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Artist...: Cradle Of Filth
Album....: Total Fucking Darkness
Genre....: Black Metal
Label....: Mordgrimm
Source...: CDDA
Size.....: 115.33 MB
Playtime.: 57:32
Type.....: Album
` Release..: 2014.08.05
Encoder..: LAME V3.98.4 -V0
` Quality..: avgkbps / 44.1kHz / Joint Stereo
.
. .--- .
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| | | |
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| : | | : |
| l | | l |
| X | | X |
| X | 01. spattered in faeces 05:46 | X |
| X | 02. the black goddess rises 06:46 | X |
| X | 03. as deep as any burial 04:25 | X |
| X | 04. unbridled at dusk 07:59 | X |
| X | 05. the raping of faith 06:25 | X |
| X | 06. fraternally yours, 666 (outro) 01:22 | X |
| X | 07. devil mayfair 05:07 | X |
| X | 08. the black goddess rises 06:23 | X |
| X | 09. the raping of faith 05:55 | X |
| X | 10. unbridled at dusk 07:24 | X |
| X | | X |
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. - : : - .
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`:::: . . ::::'
:: ::
`:::: . . ::::'
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`:::: . r e l e a s e . n o t e s . ::::'
`:There are few bands as divisive, as utterly polarizing, as :'
`:Cradle of Filth. Bashing them was second nature from the mid'
`:to late nineties onward. Black metal pretenders, posers, :'
`:false Satanists . . . the torrents of derision that came :'
`:their way took on a life of their own. But for every hater,:'
`:it seemed there were five black-eyeliner sporting goth-kids:'
`:ready to embrace them. Most of the Cradle-hate stemmed from:'
`:the simple fact that what they were in the beginning is not:'
`:what they became later on; more Maiden than Mayhem, they :'
`:took that template and added to it the keyboards and gothic:'
`:pastiche of horror, literature, and history. And now, more :'
`:than twenty years since its inception, Cradle of Filth is :'
`:re-releasing Total Fucking Darkness, their third demo, on :'
`:May 5th, 2014 via Mordgrimm Records. Is this just another :'
`:polished re-recording of old material, or is there something'
`:special on offer here for fans to devour? :'
`: :'
`:As it turns out, Dani Filth got together with former :'
`:guitarist Paul Ryan and Cacophonous Records label founder :'
`:Frater Nihil to compile this release. Harking back to the :'
`:old days, Nihil is the man who signed the nascent band to :'
`:their first recording deal. Working with renowned engineer :'
`:Tim Turan (Emperor, Thin Lizzy), the band took great pains :'
`:to bring something special to long-time fans. This limited :'
`:release, bedecked by the artwork of occult painter Daniel :'
`:Carter, begins with the track "Spattered in Faeces," the :'
`:only remaining track from the lost Goetia sessions. :'
`: :'
`:The story goes that Cradle of Filth had material for Goetia:'
`:û what would have been their debut album û wiped when their:'
`:first prospective label Tombstone went tits up back in 1992.'
`:The following five songs represent the bulk of the original:'
`:Total Fucking Darkness demo. "Devil Mayfair (Advocatus :'
`:Diaboli)" is another unreleased track. This and the rest of:'
`:the songs were originally recorded during Samhain 1992, and:'
`:most certainly would have appeared in some form or another :'
`:on that Goetia album had it not been so tragically aborted.:'
`:Also featured are a couple of instrumental tracks written by'
`:former keyboardist Ben Ryan. :'
`: :'
`:So can anyone who is a fan of latter day Cradle of Filth :'
`:find enjoyment in these rough, raw recordings? Another :'
`:question would be, will anyone who was a fan of their early:'
`:stuff, but has long since lost interest and moved on be :'
`:bothered to care about this release? :'
`: :'
`:I myself fell under Cradle of Filth's spell in the mid 90's,'
`:thanks to hearing "Funeral in Carpathia" off of the :'
`:magnificent Dusk and Her Embrace album. To me, Dusk, :'
`:Principle of Evil Made Flesh, and (yes I'm going to say it :'
`:because I firmly believe it) Cruelty And the Beast were the:'
`:pinnacle of Dani Filth's creative output. There were moments'
`:of splendor after that, but these became fewer as the :'
`:noughties were on. With the exception of 2008's Godspeed on:'
`:the Devil's Thunder, Cradle of Filth had replaced much of :'
`:what made them dangerous and wild with the same :'
`:orchestration and more careful songwriting that genre :'
`:colleagues Dimmu Borgir employed. The results? Much more :'
`:commercial success but far less of their early audience's :'
`:approval. But Dani Filth is nothing if not persistent. He :'
`:never cared much what people thought of him or his band, :'
`:choosing instead to steer its course boldly to where he and:'
`:only he wished it to go. :'
`: :'
`:Let's look at this release based solely on the music. :'
`:Forgetting all the preconceived notions, when you spin Total'
`:Fucking Darkness you will immediately notice that each song:'
`:on offer is a ripping, bass-heavy blast of UK black metal :'
`:goodness. "Spattered in Faeces," hidden gem that it is, :'
`:shows that Cradle of Filth always enjoyed the keyboards and:'
`:even then they were honing the horror vibe they would inject'
`:into future releases. :'
`: :'
`:Any fan worth their black nail polish will be familiar with:'
`:the morose "The Black Goddess Rises," but they will have to:'
`:wipe off a few layers of grimy grave soil to recognize this:'
`:version from the more familiar one off Principle of Evil :'
`:Made Flesh. Dani's narrative is a croak from the basement of'
`:Hades, with none of his histrionic enunciation apparent. He:'
`:had yet to take his gut-busting growl and wrench it up to :'
`:the grating, staccato wail of future releases. Thus :'
`:virtually all vocals on the demo are limited to pure low- :'
`:register death-grunts. :'
`: :'
`:That other unreleased track, "Devil Mayfair (Advocatus :'
`:Diaboli)," is another lo-fi gem, replete with some ominous :'
`:synthesizer accompaniment to go along with the basement :'
`:dwelling production. There are times when the charm of the :'
`:old days gets lost in the amateurish execution of the music;'
`:for example in some of the keyboard parts in "Unbridled At :'
`:Dusk." One must keep in mind that they were kids when they :'
`:made this demo, and the treatment it received in this :'
`:reworking has preserved this aspect of the sound. :'
`: :'
`:Overall, Total Fucking Darkness could act as the perfect :'
`:gateway drug for younger Cradle of Filth fans to start :'
`:experimenting with more extreme forms of music. It is :'
`:certainly the most face-ripping kick in the ass they've put:'
`:out in quite some time. Perhaps it can stand as a reminder :'
`:that behind the stellar productions and opulent recording :'
`:budgets, Cradle of Filth were just a couple of kids from :'
`:Suffolk who, while absolutely melting faces with their own :'
`:take on black metal, opted in the end to fill their chalices'
`:with wine instead of blood. With Total Fucking Darkness, :'
`:you still get the blood. Drink up because this album is :'
`:surely going to sell out fast. :'
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_|__| ` |__|_
__ _________.' | | `._________ __
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______ _____ / __ __ _____ /__ __ ____ i .
_/ ___/ | ___/ /__| |__| | | ___/ / /__| |__ \__| i__
|________. |__________________.| |______/_______ ___\_____ __/
|__| |_____ _ |__| . |__|
__ _________ . c r u e l t y . _________ __
`. | _ ___ ____ ____ | .'
"|""| | | | ___| ___| |""|"
| | ` | | | |
: | ` ._______| | :
| ------- |
: """""" :
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