Cradle of Filth "Nymphetamine" CD
[Roadrunner]
I am not a Cradle of Filth fan. I own one of their records, "Cruelty and the Beast", I never liked their early material, and I haven't paid a god damn bit of attention to anything they've done since that time because all of their newer songs that I've heard bored me. So it comes as no surprise that I find this record to be a snoozer. Leave it to Cradle of Filth to beat you over the head for well over a fucking hour through 14 tracks of whatever the hell it is they call this stuff these days. It ain't black metal, it ain't death metal, though some of those influences are obvious, but the often simplistic chord progressions and rhythmic vocal patterns - especially in opener "Gilded Cunt" - sort of throw me for a loop. There are definitely some strong midpaced dissonant chords that have a killer black metal drive, and admittedly Dani Filth's vocal performance tends to be a little more tactful here, though still often overdramatic with spoken passages and irritating shrieks (not to mention those horrific vocal patterns that make no sense to me), but overall the songwriting on this thing fuckin' sucks. Most of the songs are too long, most of the riffs are weak, there are a few terrible guitar lines that really stick out like a sore thumb, and it's boring. Bottomline. "Absinthe With Faust" contains some slower riffing that blends a doomier vibe with mild classic metal, which isn't so bad at all; "Coffin Fodder" has a good midpaced tempo with some more faster black metal styled riffing that makes for a half decent track; and the female vocals and dual guitar runs in portions of the title are really cool (despite the rest of it sucking). But really? There's not much here that jumps out at me at all. For a band of this stature it's hugely disappointing to a stunning degree, and I'm not even a fan of theirs. About the only thing that's consistently better on this record than their old stuff is the keyboards, as they fit in nicely and use stronger textures that rest lower in the mix, which doesn't distract from the core of the material. But the rest of the recording is problematic as well. I don't know the details or anything, but it kind of has that sound a band gets when they make their first major recording in their own studio, you know? It's competent, but too rugged to really fit. The drums sound pretty good, a little clicky but resonant and controlled, and though quiet the bass tone seems okay, but I'm not feeling most of the guitar tones. They're not bad, but there's an unnatural sheen there that sounds off to me. The keyboards and vocals are mixed far better here than what I'd expect, thankfully letting the guitars play the dominant role, which is another good decision. I just think at this point it needs to sound either a little more polished or a little more intentionally raw, you know? The layout? Ehhh, not for me. There are one or two panels of artwork that look interesting, and the text is tiny and cleanly arranged, but most of the art is boring, the band photo is goofy as hell (plenty of grimacing faces, lots of studded leather, obligatory corpsepaint, etc.), and I'm not into the lyrics either. I don't like dramatic storytelling crap, so I've never been into these guys' lyrics, but what can you do? This band honestly makes little sense to me. But at least they used to write good songs. I don't get this disc at all. It's so fuckin' bland. Long and dull. I'm not into hokey dramatic bullshit, and these songs are truly bland. I sort of expected this to be a decent record, I figured the band would be similar but maybe a little catchier these days. Well... don't count it. Next. (3/10)
Running time - 75:38, Tracks: 14
[Notable tracks: I don't think any complete songs are good, but some have their moments]
Roadrunner Records - http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com

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