Cradle of Filth –Hammer of the Witches

With a tenebrous instrumental introduction accentuated by willowy piano strokes and a lyrical solo violin gliding upon the waves of a hypnotic choir, Hammer of the Witches  opens with “Walpurgis Eve”, an introduction that shatters open when the brass breaks and shows us exactly where Cradle of Filth is taking us.

“Yours Immortally” explodes as an opposing force to the beauty of the preceding song. An orgy of orchestral instrumentation, ferocious onslaught from the kit, Dani’s otherworldly sonic shrieks and visceral growls twist through soprano operatic interludes, allow for the souls of novice listeners of CoF to transfigure instantaneously into disciples of the Filth.

“Deflowering The Maidenhead” carries the bombastic tenacity that CoF of late is known for. Syrupy tempo changes between refrains make “Deflowering” a complex cacophony of pure macabre pleasure. Feeling like a dizzying patchwork of genres, we bounce between thrash, death, and classic rock, allowing crunchy guitars to deflower us left and right as each and every musical synapse within our beings fires simultaneously. As we push toward the cadence, as most post-medieval/early renaissance music is categorized for, we explode into the delicious void of an ethereal style change and unleash into the ending, a musical pentimento, with over exaggerated brass and electric guitars.

Dichotomy at its finest, “Blackest Magic In Practice”, opens with a bewitching soprano and an entrancing violin. Bass and rhythm guitars drive the initial deep 6/8 time signature that resonates throughout . The CoF climactic shrill scream pushes us into a unforgiving onslaught of vicious vocals until the orchestra shines an evil light into the unforgiving darkness, and we meander back and forth between heavy grooves and classic elements.

As an introduction to “Hammer of The Witches”, “The Monstruous Sabbat (Summoning The Coven)” lures us in with harp and violin caresses. Our senses ascend as the introduction tempts us to continue to listen as it unfolds into an apex heightened with malicious French horns and a bombastic and cautionary chorus.

Title song, “Hammer of The Witches” is a true masterpiece that is everything CoF is capable of. As retribution for the witch hunts, CoF takes the “Malleus Maleficarum “ and places the hammer in the hands of the witches and unleash them on to the world. A gorgeous mixture of genres and classical instrumentation blended throughout, “Hammer” is unyielding and unrelenting from beginning to end. Cautionary bells toll, diabolical brass instruments leer, sinister violins dance maniacally across the soundscape, as Dani’s devilish vocals pierce through and demolish all notions of sanity.

“Right Wing of the Garden Tryptich” is another exquisite example of CoF and their diverse, yet familiar appeal. With a modern electronica introduction we dive into the “Garden Tryptich”. Very possibly a musical interpretation of the right panel of Bosch’s painting “The Garden of Earthly Delights”, a a hellscape depicting damnation and torment, the song makes reference to the left as the beginning of the fall and the center apocalyptic, which is exactly how Bosch’s triptych plays out visually, at least from the eyes of a witch.

With time signatures tempos and underlying rhythms from “Deflowering The Maidenhead”,  “Garden” lyrically and musically is a superb morsel of metal in which to sink your teeth.

“Great Hellscapes rape enflamed horizons”

Moreover, “Garden” has a gorgeous video that can be viewed here. The visual juxtaposition of Dani over the woman is symbolic of the “Malleus Maleficarum”s belief that witches are essentially puppets of Satan, with an essential link between them and the Devil. Peppered with Catholic guilt erotic fetishistic visuals, the video takes the song and heightens the experience of the theme.

CRADLE OF FILTH – Right Wing Of The Garden Triptych (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

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Woeful and melancholy guitars ring in “The Vampyre At My Side”. Dark vocals are accompanied by caliginous violins until the we burst into the supersonic stridulating of Dani’s vocal chords.  “Vampyre” is more modern in nature, with stronger speed and rhythmic execution. Although the orchestral influences make appearances, guitars and speed drumming are highlights of this song that are not as prominent on the rest of the album.

“Onward Christian Soldiers” is a true delight.  A Crusades-inspired track, we move away from the orchestral a little further (but not completely), and we find interesting synth tintinnabulation amongst the shredding guitar. Dani’s vocals are higher and more powerful than ever. As we drive into the key change, the synth takes on a hopeful aura as Dani’s screams become polyphonic and wraithlike.

CoF knows how to bring their albums to a close, and the bombastic “Blooding The Hounds Of Hell” is spectacular in every sense.  Violins carry us into the choir as a dying and decaying heartbeat of a drum falls in and out until the organ takes over to wrap us into a medieval gothic unwind. The piano takes the reigns, driven by the choir, and we travel until a pair of solid French Horns regally and authoritatively guide us deeper and deeper into the abyss, and the ghost note of the cymbals leaves us with an irrevocable sense of closure.

A wealth of symbolism, historical meaning and supposition, Hammer of the Witches is a delight to delve into and listen to over and over again. Cradle of Filth is a force of nature unlike any other. Described as the “verbose mouthpiece of Hell”, Dani is more than just a mouthpiece; he is a visionary when it comes to heavy and dark music. The music and lyrics are well planned and always intricate and complex enough to make someone take their time to delve in and listen to the nuances and layers of what he has created, and continues to create.

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