By Natalie Perez
Cradle of Filth guitarist Paul Allender says their latest release, 2012′s The Manticore and Other Horrors (released October 30 on Nuclear Blast Records), is nothing like its predecessor, 2010′s Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa.
“This album has gone back to what we were doing before Dusk… And Her Embrace,” Allender says. “The groove, aggression, etc. on this new album is awesome; the band has finally got its balls back!”
Here are Revolver’s 10 questions with Allender. For more about the band, check out their Facebook page.
01. You guys now have 10 albums under your belts. What runs through your mind when you consider that?
The only thing that goes through my mind when I think about how many albums we have done is, “Bloody hell, I’m old!” [laughs]
02. How would you describe the overall sound of the new album? How does it compare to your last release?
It’s nothing like our last release. This album has gone back to what we were doing before Dusk… And Her Embrace.
03. Did the band have any definitive goals before the recording process began for this album?
Yes. We didn’t want to do another album that sounded like the last few. It had to be different, refreshing and exciting.
04. Did you use any new new instrumentation on this album?
On this album, we have more ventured in the realm of synths and not so much of the typical orchestration that the world and its wife is doing nowadays. Some believe we created the symphonic sound back in the day, so that’s even more of a reason to divert away from it and try to come to come up with something more fresh for the band from now on.
05. When did you start writing for this album?
It took about seven months to write with a couple of weeks at the end to make sure everything flows properly, etc., before going into the studio. Once in the studio, it took about five weeks to record all the music.
06. It sounds like you guys went back and rediscovered some of you old ways when recording this album. Why is that?
Yes we did, something different needed to happen for this album because we really couldn’t release another album like the last couple. If we had kept going the way we were going then we would have come up with an album just the same as the last one.
07. What are your expectations for the album?
I hope people get into this and can understand where we are coming from. The new album is cool as fuck, and we are getting a really very good reception from this.
08. How does it feel to be a part of the Nuclear Blast family?
Amazing. It’s a great feeling to be on such a cool label.
09. What are your upcoming plans for the future?
Well, for the rest of 2012, we’re touring. Right now, I’m in the dressing room in Sweden. This tour finishes December 19 in London. Around February or March, we will be in the US and then onto South America, so were going to be pretty busy gigging, which will take us up to around August time.
10. Is there anything else you want to add?
Yes. Thanks a million to all our fans for their support, because if it wasn’t for you guys, we wouldn’t be able to do this. See you on the road!
Southern Californian Natalie Perez has a fiery passion for music, writing and photography. Dying to know more? Connect with her via her own reality she calls Natalie’s World.
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Leading up to the end of the year, Revolver has asked some of our favorite artists to pick their Top Albums of 2012 and tell us why each record rules. Here, Joshua Balz (pictured left), keyboardist of the goth-metalcore band Motionless in White, selects his faves.
5. Stick To Your Guns, Diamond
“They’re definitely one of my favorite bands. Such a positive message in a scene struggling for hatred and disapproval.”
4. The Ghost Inside, Get What You Give
“Best people to ever walk this earth. I feel like, to me, them and Stick to Your Guns share the same feelings and beliefs.”
3. Shinedown, Amaryllis
“I’ve always been a fan of this band and they still put out solid records years and years later.”
2. Lana Del Ray, Born to Die
“I don’t know, she just hits this spot for me.”
1. Cradle of Filth, The Manticore and Other Horrors
“An evil band that has been killing it forever. Definitely a huge influence on my keyboard playing.”
Every Tuesday–the day that new music comes out–we will be listing the hard-rock and metal releases that hit stores, and every Wednesday we will be offering you, the fans, the chance to pick the Album of the Week. Below, check out the albums, EPs, singles, and DVDs that came out this week; pick your favorite, and feel free to vote as many times as you want. Voting ends on Monday, November 5, at noon, when the results will be announced.
UPDATE: The poll has closed. Thanks for your vote. For the results, click right here.
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It’s Tuesday–the day that music comes out–and this one sees shit from Cradle of Filth, Neurosis, Flyleaf, and more out in stores. Check out the list of releases below and let us know which ones you have already or are planning to pick up.
- Black Country Communion – Afterglow
- Cradle Of Filth – The Manticore & Other Horrors
- Eagle Claw – Timing Of The Void
- Early Graves – Red Horse
- Family – Portrait
Flyleaf – New Horizons- Hearts & Hands – Hearts & Hands
- I Legion – Beyond Darkness
- Kamelot – Silverthorn
- Killing Joke – MMXII
- Maelstrom – It Was Predestined Re-Release
- Neurosis – Honor Found In Decay
- Parkway Drive – Atlas
- Stallone – American Baby
- Thrice – Anthology
- West End Motel – Only Time Can Tell
Cradle of Filth have released their new music video, “Frost On Her Pillow.” The song comes off the band’s 10th studio album, The Manticore And Other Horrors, which hits stores in North America on October 30. Check out the clip below and let us know what you think in the comments.
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English metal band Cradle of Filth (pictured left) have posted some behind-the-scenes footage from their new music video, “Frost On Her Pillow.”
The song comes from the band’s 10th album, The Manticore and Other Horrors, which is due to hit selves October 30.
The full “Frost On Her Pillow” video will premiere Friday on GuitarWorld.com.
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English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth have just released an official lyric video for their new song, “For Your Vulgar Delectation.” Check it out below.
The track comes from the band’s upcoming new album, The Manticore And Other Horrors, which is due out October 30 via Nuclear Blast Records. You can pick up a free download of “For Your Vulgar Delectation” at the album’s official mini-site here.
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Chris “Weird Biker” Krovatin is the author of two young adult novels, Heavy Metal & You and Venomous. He is currently working on multiple new writing projects, as well as new material with his local New York metal band Flaming Tusk. He is a freelance writer for Revolver and generally comes off as a good-natured pain in everyone’s collective ass.
December is the harvest time for metal journalism. That’s when all of us misanthropic black-clad fucks put together our end-of-year lists, going over our entire musical diet for the last 12 months in an attempt to compile a decent final 10. And while it’d be easy to do a best/worst list, I want to take the high ground and not point out a Worst Album list. That’s just petty. (My 10 best of 2011, if you’re wondering, are: All Pigs Must Die, the Black Dahlia Murder, Tombs, Origin, Toxic Holocaust, Ash Pool, Revolting, Vreid, Hate Eternal, and the Atlas Moth.)
Artwork, however, is different. If your album is bad, fine. You know who you are, probably. When it comes to the music, let’s let it die—everyone’s made a Cold Lake in their lives, so let’s be the bigger man about it.* But there’s no excuse for shitty artwork. In fact, if your album sucks, the least you can do is put something really fucking amazing on the cover (for instance, I’ve always been 50-50 on Lair of the Minotaur, but their covers are damn cool). And unlike your music, which we all know sucks, your stupid choice of artwork is fair game for public condemnation. So here are my picks for this year’s Six Best and Worst Album Covers.
The Six Best Album Covers of 2011
1) Book of Black Earth, The Cold Testament Yes. With this cover, Seattle’s death-metal masters found a perfect image to describe their enthralling brand of fuzzy blackened death metal. If this doesn’t become a back patch soon, someone has to die.
2) All Pigs Must Die, God Is War You know what’s great? When your favorite album of the year has hands-down one of the coolest covers of all time. My No. 1 record of 2011, ladies and gentlemen, and it bears this breath-taking cover, courtesy of artist Florian Bertmer. It’s good to be the king.
3) Autopsy, Macabre Eternal This is one of those covers that’s comical to describe: Two zombies carry a giant stone skull towards an almost-completed statue of the Grim Reaper. Best part? That’s pretty much what the album sounds like.
4) Mhorgl, Heresiarch Until recently, I hadn’t heard of Australia’s Mhorgl, but not only is their brand of black thrash totally badass, the cover of their new record is a Miltonian flurry of demons, devils, wraiths, and fallen angels. When you stare into this abyss, it screams, “Charge!”
5) Chthonic, Takasago Army There’s something about a soldier carving a symbol into his forehead with a huge knife that touches me deep inside. The question is, what character is he carving? This album’s about Taiwanese soldiers, who spoke Mandarin Chinese, fighting for the Japanese! Then again, it might just be an inverted cross.
6) Mastodon, The Hunter Here, the Georgian metal titans left the world of over-the-top van-side illustration and had themselves a Communist Party. I mean, come on, how cool is this 3-D multi-jawed beast-creature? And look at the new logo—insane!
The Six Worst Album Covers of 2011
1) Cradle of Filth, Evermore Darkly Do you guys remember the Cradle of Filth I remember? The band that would put bathtubs full of blood and nude women on their albums, who put out the ‘Jesus is a cunt’ shirt? Remember that? So why does this album have a chick on a park bench for its cover?
2) Wayne Static, Pighammer You know what, I love this album title. It has so much potential to inspire a good cover—oh. Oh, you…you just want a picture of you, with scars, in a kimono. Oh, that’s, that’s cool…no, really, it shows a lot of…erm. Well.
3) Decapitated, Carnival Is Forever Yikes. I don’t know where they were trying to go with this cover, but Decapitated really fell short here. It seems like it’s really trying to say something, but…I dunno. It’s like a parody of a nu-metal album cover. Not a fan.
4) Sebastian Bach, Kicking and Screaming You really have to wonder about these hair-metal dudes sometimes. Like, was it the drugs? Was it the weird biker/homegrown sexuality being bred in the ’80s? What happened, once upon a time, that made them possibly think shit like this looks cool?
5) Limp Bizkit, Gold Cobra I like it when album art says something. For instance, when an album features a morbid sigil by Wes Benscoter, it says, “Good times ahead.” When it’s covered with Vince Locke’s unholy zombiescapes, it says, “This is a Cannibal Corpse record.” And, in the instance of Gold Cobra, it says, “Urinate here.”
6) Lou Reed & Metallica, Lulu To be fair, I’ve never heard this album, only the criticism of it, so for all I know the music rules. But man, how much did they pay the beret-wearing Sarah Lawrence sophomore who made this piece of shit? (Answer: Too much.)
*Actually, I have to be a dick about the new Morbid Angel. Sorry guys, big fan of your stuff, but you really shat the bed with the lights on with this new record.
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Our favorite holiday? Easy: Halloween. We’re eagerly counting down the days to All Hallows Eve, and we’re doing it by enlisting some of our favorite rockers to select the “most metal” fright flicks of all time. So check back right here at RevolverMag.com every day until the big, bad scariest one of them all. Right now, enjoy the selections of Dani Filth, frontman of Cradle of Filth, who put out a new EP, Evermore Darkly, earlier this month. “My favorite three Metal Horror movies are as follows,” he says, “though I do change my mind like I change my native country soil bedding. At least once a century.”
Trick or Treat
“A cheesy time-honored ’80s metal classic featuring none other than Ozzy, role-reversed as a fire-and-brimstone preacher, and Gene Simmons as a rock DJ who is intending to play Satanic rock star Sammi Curr’s—brother of Wayne Curr?—latest ‘meisterwerk’ backwards at midnight on Halloween—who hasn’t done this?—after the star suddenly dies in a hotel fire. Having made a duplicate, he gives his friend Eddie, a put-upon metal geek teen (with proper 80′s hair), the original due to his mega-infatuation with the deceased singer. Eddie soon learns that the record can summon Sammi Curr back from the dead and that he seeks to wreak revenge on all who betrayed him in life, yadda-yadda…
“I love this movie as, when I was young, it highlighted the plight of all us isolated metalheads growing up in rural suburbia. Plus, it had a killer soundtrack courtesy of Fast Eddie Clarke, Christopher Young, and Fastway, and lots of cool bands at the time were name-dropped via posters and albums—a copy of the banned Rise of the Mutants by Impaler is pulled out of Eddie’s record rack at one point, an EP that I still own to this day, plus classic releases from such luminaries as Megadeth, Exciter, and Savatage. The film is satirical, poignant, black-humored and has it’s fork-tongue lodged firmly in cheek most of the time… and it still rocks!
“Inspirational for the would-be metal cult killer in all of us.”
My Sweet Satan
“My second offering unto thee would have to be Jim Van Bebber’s cult underground short, low-budget horror film, My Sweet Satan. Based on true events, it centers around a group of bored, directionless, metal, drug-taking teenagers who take a friend out into the woods, get him high as a kite on LSD and then accuse him of stealing, whereupon they torture and violently kill him after forcing him to, ‘Say you love Satan.’ The director plays the main antagonist Ricky in this 19-minute nasty little number, which culminates in a brutal face stomping via flashbacks of events that degenerate to this particularly sallow point. Oh, and be warned, heavy-metal music abounds therein.
“Also inspirational for the would-be metal cult killer all of us.”
Cradle Of Fear
“Well, it was either this or Kiss Meets the Phantom Of The Park! And you know what ‘park’ spells backwards don’t you?
“Anyhoo, this is in here partly due to my involvement in said picture—I play the killer who links all four portmanteau-style stories together in a violent homage to the films of Amicus and Hammer, but with added grit, gore and girlies—and mainly due to the participation of other Cradle of Filth members who all take cameo roles throughout the film. I must add that this certainly isn’t a Martin Scorsese flick, but that’s not to say that it isn’t any good, despite the relatively low budget. Actors and actresses, film and technical crews were all nabbed from time off between working on major shoots and one part of the segmented story even galvanized one Eli Roth to ‘borrow’ the plot for his Hostel movies. Allegedly. The story also carries quite a twist. Amputees, dwarfs, mutant babies, buxom wenches, strippers, zombies, serial killers, and flummoxed Police officers abound. And that very Great British treasure—that of deep Black-Pythonic humor—is rife, despite the severity of some of the subjects and scenes.
“So, another inspiration for the would-be metal cult killer in all of us, with the soundtrack offering up some pretty heavy shit too.”
Photo by James Sharrock
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It’s Tuesday–the day that albums come out–and this one includes new shit from Iced Earth, Puscifer, and Cradle of Filth, among others. Check out the list of new releases below and let us know which ones you have already or are planning to get.
Alarum – Natural Causes (Willowtip)
Autopsy – Mental Funeral: 20th Anniversary Edition (CD/DVD) (Peaceville)
Cradle Of Filth – Evermore Darkly… (CD/DVD) (Nuclear Blast)
Dream Theater – Live At Budokan Blu-Ray DVD (Eagle Rock)
Electro Quarterstaff – Akyroyd (Willowtip)
Emery – 10 Years (Tooth & Nail)
Evile – Five Serpent’s Teeth (Earache)
Iced Earth – Dystopia (Century Media)
Insomnium – One For Sorrow (Century Media)
Jane’s Addiction – The Great Escape Artist (Capitol)
Puscifer – Conditions Of My Parole (Puscifer Entertainment)
Underoath – Play Your Old Stuff (Solid State)