Cradle of Filth - Torquay Review

I think it is fair to say that, over the past few months, I have significantly changed my view on the British extreme metal legends Cradle of Filth. Ever since I became aware of the band in my teens, I have generally disliked them. A couple of their more overtly melodic songs aside, I always struggled with the band's abrasive sound and, particularly, the idiosyncratic vocals of founder and frontman Dani Filth. I also struggled with the way in which the band were often held in high regard by some of those at the stranger, using the term euphemistically, end of the metal scene - whom I have never really interacted with. I remember catching a short portion of the band's set at one of the iterations of Bloodstock Open Air, too, and lasted only a few minutes before deciding that they really were not for me. I am not sure exactly what prompted me to re-evaluate my views on the band, then, but I think them announcing a fairly local show to me in Torquay certainly helped. It was not a show that I bought a ticket for immediately, but seeing a band like Cradle of Filth in a place like Torquay certainly seemed like an interesting prospect. As I have detailed on this blog in more recent times, too, I have been making more of an effort with extreme metal over the past couple of years. Whilst much of this has been related to death metal, and Cradle of Filth were generally more associated with the black metal scene early on, I did wonder if it was time to give the band a proper go - so I picked up the band's latest album The Screaming of the Valkyries (which I reviewed here) not long after it was released earlier in the year. I was pleasantly surprised with the album, which I have been enjoying quite a lot of late, and it prompted me to look back to the past. Whilst I have not heard every Cradle of Filth album, I have probably heard around half of them now - and I have found more to like, whilst bouncing off some of it. The band's sound has changed quite a bit over the years - and I have latched onto the band's more melodic work whilst bouncing off the more intense and extreme albums. In truth, I am not sure that I have found an album yet that I have liked as much as The Screaming of the Valkyries - but some of the more melodic classics from the past, including 2004's Nymphetamine and 2006's Thornography, have also struck a chord. Following this catalogue exploration, I decided to get a ticket for the aforementioned Torquay show - as I could stay overnight in Torquay without needing to use annual leave due to being able to get an early train back the next morning. The plan worked well, despite the Travelodge being a bit of a walk from the venue, but it is nice to know that Torquay can be a solo option should the need arise again. The venue of choice for the band was The Foundry - a place I had only been to once before. I saw the Kris Barras Band deliver a powerful hometown show there last year - and I was impressed with the venue that night. It is a good sized venue for a place like Torquay - but it still has an intimacy to it. It has a large balcony, too, which was where I stood previously - and I opted to stand on the balcony again this time, which afforded a great view of the stage and of the crowd below. Following the walk from the hotel down to the seafront, I soon joined the queue which was already forming - and was inside the venue around half an hour later.

The only frustrating thing about the evening was the hour long gap between the doors opening and the music starting. Quite a few seemed to be getting restless during this time, and I was quite bored up on the balcony, but at around 8pm the lights went down and the Brazilian-based metal act Nervosa took to the stage. I was familiar with Nervosa in name-only, largely due to the band Crypta having been formed by some former Nervosa members, but for the next 45 minutes I largely found myself enjoying what was coming from the stage. Fronted by Prika Amaral (vocals/guitars), who proved to be a captivating frontwoman, Nervosa's sound straddled the line between thrash and death metal. Amaral utilised harsh vocals throughout, but they were quite thrashy, too, with the band's overall sound being heavy, fast-paced, and not too extreme. There was lots of busy and intricate riffing throughout the night, with Amaral and Helena Kotina (guitar) trading riffs and solos throughout. I was particularly impressed throughout with Kotina. Amaral laid down some memorable leads, but Kotina handled most of the leads and solos - and her solos in particular really shone. Her playing really helped to add some melody and fire into the band's set and, despite Amaral being a powerful frontwoman, I did feel that Nervosa may have felt a little one-dimensional without Kotina's shredding. This is not meant as a criticism despite it sounding like one - it is more to highlight that I thought the lead guitar elements within the band's music were what helped Nervosa to stand out. Having read a little about the band's history since seeing them, it does seem that they are a band that have gone through a rather large number of line-up changes. Hopefully Kotina sticks around - but I thought that the band as a whole was tight, with birthday girl Emmelie Herwegh (bass guitar), despite her instrument not initially working, and Gabriela Abud (drums) also impressing. A few of the songs played felt quite anthemic, too, with big choruses, which also showcased that thrash is a big part of the band's sound. There was some interaction with the crowd during these bigger choruses, too, and I felt that generally the band received a strong reception from the large crowd. I certainly enjoyed my time with Nervosa last night - and I intend to give the band a proper listen in due course.

Following the long wait for Nervosa's set, the gap between them and Cradle of Filth felt very quick in comparison - and it did not seem too long before the lights went down again and some classical music filled the room. The six members of the band took to the stage as the gothic sounds poured out of the speakers - and they soon launched into To Live Deliciously, one of the singles from the new album. I thought that the sound mix took a couple of songs to balance out, as the guitars were quite quiet at first, but thankfully Filth's voice was always pretty audible above everything else. His voice is certainly a barrier for some, and he sounded even weirder live than on the albums, but I was generally impressed with him. I did feel that some of his higher-pitched shrieks could sound on the silly side, but his growls and semi-spoken word delivery sounded powerful - and I felt that he was a great frontman throughout, constantly prowling the stage and delivering lots of strange banter between the songs. Once the sound levelled out, too, I felt that the rest of the band impressed, too. The guitar interplay between Ashok and Donny Burbage was high-octane and powerful - with both taking plenty of solos throughout the evening. Generally the newer material was that which impressed me the most, such as an early rendition of the anthemic She Is a Fire - but there were also older songs which I enjoyed, including the more keyboard-heavy The Forest Whispers My Name. This song prominently featured Zoë Marie Federoff (vocals/keyboards), too, thanks to her dramatic spoken word mid-section. She also provided the band's gothic depth throughout thanks to her all-enveloping keyboard playing - but I think it was vocally where she generally shone. She added lots of operatic backing vocals to the songs, and harmonised with Filth at times - whilst other songs saw her take the lead more from a vocal perspective. Two other newer numbers in Malignant Perfection and Heartbreak and Seance also impressed early on - but it was likely the famous power ballad Nymphetamine Fix which really drew me in. This was one of the few Cradle of Filth songs I liked before my recent exploration of their catalogue - and it sounded strong live, with Federoff doing her best Liv Kristine impression during her portions of the song. It was one of the few moments in the set, too, which saw the crowd calm down somewhat. The amount of moshing and crowd surfing was impressive - but I was glad to be on the balcony! The ballad saw more singing along instead, though, but the old favourite Born in a Burial Gown saw the mosh pits open back up again. Another big highlight for me then was the thrashy White Hellebore, with more excellent vocals from Federoff. The track is likely my favourite from the new album, so I was glad that it was played, and following the song the band took a step off stage whilst two old instrumentals played over the PA. I assume this was the band's equivalent of the traditional encore break, but it felt a little strange - before three old favourites were wheeled out to round out the band's 80 or so minute set. It was the closing track Her Ghost in the Fog which I enjoyed this most, as this was another I liked back in the day. It was a powerful end to an enjoyable set - one that I am glad I attended. The setlist was:

To Live Deliciously

The Forest Whispers My Name

She Is a Fire

Malignant Perfection

The Principle of Evil Made Flesh

Heartbreak and Seance

Nymphetamine Fix

Born in a Burial Gown

White Hellebore

Creatures That Kissed in Cold Mirrors/The Monstrous Sabbat (Summoning the Coven)

Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids

Death Magick for Adepts

Her Ghost in the Fog

Blooding the Hounds of Hell

Whilst I am still no die-hard Cradle of Filth fan, I certainly like the band a lot more than I did earlier in the year - and I glad that I have now seen them live. They are a legendary band that always seemed like a gap in my knowledge - and I enjoyed the show despite not being au-fait with all of the band's material. The focus on newer and more melodic music was welcome - but the classics still sounded good, with the band's current line-up being a powerful force.