Cradle of Filth
From the Cradle to Enslave

Just a year after the successful "Cruelty and the Beast", an album that brought Cradle of Filth the well-deserved success, Mr. Dani Filth's band is preparing not only to enjoy the glories achieved (among them being more popular than colleagues Dimmu Borgir), but also to focus on which direction to channel their future works. While waiting for what will later emerge in Midian, COF releases an EP (dated 1999) of transition between the old and the new, and the result is "From the Cradle to Enslave", with a title crafted almost to symbolize that the band's dark aura enslaves from the origins.

The journey begins with the title track that gives its name to the album: the impact does not deviate much from what we are usually accustomed to hearing, that is, that mix of black, German-style thrash, and a bit of dreamlike gothic. The presence of female choirs and in particular of the faithful vocalist Sarah Jezebel Deva enrich this piece with pathos, alternating slow parts with fast and aggressive parts expertly played by ex-At The Gates Adrian Erlandsonn, a steady member of COF after the departure of the missed Nicholas Barker. The second track "Of Dark Blood and F**king" confirms what has been said above, just a bit more violent and "blackie". But the real surprises are yet to come with "Death Comes Ripping", a hardcore-flavored cover of Danzig, but which COF makes its own, and the priceless "Sleepless", another cover of Anathema, where Robin Graves's bass line, assisted by Lector Smith's keyboards, cradles the verse until an explosion of the chorus, where Gyan and Stuart's guitars screech along with Dani Filth's sharp voice. There remains an experimental song like "Perverts Church (From the Cradle to Deprave)", born of a "electronically" perverse process seemingly by Nick Barker (many have turned up their noses at this techno/dance experiment), and a decent quality live rendition of "Funeral in Carpathia".

The disc ends here and the question that arises the most is (was): what direction will COF take after this albeit brief parenthesis? Time will give the answer in that year 2000, when Midian will be released and everyone will be able to notice the progress made by the English vampires. Lastly, this nice EP is recommended to the band's fans, but also to non-fans, provided they judge COF by their other works and not by this one.