Review Summary: The return of twin-guitars and a wise restraint of vocals and keyboards make for Cradle’s best release in nearly fifteen years.
Cradle of Filth have always been a band of overblown concept albums and shocking, at times tongue-in-cheek, theatrics. Their unique blend of symphonic gothic black metal went through a series of major transitions throughout their career, unfortunately causing them to lose their way during the turn of the decade. A series of uninspired releases, including remixes and reworked orchestral versions of classic songs, made for a disappointing creative slump. In 2012,
The Manticore and Other Horrors saw them take a step in the right direction. Their album concept was general enough for the songs to work on their own, and saw a decreased reliance on synths and Dani Filth’s over-the-top vocals. This brings us to
Hammer of the Witches, recorded deep in the U.K.’s Witch County, in Suffolk at the reputedly haunted Grindstone Studios. The album’s concept centers on medieval document Malleus Maleficarum, providing official guidelines on the persecution of witches. Thanks to another round of line-up changes, including seasoned guitarist Paul Allender’s recent exit,
Hammer… marks Cradle’s true comeback and redemption, marking their strongest release in over a decade.
It’s impressive how a few personnel changes can drastically affect a band’s subsequent output. Cradle of Filth needed to reexamine themselves, and last year’s departure of Allender was ultimately for the best. Vocalist Dani Filth had always described Cradle as a two-guitar band, and newcomers Richard Shaw and Marek 'Ashok' Smerda inject new life into the group. After symphonic intro track “Walpurgis Eve,” “Yours Immortality” lets loose with their melodic death metal riffing and blasting drums that continue through the roaring crescendo of guitar soloing and demonic keyboards. Martin Skaroupka's drumming has been a band highlight for the fourth album in a row, showcasing his uncompromising blasts and razor sharp precision with double bass drumming. His furious fills particularly shine on “Enshrined in Crematoria,” and his flurry of impressive techniques and technical wizardry continue throughout. Skaroupka, along with newcomer Lindsay Schoolcraft, wisely keep the orchestral arrangements and synths largely in the background. Their layered textures shine at just the right moments, showcasing enchanting qualities in the form of menacing keyboards throughout title track “Hammer of the Witches,” as well as providing a rich, creepy atmosphere in “Right Wing Of The Garden Triptych” and the interlude tracks.
The keyboards, organ, violins, and other instrumentation are never used as a songwriting crutch. Previous releases suffered from an overreliance on the backing instrumentation, while the true strength of
Hammer are evil guitar harmonies intertwining with demonic keyboard licks. “Deflowering the Maidenhead, Displeasuring the Goddess” and “Onward Christian Soldiers” are album epics that embody their most ambitious and adventurous songwriting in years. With Cradle’s newly realized maturity, where do vocalists Dani Filth and Lindsay Schoolcraft fit in? Filth utilizes his trademark shrieking sparsely, mostly settling for the usual raspy growling or yelling found among recent releases. He knows the banshee shrieks of early days are long gone, and wisely restrains his role to allow for instrumental sections to take the forefront when necessary. Schoolcraft’s backing vocals mainly appear on the most bombastic tracks, for added dramatic effect more than anything else. It’s taken a few albums, but
Hammer… is a satisfying result of Cradle finding the effective balance of each instrument to accompany their new sound. The addition of new guitarists makes for some of their most furious riffing and beautiful guitar melodies, with an appropriate balance of backing instrumentation.
Hammer of the Witches embodies their strongest songwriting since their classic
Midian from 2000, and reminds us how bombastic and wildly fun Cradle of Filth can be.
