Cradle of Filth - Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder

November 13, 2008

Reviewer: Rottenbucher

Thornograpy was awful; it should have been called Thudography.  Aside from a few moments of melodic brilliance and a cool instrumental track, the album was a dud.  Sure, it may have been Cradle of Filth’s most accessible and Hot Topic friendly release, but most long-term fans who hadn’t given up on the band knew they could do and have done much better.  So it is a surprise that Godspeed on the Devil’s Thunder may be their best and most inspired album since Midian. Reduced to an official quartet and licking their wounds from the flack from their previous album, something gave these boys a swift and much needed kick.  They even retrieved those kooky keyboards, went back to a full-on concept album about Gilles de Rais and allowed Doug Bradley to narrate as someone other than Hellraiser’s Pinhead.

Album opener, “Shat out of Hell” roars out of the speakers and gives a nod back to the speedy and eerie Cruelty days.  No, really.  New drummer Martin Škaroupka seems to have channeled former drummer Nick Barker while the rest of the band decides to skimp on the goth and get back to their trademarked speed-based, bombastic blackened metal.  “The Death of Love” is probably the most commercial track on the album and, unfortunately, gets a little too bloated.  But before you think “Shat out of Hell” was a fluke, “The 13^th Ceasar” is a perfect hybrid of the Cruelty and Midian styles and the following “Tragic Kingdom” even teeters on the blackness of the Dusk-era. Suprisingly, “Sweetest Maleficia” could have appeared on Cruelty. “Midnight Shadows Cral to Darken Counsel with Life” is the most epic track on the album and it oozes with creativity and craftsmanship while “Darkness Incarnate” shreds all about.  The title track is a chaotic yet somehow restrained affair that actually makes you not want the album to end.

Where Godspeed on the Devil’s Thunder succeeds is the band’s refocusing on what they do best.  Guitarist Paul Allender is back to churning out layers of grinding riffs instead of paying tribute to Iron Maiden.  Most of the melody found on Goodspeed comes from the keyboards along with the choral and orchestral arrangements. That doesn’t mean he isn’t ripping out some melodic hooks, it just means the feral riffs are back in full force.  Dani is also back to darting out lines of putrid poetry in his trademarked, multi-ranged shrieks. His hoarse and less schizophrenic approach on the last few releases seemed too calculated and restrained.  And the best of all is each song seems to be written from the heart.  Aside from “The Death of Love,” nothing on Godspeed reeks of commercial appeal.  If your first listen of Cradle of Filth was Thornography or Nymphetamine, Goodspeed will leave you abused and confused.  If you started yawing after Damnation and a Day, here’s your chance to be blown away.

If anything, Goodspeed proves Cradle of Filth can still write fast-passed epic songs while not skimping on brutality. They must have gotten the commercial-appeal crap out of their system and Dave Murray must have told Allender he was getting a bit too flattering.  With all the musical hysterics firmly back in place, it’s a shame this album didn’t come after Midian.  Hell, it’s probably the logical follow-up to Cruelty.  But while purists will still gripe that Godspeed doesn’t embrace like Dusk, the fans that have weathered the band’s creative decline will welcome a return to filthy form.

Release Date: October 20, 2008
Label: Roadrunner Records

TRACK LISTING

1. In Grandeur and Frankincense
    Devilment Stirs
2. Shat out of Hell
3. The Death of Love
4. The 13th Ceasar
5. Tiffagues
6. Tragic Kingdom
7. Sweetest Maleficia
8. Honey and Sulfur
9. Midnight Shadows Crawl to
    Darken Counsel with Life
10. Darkness Incarnate
11. Ten Leagues Beneath
       Contempt
12. Godspeed on the Devil’s
      Thunder
13. Corpseflower

Total playing time: 71:24

(The Life and Crimes of Gilles De Rais)

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