A British extreme metal institution,
Cradle of Filth emerged in 1991 with a style that leaned heavily toward black metal. As the years progressed, their sound evolved as well, with elements of gothic and symphonic metal taking over, resulting in a more commercial approach that yielded internationally charting efforts like
Damnation and a Day (2003),
Thornography (2006),
Hammer of the Witches (2015), and
Existence Is Futile (2021).
Cradle of Filth formed in 1991, originally comprised of vocalist
Dani Filth (born
Daniel Lloyd Davey), guitarist Paul Ryan, his keyboardist brother Benjamin, bassist
John Richard, and drummer Darren. After recording a demo dubbed Invoking the Unclean a year later, the group recruited guitarist Robin Eaglestone, who quit soon after recording a second demo, Orgiastic Pleasures; however, when
Richard exited the band a short time later, Eaglestone stepped back in to assume bass duties, opening the door for guitarist
Paul Allender. Following a third demo, Total Fucking Darkness,
Cradle of Filth -- with new drummer
Nicholas Barker -- signed with the Cacophonous label, issuing their proper debut,
The Principle of Evil Made Flesh, in mid-1994.
The lineup changes continued when the Ryan brothers both departed to form
the Blood Divine (and
Allender left as well), making room for guitarists Stuart Antsis and Jared Demeter and keyboardist Damien Gregori to debut on the 1996 mini-LP Vempire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein. For the full-length
Dusk and Her Embrace later that same year,
Gian Pyres took Demeter's spot, and afterward, Gregori was replaced by keyboardist Les Smith; at any rate, the album substantially expanded the group's growing cult following.
COF's next effort,
Cruelty and the Beast, appeared in 1998, amid the group's steadily growing reputation for elaborate
Alice Cooper/
Marilyn Manson-style concert theatrics. Two years later they returned with
From the Cradle to Enslave, an EP that featured new drummer
Adrian Erlandsson (formerly of Sweden's
At the Gates and the Haunted), as
Barker had departed to join
Dimmu Borgir.
The band's dizzying lineup changes continued apace as
Paul Allender rejoined the group and Martin Powell (ex-
Anathema and
My Dying Bride) replaced Smith on keyboards for the full-length
Midian, which was appropriately released on Halloween in 2000.
Bitter Suites to Succubi was issued on Spitfire in summer 2001. The group added a choir and orchestra to the lineup for 2003's
Damnation and a Day on Red Ink, and moved to Roadrunner for 2004's
Nymphetamine.
Thornography followed on Roadrunner in 2006, a year that also saw the release of The Cradle of Filth Box Set. Eleven Burial Masses, a collection of live material, arrived in 2007, followed by the concept album
Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder in 2008, which saw
Erlandsson replaced by new drummer Martin "Marthus" Škaroupka.
In 2010, the band left Roadrunner, signing to
Peaceville in Europe and
Nuclear Blast in the U.S. for the release of its ninth studio album, Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa, a concept album that focused on the myth of the demon Lilith, the alleged first wife of the biblical Adam. It was the first
Cradle album not to contain any instrumental tracks, and also featured the sole appearance with the band of keyboardist
Ashley Ellyllon, formerly of
Abigail Williams. In 2012, reduced to the trio of
Filth,
Allender, and Škaroupka, the band released
The Manticore and Other Horrors, on which they did a bit of a turnabout, returning female vocals and hardcore punk riffs to the fore. A deluxe remastered and expanded edition of their early demo,
Total Fucking Darkness, was slated for release in May 2014, featuring additional, previously unreleased tracks, proved a stopgap.
Cradle of Filth's
Hammer of the Witches was announced in May of 2015, marking the first new music from the group in three years -- the longest gap in their career. It featured a new lineup that included guitarists Marek Ashok Šmerda and
Richard Shaw (marking a return to twin-guitar harmonies) and new keyboardist/female vocalist Lindsay Schoolcraft. The video for "Right Wing of the Garden Triptych" was released in May, followed by online streams of "Deflowering the Maidenhead, Displeasuring the Goddess," and "Enshrined in Crematoria" in late June. The album was released in mid-July.
Cradle of Filth announced their 12th album
Cryptoriana: The Seductiveness of Decay in June 2017. Produced by longtime collaborator
Scott Atkins in Suffolk, the album was inspired by the Victorian obsession with death and the supernatural, and was issued in September while the band was already promoting it on tour. It would be five more years before fans saw another record from the band. Entitled
Existence Is Futile and concerned with existential dread, their 13th album was released in October 2021. The preceding year's COVID-19 lockdown postponed its release, allowing them longer to work on it, rewriting and restructuring their demos to produce the best work possible. Recorded once again with
Atkins, it was their first to feature new keyboardist/backing vocalist
Anabelle Iratni. ~ Jason Ankeny