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With their 14th studio album (featuring Ed Sheeran?!) due out in March next year, Cradle of Filth are showing no signs of slowing down. After thirty years in the game, they have perfected their show. With elaborate set pieces, lighting, and of course, frontman Dani Filth’s signature face paint, these guys know what they’re doing. Support comes from New York’s Black Satellite, the newly formed High Parasite, and the Butcher Babies.
Opening the night were Black Satellite. Playing to a fairly empty Galvanisers, frontwoman Larissa Vale’s shouts of “What the fuck is up Glasgow?!” and “Are you with me?!” were met with a loud silence. She didn’t let this bother her though, nor did the rest of the band, who all seemed to be in their own, mostly separate, worlds. An A for effort, they headbanged and pulled faces, jumped, and ran, but it didn’t feel natural, practised in the way a school play is. Closing their set with a cover of Rammstein’s Sonne, the band actually came into their own, until the vocals hit. Covering is always dangerous, you have to either be sure you can live up to the original, or make it your own. Black Satellite did neither. Had it not been £6 a pint I’d have gone to the bar.
Up next were High Parasite, the new project of My Dying Bride frontman Aaron Stainthorpe. With their debut album, Forever We Burn, having just been released in September, the five-piece is still in its early days. However, the band’s presence and energy made this easy to forget. Stainthorpe and bassist/sometimes vocalist Tombs started to warm up the crowd and build some atmosphere on the still spacious floor. Blending elements of metal, synth, and gothic rock, the group describes themselves as ‘death pop’, encouraging fans to join them on their journey.
Finally, setting the stage for the headliners were Los Angeles’ Butcher Babies. Already reduced since co-founder Carla Harvey announced her departure earlier this year, bassist Ricky Bonazza was also absent on Thursday night, having been held up by visa issues. But what they lacked in numbers, the trio made up for in energy. Playing a mix of old and new material the group were well received by fans. So, when frontwoman Heidi Shepherd came into the crowd to summon a circle pit, she wasn’t disappointed. A strong image and presence made up for mediocre vocals and at times, poor lyrics.
Onto the main event now, Cradle of Filth. Opening up the set with Existential Terror, from latest album, 2021’s Existence is Futile, they stormed through the first five songs barely stopping for breath. Which was unfortunate for keyboardist and backing vocalist Zoe Federoff, who seemed to be having some technical issues. Once she finally got the technician’s attention, the problems were quickly resolved.
Years of practice made the relatively long, 90 minute, set look easy. Ten dates into the UK leg of their By Order Of The Dragon tour, and they’ve got the set down. You could almost accuse it of being over-rehearsed, however they saved it by staying engaged. Seeming to be enjoying themselves as much as the crowd were.
Playing a range of material from across their extensive catalogue there was something for fans of any era. The crowd were definitely into it, singing along and screaming back, but lacked a bit of energy, only briefly circle-pitting or half-heartedly jostling. It was a Thursday though, so the ‘work tomorrow’ excuse stands.
Malignant Perfection, the first single from the new album, came out on the 22nd of October. Sounding more like the Cradle of days gone by, the track has a very similar sound to 2000’s Midian. In an interview with Metal Global, Dani Filth says the album as a whole will be more like 1996’s Dusk… And Her Embrace “vibe-wise”, with elements of Midian’s sound.
Continuing the tour across Europe, Cradle have 15 dates through this month and into next, finishing up in Belgium on the 7th of December. Butcher Babies will stay with them, and be joined by Germany’s Mental Cruelty. The new album is due out in the spring of next year via Napalm records.
Review – Morven
Band photo credit – Roberto Diaz
Remaining live dates:
Wed 13th Nov – Germany – HAMBURG O2 Markthalle
Fri 15th Nov – Sweden – STOCKHOLM Fryshuset Klubben
Sat 16th Nov – Sweden – GOTHENBURG Brewhouse
Tue 19th Nov – Slovenia – LJUBLIANA Kino Siska
Wed 20th Nov – Italy – MILAN Live Club
Fri 22nd Nov – Spain – BARCDELONA Salamanda
Sat 23rd Nov – Spain – MADRID But
Sun 24th Nov – Portugal – LISBON Lisboa ao Vivo
Tue 26th Nov – Spain – BILBAO Santana 27
Thu 28th Nov – France – LYON La Rayonne
Fri 29th Nov – Switzerland – PRATTELN 27
Sat 30th Nov – France – VAUREAL Le Forum
Mon 2nd Dec – Luxembourg – LUXEMBOURG Rockhal
Wed 4th Dec – Germany – BERLIN SO36
Sat 7th Dec – Belgium – LEIGE OM
FIND CRADLE OF FILTH ONLINE
