if you do in fact have a hankerin’ for some black metal, Hill suggests Mayhem, Emperor and Bathory…none of which are English.
Watch Dave Hill on Al Gore’s own Current TV!!!
Cradle of Filth “Foetus of a New Day Kicking”
Cradle of Filth “Dirge Inferno”
Additional Cradle of Filth Audio Here
Cradle of Filth – Official Site
Cradle of Filth – MySpace Site*****
*(Reason #181 Why Cradle of Filth Isn’t Black Metal: These days they rarely wear corpse paint)
**(Reason #182 Why Cradle of Filth Isn’t Black Metal: They’ve been interviewed by MTV)
*** (Reason #183 Why Cradle of Filth Isn’t Black Metal: Singer is shying away from former black metal pseudonym, Dani Filth, and is using his real name)
**** (Reason #184 Why Cradle of Filth Isn’t Black Metal: Its members aren’t Norwegian…bare minimum, they’re not even Swedish)
***** (Reason #185 Why Cradle of Filth Isn’t Black Metal: Band has MySpace page)
![culturebully-web-ad-11-9[3]](http://www.culturebully.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/culturebully-web-ad-11-93-300x90.jpg "culturebully-web-ad-11-9[3]")
Well, my opinions on Cradle of Filth are irrelevant here, but what kind of opinion of black metal music are you creating by stating that CoF aren’t black metal because they’re not murderers?! Gorgoroth and Emperor would still be brilliant black metal acts were it not for the antics of Faust and Infernus!(not that Infernus was guilty) And also saying that they can’t be black metal because they’re English is pretty odd… I know it originated in Norway, but think of Death Metal in terms of nationalities… Are Deicide any better/ heavier than Napalm Death, or vice versa? And, pedantic as I realise it is…
. With regards to the reference to Corpse paint, I think it could be fairly stated that most black metal fans and performers look odd, to say the least, myself included… So why should Cradle wear Corpse paint just because everyone else does?
. True that being interviewed by MTV and Dani’s appearance on never mind the buzzcocks are hardly conducive to a black metal image, but you can understand the fascination in popular culture with the band, due to their image, the often breakneck speed at which they play and Dani’s lyrical talent.
. If you watch the most recent DVD, Peace through Superior Firepower, and look at the credits of the most recent album, Nymphetamine, he is still listed as Dani Filth. And his real name is not Dani Davey, it’s Daniel Lloyd Davey, and Dani is a black metal pseudonym in itself, in that it is not an abbreviation of Daniel, but the hebrew word for “bereft of god.”
. Long term CoF drummer Adrian Erlandsson is Swedish. To be fair though, Erlandsson is a common English surname.
. Yeah, fair enough, I can’t defend the MySpace thing, in that it IS the scum of the earth. But to be fair, the band are by their own submission a melodic black metal act anyway.
cof black or not..who gives a damn anyway..i love the bands music regardless..they`re more important issues to discuss than what genre a band is or should be..c`mon move on!!!!!!
stop talkin a lot of shit
Wow. You’re just trying too hard. Are you now the guy who gives out certifications for legally registered black metal bands? I was checking out this older band called Graveworm. Are they black metal? Or would you expert opinion deem them as grey metal, or maybe even blue metal? Dipshit. Music is an expression. They do their own thing. they dont follow a stereo-type to try and impress mallcore fans. And no, they never killed anyone. But Dani did go start a fight with the murderdolls a few years back when he was drunk. Cradle of Filth even says they aren’t black metal. But they’re not just “another” metal band. Their roots will always be symphonic black metal. And you trendy kids who try too hard to be extreme, and drop a band because they start to get famous will never change that. The reason cradle got famous, is because they were unique. Completely unique even in the black metal community. Not because they sold out.
Cof use to be black. ~94 to ~00. then more Gothic metal in nature
VENOM was from England. they coined the term in 1983.BLACK METAL. “Keyboards and make-up” is where i DO draw the line, though. I’m a closet Cradle fan,”don’t ask ,Don’t tell”… But ask yourself this: what would terrify even Satan himself???
HOMOSEXUALITY!!!! now,would any striaght man named Daniel ever spell his name “DANI”? ,”Don’t forget to dot the ‘I’ with a litte heart”-lol…..