OK, the Cradle Of Filth Checklist:
Over the top instrumental Intro. – Check.
Lead Vocals that range from screeching to growling – Check
Additional vocals, usually an angelic woman’s voice – Check.
The occasional narration – Check.
Music that ranges from orchestral and symphonic to a battering ram of aggression – Check.

Checklist complete.
Welcome to a typical Cradle Of Filth CD.
Today we look at Damnation And A Day, the British band’s 74 minute epic opus dedicated to, well, who else, Satan, of course.

Damnation And A Day is a concept album, telling a story (the story?) of the fall and”rise” of Lucifer. It’s a loud, over the top effort, just like all their others.
I like to think of CoF’s music as extreme soundtracks to all those cheesy, but great Hammer Horror movies of the late 60’s and early 70’s.

Cradle Of Filth is made up of, as the liner notes for DaaD states:
Dani Filth – “Scripture and Howls” (Vocals)
Paul – “Unrepentant White Noise” (Guitars)
Martin Foul – “Keys To Ransacked Eden” (Keyboards)
David Pubis – “Poisoned Heart Throb” (Bass)
Adrian – “Savage Repercussion”(Drums)

The CD is broken down into four parts:

I Fantasia Down

“A Bruise Upon The Silent Moon”
The Promise Of Fever
Hurt And Virtue
An Enemy Led The Tempest

II Paradise Lost

“Damned In Any Language (A Plague On Words)”
Better To Reign In Hell
Serpent Tongue
Carrion

III Sewer Side Up

“The Mordant Liquor Of Tears”
Presents From The Poison Hearted
Doberman Pharoah
Babalon A. D. (So Glad For The Madness)

IV The Scented Garden

“A Scarlet Witch Lit The Season”
Mannequin
Thank God For The Suffering
The Smoke Of Her Burning

With the subject matter, and the lyrics these guys spew, it’s a good thing that for the most part Cradle Of Filth seems to be very tongue in cheek. If they were serious about this stuff, it would be kind of creepy, and kind of silly too. I mean, actual Devil Worshipping?
That’s kinda lame, right?
But when it’s done for entertainment’s sake, it’s kinda cool.

Dani tortures his words so much, it’s practically impossible to decipher them, and Cradle’s music isn’t exactly the type you sing along too while driving around, you know?
But for some reason, their shtick still appeals to me. I guess it’s their over the top zaniness, coupled with their music. Take away the lyrics, and the music is very cool. Kinda scary goth-metal, with lots of cliched chanting and graveyard pipe organ music.
The lyrics themselves, though impossible to understand, are interesting, in a very dark and disgusting kinda way. Overall these guys put a lot of work into their CDs. It would be really easy to dismiss them as noise or as “Shock Rock” taken to the next level, but I have to admire them.

OK, I’ll be honest, at this point I have eight CoF CDs.
I truly can’t really tell the difference with most of them. Damnation And A Day is the only one I’ve ever really tried to break down and understand since I was gonna write about it. I do think that maybe this seems a little more polished, a little more ready to be put to the public’s scrutiny (it is their major label debut). But it’s not radio friendly at all. And I definitely don’t have a problem with that.

Come August 2003 I’ll experience them live as part of Ozzfest 2003.

I’ll let you know how that goes…
If I survive.