Classic Album Review : Cradle of Filth - The Principle of Evil Made Flesh (1994)
One thing most black metal fans have in common is their disdain for UK Goth icons Cradle of Filth. That disdain is based on weird, arbitrary criteria like a) singer, songwriter Dani Filth is short b) the music they play isn’t actually black metal or c) they had legendary black metal drummer Nicholas Barker in their lineup and now they don’t. All of these qualms are true, but they don’t make Cradle of Filth musically bad. On the contrary, I’d argue they’re awesome.
There are two clans among their haters: the first one claims everything before their fifth album Midian was great and influential and the other, more hardline view is that their only listenable album is their debut The Principle of Evil Made Flesh. Now, black metal fans do hate everything except debut albums, but I went back to The Principle of Evil Made Flesh to argue two things: a) Cradle of Filth are great and b) they never were a black metal band.
First thing that hits you when you listen to The Principle of Evil Made Flesh is how goddamn synth-heavy it is. We’re now talking about atmosphere enhancing synths here. There are full-fledged dungeon synth songs on this record. Four of them. If this isn’t declaring “I’M NOT EXACTLY TRYING TO RIPOFF DARKTHRONE HERE”, I don’t know what does. But synth is also used to enhance atmosphere like it does in later Cradle of Filth songs. It is liberally sprinkled over this record like parmesan cheese.
But this album isn’t just a renaissance fair enthusiast’s wet dream. Oh no, sir. When The Principle of Evil Made Flesh gets down to business with the title song, it flashes its fangs. There’s very little black metal about it. It’s more of a Paradise Lost meets Slayer kind of deal. Strong death/thrash riffs with layers of melodramatic synths and Dani FIlth’s trademark inhuman shrieks. It sounds fragmented, schizophrenic and completely out of control like a person who’s possessed by evil spirits, which I assume was by design.
The Principle of Evil Made Flesh came out in March 1994 Two months before Mayhem’s seminal album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, so it’s somewhat unfairly compared to the Norwegian black metal canon a lot. On a song like The Black Goddess Rises, you can hear how far removed it is from what Cradle of Filth is historically associated with. This song is so weird and great. It starts with synth that sounds like Far West player piano that breaks into a melancholic, mid-tempo banger where Dani Filth and the late Andrea Meyer deliver the lyrics in an almost spoken word manner.
In my opinion, The Black Goddess Rises reveals what Cradle of Filth originally was. Dani Filth admitted it himself in an interview with Kerrang! : Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride were the two biggest extreme metal bands in the UK in the early nineties and their influence is all over this album (and all over Cradle of Filth’s pre-Midian material for all that matters). Of course, these aren’t the only influences. There’s some Venom, Bathory, Slayer and the other usual suspects. But this is a Goth record, first and foremost.
The Forest Whispers My Name is another classic banger on The Principle of Evil Made Flesh. Matter of fact, it’s so good they re-recorded it a myriad of time with different production arrangements. It’s also been a live staple for them for over twenty years. The killer synth/bass intro sets this flawless horror movie atmosphere that haunts the song throughout. The big, unsubtle chugging riffs and the crazed bassline hit you right away after that and provide a fun, dynamic counterpoint to the delicate, haunted female vocals.
Anyway, there is very little blast beats and guitar tremolo picking on this record, which are the two elements most often associated with black metal. There are some, but it’s very subtle and blended into these weird, chaotic narrative tapestries that are the songs of The Principle of Evil Made Flesh. Drummer Nicholas Barker particularly shines when he’s not playing who-can-blast-beat-the-hardest. His dynamic range is on full display on this record. Barker’s drumming is the backbone of these songs.
Weird, operatic songs like A Crescendo of Passion Bleeding and To Eve the Art of Witchcraft come alive through Barker’s rhythmic mastery and Filth’s fearless and passionate vision. A lot of these songs could blend into one another if it wasn’t for these two dictating tempo and delivery. The latter is particularly memorable piece with its hockey arena organ bridges and Barker alternating between blast and skank beats to keep the tension up. The melodic guitar riffs are also a nice touch.
This might be a controversial statement, but The Principle of Evil Made Flesh feels more dangerous than a lot of so-called true black metal records. It is melodramatic, self-aggrandizing and sometimes borders on the cartoonish, but it is exactly the kind of music concerned parents imagine maniacs would listen to while stabbing their child. It’s some of the greatest serial killer music you’ve ever heard south of Goodbye Horses. It feels certainly more threatening some guy in his basement howling about Satan.
Cradle of Filth have embraced a more mainstream sound since the turn of the century, but you can’t really hold it against them. It’s better they do that than re-record the same thing over and over again with less and less personality behind it. The Principle of Evil Made Flesh forever remains as a testament to how fresh and fun their vision was at the time. It’s not a perfect record, but it’s full of immortal bangers and memorable highlights nonetheless. It is the furthest thing from black metal, but it’s the way it was designed.
