Cradle Of Filth
Dusk...And Her Embrace

THE REVIEW

"Dusk...And Her Embrace, Litanies Of Damnation, Death And Darkly Erotic," is a concatenation of hypnotic "litanies of damnation". A journey, more than an EP. The majesty of the songs will engulf you with a lethal chill from the very first notes of the elegant opener "Humana Inspired To Nightmare"... the voice is a dream of darkness and snow lost among the Romanian mountains... the guitar solos are impressive, arpeggiated in a sinister and intriguing manner... once again a sublime keyboard performance delights our black souls. The female vocalizations are a distant voice, exciting, perverse... the magnificent instrumental "The Graveyard By Moonlight" also reigns here, sharp and cold, technically impeccable, chilling in its slowness. But the true masterpiece lies in the macabre complementary triad of "A Gothic Romance (Red Roses For The Devil's Whore)," "Malice Through The Looking Glass," and "Dusk And Her Embrace"... they follow one another in a crescendo of pain and violence, passion and death. Monumental is the beginning of "A Gothic Romance," with the inclusion of gloomy howls accompanied by an exquisite keyboard in a surreal play of voices. Particularly well-crafted is the intensely brief "Malice Through The Looking Glass," whose atmosphere offers a terrifying prelude to the twilight visions of "Dusk And Her Embrace," which features feral guitar virtuosity and brief purely growl interludes that break up an impressive scream, whose end leaves an irrational fear in the soul. Once again the lyrics, magnificently crafted this time in a more romantic way, with the faded erotic note in favor of a necrophilic nostalgia, remain one of the most unsettling parts of the songs... noteworthy is the black rendition of typically epic themes in "Haunted Shores"... the listening leaves an eerily questioning atmosphere, like an indecipherable call... follow it and it will lead you to a cold gate... "They call as I to Thee..."