Cradle Of Filth — Bitter Suites To Succubi

Clap yer hands and dance with the Devil! That's right, theater black metallers Cradle Of Filth have a new release out, only a year after they gave us the album Midian. This time, however, we're talking something else than a conventional album.

Bitter Suites To Succubi is a step forward and back at the same time. It consists of ten tracks, of which two are re-recordings of old tracks ("Summer Dying Fast" and "The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh"), one is a continuation of another old song ("The Black Goddess Rises II"), and one is a cover of a Sisters Of Mercy song ("No Time To Cry"). So now we have six tracks left - where one is an intro and another is a strange, eerie instrumental ("Dinner At Deviant's Palace"). Four new real songs, all in all.

Then why should BSTS be a justified buy? It really depends on how many CoF albums you already have, one could say. The problem with this band has to me always been that they have massive potential to make something really breathtaking, but always fail, mainly because of their metal roots. Through all their albums the image has changed from vampirism to demonology, but the music somehow still remains the same.

Bitter Suites To Succubi is, however, better than most of the stuff they've come out with lately. I have always liked the older CoF albums more due to their originality (at the point of their release) - unfortunately the band has copied this style throughout their whole career, which makes only the first few albums really innovative. And to listen to the re-recordings of these tracks is a joy in itself. But it seems like the rest of the tracks are in the vein of the debut as well, giving the album a 'retro'-ish image and actually adds up to some kind of atmosphere.

The artwork? Well, the front cover is terribly boring and very conventional for a Cradle Of Filth cover. The booklet, however, is filled with gloomy blends of photographs and paintings, making a beautiful contrast to the ridiculously ugly man-beast-morphings Midian sported.

On the disc can also be found a multimedia delicacy: the video for the track "Born In A Burial Gown" is included, but so far only in the European version due to a complications with the pressings in the States. New versions might include the video as well, though. The newest thing about this album is actually the label - the band have started their own, AbraCadaver, and this is the first release from that label. Hope to see more releases from this one.

Well, basically one only needs a single CoF album to get an impression of their entire work. And this one is pretty decent, but you'll find nothing new. Although it might be their best release since the Vempire/Dusk-days.