Cradle of Filth - From the Cradle to Enslave [Red & Black UK Import]

From the Cradle to Enslave captures Cradle of Filth at their most theatrical and transgressive, a 1999 EP back as a red and black UK import.

Released between Cruelty and the Beast and Midian, the EP caught Dani Filth's Suffolk band during a period of lineup upheaval and fresh ambition, sharpening their symphonic black metal into something more direct and more cinematic than before. It became a fan favourite in its own right rather than a mere stopgap.

The title track is a high-speed blast of gothic horror, all shrieking vocals, galloping drums and swirling keyboards. Death Comes Ripping offers a gleeful take on the Misfits, Sleepless reworks a song by fellow British outfit Anathema, and Pervert's Church adds another dose of lurid, keyboard-laden menace. Each cover is twisted firmly into the band's own gothic image.

A reworked epic from their earlier catalogue closes things out, showing how far the band's arrangements had come in only a few years. The production is sharper and heavier than their earliest records, and every scream lands.

For collectors of extreme metal, this is a compact, potent slice of late-nineties Cradle, and the red and black vinyl looks every bit as blood-soaked as the music sounds.