CRADLE OF FILTH — Nymphetamine (review)

CRADLE OF FILTH — Nymphetamine album cover

Album · 2004 · Gothic Metal

5/5 · 2011-08-01
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