| Cradle of Filth are without doubt one of the most popular gothic metal bands on Earth. And they deserve it, too, having been remorseless in their decade-long dedication to all things black, heavy and perverted. Lovecraft & Witch Hearts is a double-CD collection, gathered from their years on Music for Nations between late 1996 and 2000. The first CD, Lovecraft, gathers together the grotesque best from the albums Dusk and Her Embrace, the Elizabeth Bathory-inspired Cruelty and the Beast and the Clive Barker-marked Midian, as well as the EP, "From the Cradle to Enslave". It's a grand procession of storming orchestrations, screaming metal and the very highest romance. The second CD, meanwhile, (Witch Hearts) contains a series of rarities, remixes and covers of tracks by Sabbat, Sodom, Massacre, Slayer and Iron Maiden. Including a small poster (backed by the lyrics) and a booklet featuring a brief band history and a foreword by singer Dani Filth, the CDs are well-packaged and serve as an excellent introduction to Britain's most purposefully outrageous act. They also reveal a rapid improvement, particularly lyrically, which will surely make Cradle of Filth's major label debut a bleak and bloody masterpiece. Marilyn Manson beware--the really bad boys are coming, and they'll probably start calling you Brian. --Dominic Wills |
