Ah, writers-block, a terrible ailment. One would think that on an album as famous as “Dusk & Her Embrace” the words would just roll out, but alas the contrary is true. Either way, I’m afraid it’ll turn out into a page-long CRADLE OF FILTH worship with an over-use of the words: brilliant, mandatory, legendary and classic. You might want to play bingo on that while you’re reading this. But there I said it anyway. Perhaps I should do this track-by-track but honestly it’s a bore and looking back at my reviewing record at “The Metal Observer” I’ve already done it once too often. Ok, enough of this rattle.

In commercial terms, “Midian” was CRADLE OF FILTH’s great breakthrough, but I don’t think they really hit it big until “Damnation and A Day”. Thanks to the advances of the (much hated) Nu-Metal genre and an entire new generation of Metal adepts that had stepped in and paved the way for appreciation of bands that were previously relegated to underground status, Metal had moved steadily into mainstream. And what success might have been unthinkable in past times for bands such as CRADLE OF FILTH now exploded due to rapid change in musical culture. The internet of course, had a huge influence on these proceedings, and is probably responsible for everything bad AND good happening at the moment in the music business. Around “Midian” and “Damnation And A Day”, an entire new legion of fans were introduced to their Black Metal symphonies.

However, fact is, many CRADLE OF FILTH fans have never heard “Dusk & Her Embrace”, since it’s something that’s supposed to be from *an earlier age*. In a sense that is true of course, seeing how CRADLE OF FILTH developed since “Dusk & Her Embrace” into the style of “Damnation And A Day”. I know there’s a lot of people out there who just don’t feel inclined to check out older stuff or classics, and frankly the *legendary* status of some records has put me off as well in this past, but I think to appreciate the true power of CRADLE OF FILTH, this album cannot be overlooked. It is quite simply the greatest thing they’ve ever done.

I have worked backwards into CRADLE OF FILTH’s history ever since I bought “Bitter Suites To Succubi”. I got “Midian” afterwards, then “Cruelty & The Beast”, and then “Dusk & Her Embrace”. In hindsight, I would recommend anyone willing to give CRADLE OF FILTH a try to check out either “Midian” or “Dusk & Her Embrace” first, the former because it’s relatively accessible, the latter because it represents what CRADLE OF FILTH is at their very best. It’s not entirely without its faults though, and I’ve often heard complaints about this album. As expected, most of it boils down to Dani’s shrieking. And yes, it’s true that “Dusk & Her Embrace” is probably Dani’s most dramatic vocal performance on any of their releases. The shrieks are very high and very fast. But what can I say? It’s an adjustment. If you’re unfamiliar with his vocal style it’s just as distressing as on “Midian”. And your parents will hate it either way.

Productionwise, I keep hearing how “Dusk & Her Embrace” sounds cluttered and chaotic, but honestly, I never perceived this album as being badly produced. The tone is exactly right, with a balanced mix of brutality and atmosphere. Perhaps it’s not as good as “V Empire”s production, but it’s not far off either. No, If I really had one gripe with “Dusk & Her Embrace”, and a minor one it is, it’s that the instrumentals are somehow not as engaging as those on “Cruelty & The Beast”, “Midian” or “Damnation And A Day”. We hear a lot of affected strings, shouting brass and romantic piano but “Humana Inspired to Nightmare” just doesn’t do it for me, and neither does “The Graveyard By Moonlight”. As I said, minor qualm.

Speaking of songs, it’s about time I got down to discussing the tracks at hand here, but instead of doing that I’ll just pick out a few defining moments. “Dusk & Her Embrace” is an incredible collection of unforgettable songs, so I’d be hard pressed to pick out one favourite.

Take for example, the signature riff to “Heaven Torn Asunder”, the timeless bass-line on “Heaven Torn Asunder”, the heartbreaking sadness of “Funeral In Carpathia”, the classic flair to “Dusk & Her Embrace” and its outstanding drumsolo, the wicked violins that open up “A Gothic Romance”, the line “Red roses for the devils whore” and the guitars that play along like distorted cellos, the underrated splendour of “Beauty Slept In Sodom”, the guitar-shredding solo on “Nocturnal Supremacy ’96”… I could go on without end on this subject. “Dusk & Her Embrace” strings up one memorable track after another. And although conceptually it’s not as tight as say “Cruelty & The Beast”, it’s compensated with excellent songwriting, a great undercurrent of vampire romanticism (for which CRADLE OF FILTH are by now most renown for) and spectacular lyrics by Dani Filth.

Historically speaking, “Dusk & Her Embrace” is probably the CRADLE OF FILTH release of which I know the least background, so it’s no point in discussing it here. Every bandmember was at their top performance level, from the drums (Nicholas), the guitars (Stuart and Gian), the bass (Robin) and the keys (Damien) to the vocals by Dani. Zeitgeist critics could always argue that “Dusk & Her Embrace” was simply a result of being the right people playing in the right band at the right time, which basically means that anyone could have done it but it just so happens to be CRADLE OF FILTH. However, for me this album pervades the listener with a sense of originality and freshness I doubt anyone else could have come up with at that moment. No, in an alternative history there would not have been anyone else like them.

So anyone who’s only begun to discover CRADLE OF FILTH, this is where it’s at, the pinnacle of their career, their magnum opus if you will. And it’s not just an important Symphonic Black Metal release, but a great Metal album as well. I guess if you’re reading this you either a) already own it, love CRADLE OF FILTH and indulge in reading lavish praise on their records, or b) you’re (fairly) new to the band and want to try out their older stuff. And if you belong to the latter category, I can only say “hoorah” to that. “Dusk & Her Embrace”, my friends, is essential Metal. (Online November 23, 2004)