CrADLe oF FiLtH
Controversy, the word seems to follow Cradle Of Filth. Outspoken advocates of a black metal/gothic theology, some criticism is expected, even relished, by Dani, their frontman. Everything written about this band tends to dwell on secondary aspects, rather than the music itself even with the release of their much awaited second full-length album, 'Dusk.....And Her Embrace". Believe it or not, that's somewhat of a relief for the vocalist/lyricist. "There's lots of room for people to judge us on imagery and, as you say, the trappings other than what's played. I don't care if people want to know what I'm listening to or who the band's influenced by. I suppose it just helps to understand the atmosphere and nature of our band. It's pretty hard to discuss what we were going for on a track, because we get fucked up while doing stuff. When it comes to writing material, we lock ourselves in a studio in the middle of nowhere, usually at night. We come out in the morning with something resembling a song, but we have no idea of what happened in between. We might smoke a bit of marijuana or have a couple of drinks. So when asked about our influences, it sort of helps us to understand the hybrid things we come up with."
They like to describe their albums as soundtracks, but not the collection of radio singles that typically accompanies a film soundtrack. "Things like Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula," he explains, "Interview With The Vampire or the Omen trilogy, which is probably the best soundtrack going. Conan, some of the old Hammer Horror films. Things that evoke massive atmosphere; orchestral movements." Each creation is partially rooted in classical music, as well as black metal. "Graveyard By Moonlight" is a piano instrumental, leading into "Beauty Slept In Sodom," which utilizes harpsichord, spoken female vocals, screams, growls and some great guitarwork. Dani concurs, "It shows the diversity. It's got a wide range; the heavy midsection and the tranquil, sort of serene, parts. I suppose it's a very good example." The lyrics, a mix of the religious, occult and erotic, are less straightforward this time. "Dusk..." also marks the first recording devoid of cover art displaying bare-breasted women in the throes of violent, carnal delight, an observation that Dani doesn't deny. "On this record we wanted to evoke more atmosphere, by drawing the listener into the ideology we create. It's more subdued, and to me, more majestic. Lyrically, it's more gothic and plays on the romanticism associated with vampirism. Everything hints at things, rather than being blatant. in the same way a classic Bela Lugosi film would evoke more atmosphere than, say, "Dawn Of The Dead", a modern, in-your-face film. There was a definite trend in the studio towards thinking, 'How do we make our music as blatant as possible, but tone down the imagery?' Because we have so many representations of the band through artwork and merchandising, people who are prejudgemental assume we're based on imagery. By toning down that aspect, perhaps people will listen to the music more". An idealistic proposal, but the fact remains that back in England, one fan was arrested for wearing one of their T-shirts in public. Dani responds, "From the moralists we're getting threats. It's laughable. The shirt's been around for ages, we sold thousands of them. Only now that someone's been arrested and it's affecting British censorship law, has everyone picked up on it. Our merchandise accentuates the lifestyle this sort of music has become. I like what our artist comes up with; our ideas put into photography. It's almost as good as hearing the final record after rehearsing it for eight months. We've got other designs pending, including a brilliant one with "Dead Girls Don't Say No". That offends some, but delights others and that's the intention!" And what about the MTV appearance? "Since doing MTV, people have said, 'You can't do that, you're a black metal band. You're appearing alongside Bon Jovi and Def Leppard. You're embarrassing us.' That's what it's like for the hardcore black metal elite. That's what we want to do, piss off those who want to be pissed off. They automatically assume they know what you're like, but they're a bit put-off when our sarcastic English humour comes into play. I think it's best to be open."