Warthur Cradle of Filth's Nymphetamine is their first album for a long while that's merely a collection of songs rather than being a concept album. Oh, the idea of women and sex and sex with women and being tied up and flogged whilst having sex with women rears its head regularly over the course of the album, but that's a perennial Cradle of Filth obsession; to be honest, I was kind of embarrassed by some of the stuff Dani Filth said in press interviews surrounding the album, because he seemed to go out of his way to find the most pretentious ways possible to say "I write about BDSM because it makes me horny".

But enough of that, what about the music? Well, after the deliriously over the top Damnation and a Day, the band seem to have felt the need to get back to basics, which means that the black metal side of their sound is pushed to the fore in a way it hasn't since its debut, and their lusher, more symphonic gothic metal instincts are ruthlessly suppressed. Now, the Filth are a bit more adept at this whole extreme metal deal than they were on their debut album, so overall this approach results in a reasonably listenable sound, but by toning down the very features that make their sound distinctive they more or less sabotage any hope they had of making the album truly great; it comes across as a Cradle of Filth album which, for the first time, is kind of ashamed of being Cradle of Filth.

arcane-beautiful Remember when I said Midian was smug...well this is worse...

In 2004, Cradle Of Filth had reached the pinnacle of their career. After a dangerous experiment, the band came out on top, winning the hearts of critics and fans alike. And after many genius moves after another, they decided to release this album, and to be honest, they couldn't have picked a better time to release it.

This album is to be honest, pretty much perfect. Ok it's not a golden rod from heaven, but this album just prooves why these guys are the 2nd biggest British metal band. Their ability to crossover genres really is shown in its perfect element on this album, mixing the old black metal style with gothic metal, melodic death metal, at times doom and just adding their own unique flair. This is the album where I think they perfected that classic Cradle sound, and brought it to more approachable and contemporary levels. For Christ's sake, Nymphetamine Fix, I remember, was played every day on tv channels such as Kerrang & Scuzz.

The sound of this album is very different to the rest. I think if you wanted to get someone into Cradle, I would suggest this album, because it does have quite a magical quality, where theirs something for everybody, from incredibly heavy moments, to nice piano licks and as always, a diverse palette of metal. I also believe that this was Cradle's classic line up.

Production wise, this is their real highlight. The guitars sound incredibly evil, and the orchestration and choirs, along with the keyboard work, really highlights the amazing gothic moments. Dani's vocals I feel are at their final zenith of power here (they start to falter after this album, so he must have really given it his all here).

Lyrically the album deals with some interesting topics, alot of it has to do with sex, war, murder and Greek mythology oddly enough. Also, the artwork for this album is really cool too...SHOWING BOOBIES AND TWATS! :D

1. Satyriasis - A nice eerie orchestral intro. Very evil sounding, ful of discords and what have you not. 9/10

2. Gilded Cunt - Cradle Of Filth album rules...if the first song doesnt make you headbang like f***, then they're not doing it properly. This is probabbly one of my favourite all time Cradle songs, mainly cause it rocks like a motherfunker, yet it...no words can describe it!!! 11/10

3. Nemesis - Wow, what a kick ass song...and quite different too. Full of repetitive motifs and lyrical parts, it really is an instant Cradle classic. It just kicks so much arse. Their's also a very noticable Iron Maiden influence on this song. I love the ending too. 10/10

4. Gabrielle - Quite beautiful at the start, but it blooms into a real gothic masterpiece. Some really killer riffs too. 10/10

5. Absinthe With Faust - One of the most melodic songs on the album (and that's really saying something, cause this is their most melodic album). Really killer riffs and kick ass moments. 9/10

6. Nymphetamine (Overdose) - Wow, what an epic. 9 minutes of pure pleasure. Now, this mainly is the Nymphetamine Fix, but with one killer intro and outro. I actually prefer the first section to the fix, but all in all, it just flows so well...and suprises you alot. It's also nice to hear Liv Kristine's voice in this song, although when they do this live, Sarah Jezebel does a good job on it. 10/10

7. Painting Flowers White Never Suited My Palette - Ok...odd name for a song. A nice orchestral eerie interlude. 9/10

8. Medusa & Hemlock - Incredibly kick ass, with some real cool twists and turns, and Dani's diction really is killer and makes the song as interesting as possible. 10/10

9. Coffin Fodder - One of the more black metal moments on the album, mixed with some really nice melodic sections. Great vocals from Dani. 10/10

10. English Fire - A nice orchestral accompaniment really adds beauty to this song. Does beautiful extreme metal exist? It does in this song. Great lyrics too.

11. Filthy Little Secret - Nice melodic splashes with the odd dramatic moment now and then. Great twists and turns too. 9/10

12. Swansong For A Raven - Apparently this is supposed to be a continuation of Her Ghost In The Fog, although I do admit, it doesn't compare to the sheer majesty of Her Ghost In The Fog. A great song nontheless. Some nice dramatic moments. The instrumental section is really cool too, cause it reminds me of Carcass. And Doug Bradley's narration are as cool as ever. 9/10

13. Mother Of Abominations - Wow, what a powerhous of a song. When you hear that chanting intro, you know that something is going to spurt acid in your face. I also love the loopy ending. 10/10

CONCLUSION: Their most contemporary album I feel....and it's good thing theirs 13 amazing songs on it. Definitly one of my secret favourites from these guys. And it is pretty smug too...although Cradle have always been smug I feel.

9.1/10

UMUR Nymphetamine is the 7th full-length studio album by UK black/ goth metal act Cradle of Filth. The album was released in September 2004 by Roadrunner Records.

The music on the album is a combination of melodic black metal and goth metal. Especially the lyrical themes points towards goth, but there are several other goth elements in the music besides the lyrics. Lead vocalist Dani Filth is a very versatile singer and you´ll hear everything from death growls, to raspy black metal type vocals, high pitched squeals and whispering on the album. His vocal style(s) are pretty surely an aquired taste though. I´ve read a lot of reviews which critizise his unique style, but I have to admit that I kind of enjoy his delivery. Besides the extreme vocal styles by Dani Filth the album is also graced by some truly beautiful female vocal parts by Sarah Jezebel Deva ( Angtoria, Covenant, Mortiis, Therion, Tulus, Mystic Circle, The Kovenant and solo) and by Liv Kristine Espenæs Krull ( Theatre of Tragedy, Atrocity, Leaves´ Eyes and solo) who sings in the middle section of Nymphetamine (Overdose).

The 9:15 minute long epic Nymphetamine (Overdose) track is arguably one of the highlights of the album. The the mentioned middle section is bookended by some really great melodic black metal sections and put together that´s one of those songs that just works really well. Another highlight is the aggressive Gilded Cunt ( I just love that title), but actually the first 8 tracks on the album are all more or less excellent compositions. After that it´s like the band start to repeat themselves and the latter part of the album features too many, of what I would call filler tracks. The general quality is still high, but I think the band should have realised that they couldn´t fill a 75 minute long album with high quality tracks and ended Nymphetamine after track 8 or 9. It´s a bit of a shame really because after the first part of the album I always find myself thinking that Nymphetamine is an excellent album fully deserving a 4 star rating and the best songs maybe even 4.5 stars, but come end of the album my mood has changed towards 3.5 stars, so I guess a 3.5 - 4 star rating is deserved. This is still a high quality album with a professional and powerful production, pretty good musicianship and a decadent gothic atmosphere, so while I might have some complaints about the length of the album and the quality of some of the songs on the latter part of the album, I still find Nymphetamine highly recommendable.