Cradle Of Filth - Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa review
| Band: | Cradle Of Filth |
| Album: | Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa |
| Style: | Extreme gothic metal, Symphonic metal |
| Release date: | November 01, 2010 |
| A review by: | Daniell |
"Fan Edition" Version
Disc I
01. The Cult Of Venus Aversa
02. One Foul Step From The Abyss
03. The Nun With The Astral Habit
04. Retreat Of The Sacred Heart
05. The Persecution Song
06. Deceiving Eyes
07. Lilith Immaculate
08. The Spawn Of Love And War
09. Harlot On A Pedestal
10. Forgive Me Father (I Have Sinned)
11. Beyond Eleventh Hour
Disc II [bonus]
01. Beast Of Extermination
02. Truth And Agony
03. Adest Rosa Secreta Eros
04. Mistress From The Sucking Pit
05. Behind The Jagged Mountains
06. The Cult Of Venus Aversa [demo]
07. The Nun With The Astral Habit [demo]
08. Deceiving Eyes [demo]
Disc III [dvd]
01. Forgive Me Father (I Have Sinned) Promo Video
02. Forgive Me Father (I Have Sinned) Video Making Of
There are musical formulas that never become exhausted. Bands that choose such formulas as basis for their works enjoy long-lasting, successful careers. No fan requires any change in their musical direction, everyone is universally happy if such a band releases another album that fits into the band's template. Among classic bands that fit this description are AC/DC, Motörhead, Slayer, to name just a few that immediately spring to mind.
The same can be said about Cradle Of Filth, who never really deviated from the path set on Vempire. Even if they slightly changed their sound (first time on Midian, then again on Thornography), the change was quite subtle, far away from radical. Maybe the songs were more user-friendly, but it was more due to much clearer production than to songwriting. Be that as it may, Thornography was the low point of Cradle Of Filth's career. Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder saw a return to a harsher, faster side of the band, and Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa is Godspeed's uglier twin.
The most notable things on the album are: almost complete lack of symphonic intros and interludes, almost complete lack of slow songs and, most importantly, almost complete lack of brilliant, memorable songs. It's your regular Cradle Of Filth with all its trademark characteristics, only faster than usual (kudos to Martin Skaroupka, who is a great drummer). The hurricane starts with "The Cult of Venus Aversa", and ends with "Beyond the Eleventh Hour". It slows down only in "The Persecution Song" and "Forgive Me Father (I Have Sinned)". Too bad that nine lightning-fast songs basically blur into one. And none of them stands on its own as something exceptional. In vain was my search for a song as good as, say, "Queen of Winter, Throned", "Beneath the Howling Stars" or "Tearing the Veil from Grace". Gone are majestic slow passages, surprising interludes and mood changes. Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa is a monolith with very few chinks in it. It's hard to bite it and it's hard to remember its shape. When "Beyond the Eleventh Hour" ends and silence ensues, I find it hard to remember a really good track off the album. They're all not bad, they're solid, crunching and tasty, they boast devastatingly juicy production, but they fail to amaze me. Releasing fifteen tracks every second year takes its toll. The act of creating music has turned into an assembly line production. The resulting merchandise for the masses is meticulously prepared: the artwork, pictures, lyrics, packaging, production - everything is top notch as usual. Too bad that the crux of it all, the music, is the least attractive element.
Here we come to the point where the introduction to this review starts making sense. The formula that Cradle Of Filth follows isn't as evergreen and universal as Slayer's or AC/DC's. It needs to be refreshed, watered with new ideas and shifts to make it blossom and branch in new directions. Or, ultimately, it must be changed radically, almost completely reworked and redone to retain at least some portion of its original appeal or to create new means of appeal. How many times can we enjoy a short keyboard intro followed by a blasting entry of guitars and drums and the inevitable "aaaargh"? I think we've enjoyed these things enough times. It's time for something new, Dani.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 9 |
 | Written on 03.11.2010 by Writes overly honest and totally subjective reviews when fancy strikes him. Which is not often. Which is probably good, all things considered. |
Rating:
8.7
8.7
|
Rating: 8.7 |
Cradle Of Filth are a band that have performed a slow but legendary downfall. And they managed to rise like a phoenix from its ash, but faster than any phoenix could. Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa is now the second count in their rise and still has something to add in terms of speed, darkness and pure blasting metal. This record is once more a concept album and deals with the demoness Lilith, which happened to be the first wife of Adam in the book of Genesis. But we are here to talk about music, so let's get into it! Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments: 78
Visited by: 521 users
| Kennoth Posts: 2502  |
Well, I need to check out the album before commenting on anything in particular, but the review is thoughtful and well written.
---- *insert something deep and profound*
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| Vonpire Posts: 471  |
I like your review, it's fair and just, even though i don't agree with rating. I just want to say I had that exact feeling first time I listened to the album, it appeared to blend into a "ball" of songs. Nothing shined on it's own. But with time that started to change  The Nun With The Astral Habit , The Persecution Song, Lillith Immaculate , The Spawn Of Love And War and Beyond Eleventh Hour are highlights of the album, imo.
---- Beware the Shadows of Dusk
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6101  |
Well, how many listens did it take you? I wrote the review after 10 listens and during the 11th (pun with the last song not intended  )
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| vezzy Stallmanite Posts: 3493  |
I wouldn't really rank Slayer as having a constant formula or that "everyone is universally happy". See: everything after Divine Intervention. Especially Diabolus in Musica. I have yet to hear this album, but man, you always grab the big reviews (and in virtually no time, too).
---- Licensed under the GPLv3. Relinquish proprietary software for a greater GNU/America.
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
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| Vonpire Posts: 471 |
Written by Daniell on 03.11.2010 at 15:52 Damn, I didn't take all that listens! Yet! Ok, if it didn't grew on you i guess it won't  Tastes.
---- Beware the Shadows of Dusk
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13254  |
I agree that it is more extreme, and no track is particularly memorable by itself... but that is about all I agree with.
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| Windrider Raureif Posts: 684  |
Well written review, but somehow I like this album, it has great moments (most of them fast of course) and the whole slaughter somehow stays in my mind... But I wont agree that albums like Dusk... and Thornography have much in common, I really hate Thornography but with this album (and Godspeed before) Cradle got back on the way of Cruelty, Midian and Damnation, which is both cool and great
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| Vonpire Posts: 471 |
Written by Windrider on 03.11.2010 at 18:42 Totally agree!
---- Beware the Shadows of Dusk
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6101 |
Everything above 7 means that it's quite good. So I also like this album, but just not as much as I'd like to. I'm a MASSIVE CoF fan, been following them since 1996. I engaged in countless debates to defend their music. I absolutely adore thier lyrics - Dani has incredible talent for puns and all other linguistical gimmicks, plus his command of English is simply godlike (slightly cheesy nature of the lyrics is what I'm familiar with as well). I would very much love to rank every CoF album with a 10, but I always state my honest opinions, so Aversa gets what it gets.
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| Vonpire Posts: 471 |
Hey, you made a good review, nobody's complaining And I must say I was expecting a much worse album. I was pleasured surprised after 5th listen.
---- Beware the Shadows of Dusk
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| Mikyz Posts: 711  |
Well it's their better album in a while, but still nothing really captivating on it, other than the drumming. Good job on the review it's spot on.
---- Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone.
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941  |
Written by vezzy on 03.11.2010 at 16:19 I disagree with this statement about Slayer. It's true for AC/DC and Motorhead but not for Slayer. You can't say that their stuff post "Seasons In The Abyss" sounds like their old stuff. And lots of people are not pleased at all with their recent material.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| RavenKing Posts: 1941 |
"The act of creating music has turned into an assembly line production. The resulting merchandise for the masses is meticulously prepared: the artwork, pictures, lyrics, packaging, production - everything is top notch as usual. Too bad that the crux of it all, the music, is the least attractive element." This can be said about metal as a whole. That's how I see the metal scene nowadays and why I dislike it so much. Metal so often sucks and reason is it gets more and more corporate each day. That's why so many albums have no soul and bore you to death. Because that's exactly what they are: merchandise for the masses made on an assembly line.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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| Damnated_Soul Posts: 33  |
I agree with the review, but I think the rating should be a bit higher imo
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| CreeperDeath Posts: 32  |
Like it was said, there is no "awesome" moment in this album, lot of blast, some strings, no slow song... Well, when I don't want to try to play a song at guitar or keyboard, it's usually boring me... Still, better than the song I heard Forgive me Father... "They fail to amaze me" is a good statement from your review. I don't know what happened with Dani, I think he is thinking that slow song = nymphetamine = fans won't like that... Wich is not true, since probably my favorite song is Bathory Aria ! And we all know Bathory Aria has more originality and "complexicity" than the song Nymphetamine ! Anyway, I'm sorry Cradle, my hopes are lost now... Take a 5 years break and come back with a real Masterpiece, as you once made. Stop with those every-years-albums ! EDIT: The Nun with the Astral Habit at 3:40, sort of Mickey Mouse theme??
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| midland_don Posts: 86  |
Well, after many listens (5+) I am starting to love this album. I would agree that at first the songs all 'blended' a little bit, but now i'm starting to have random riffs off this going round in my head! I would definitely rate this between an 8 and a 9. As for Slayer, I thought 'World Painted Blood' was fun, but ultimately pretty unoriginal with a lot of tired, rehashed Slayer riffs. But I seem to be in a minority on that one!
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6101 |
Well, after more listens, (15+), I'm even more sure of the rating. The ONLY 2 songs that I can discern are "The Cult of Venus Aversa" and "Persecution Song". And, of course, "Forgive Me Father", but this one is so bad that I'd rate it 5.
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| Andresopeth Posts: 201  |
Written by Daniell on 04.11.2010 at 13:50 Good review man, and let me tell you i think exactly what you think, when i listened to the album don't know why but i remembered "Tearing The Veil From Grace" a lot, i though "This album needs a song like that", and i also think it is the uglier friend of Godspeed, but anyway i liked "One Foul Step From The Abyss" and "Lilth Immaculate", for me the album is "Too Fast" Which means that is lacking of those intrumental segments that slow down songs for a minute of two. I would have rated something less than 7 in originality, because it isn't too original, 6 or 5 would be alright.
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| Daniell _爱情_ Elite Posts: 6101 |
I gave 7 for originality because CoF, in general, is quite an original band and their style is unique. There were bands that tried to copy that style (e.g. Tvangeste, Hecate Enthroned), but look where they are now, i.e.. nowhere.
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| Vonpire Posts: 471 |
Written by midland_don on 04.11.2010 at 13:43 Glad to hear I am not the only one! At first I had the exact feeling, and i stated it. But after 5th listen this album really grow and started to make sense. Even Forget Father, which is weakest (and most commercial) song of this album is not that bad. In fact I like it. Ok, there aren't songs like Bathory Aria or Queen of Winter.. or even Tearing the Veil from grace, but those are epics that aren't always accomplished, yet, all songs on DDVA are very good. On a side note i would like to state that bonus tracks are as good or even better than those of the LP.
---- Beware the Shadows of Dusk
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| iMorphball Posts: 288  |
I can agree that the album is basically a full metal onslaught, as it really doesn't slow down save for the 2 songs you've mentioned. Despite that, I think the album is quite fantastic, and I disagree with you when you say there's a lack of memorable songs. The Cult of Venus Aversa, The Persecution Song, Deceiving Eyes, Lilith Immaculate, Harlot on a Pedestal, and the bonus tracks are all quite memorable tracks in my eyes. Of course, not everyone thinks the same~
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| Dani5050 Posts: 76  |
I was kind of surprise by this album, I think is a good album, not great, but good, and I like it, would rate it a little bit higher though. Nice review.
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| Vonpire Posts: 471 |
One question totally off-topic. Why there are so many power-shitty-metal fans around Metalstorm?????  Is this genre only shit for me? Maybe I am the weird on, but i was born with Metal, so i don't think so...
---- Beware the Shadows of Dusk
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| vezzy Stallmanite Posts: 3493 |
Written by Vonpire on 04.11.2010 at 17:43 You are most certainly not the only one. However, after a quick inspection of your favorite bands, I'd advise you against vehement outbursts concerning such topics.
---- Licensed under the GPLv3. Relinquish proprietary software for a greater GNU/America.
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| Windrider Raureif Posts: 684 |
Written by iMorphball on 04.11.2010 at 16:06 I agree with that, the melodies of the tracks you mentioned always buzz in my head these days, everywhere... Especially the second chorus of Deceiving Eyes, the best seconds of the album imo and it burns into mind: "Victoria, I come to claim my prize..." awesome!
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| Vonpire Posts: 471 |
Written by vezzy on 04.11.2010 at 17:53 Well, after seeing yours, I feel much more confident to talk about it  !
---- Beware the Shadows of Dusk
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| vezzy Stallmanite Posts: 3493 |
Written by Vonpire on 04.11.2010 at 18:51 What's wrong with mine? I'm assuming your ears can't take it.
---- Licensed under the GPLv3. Relinquish proprietary software for a greater GNU/America.
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| Fat & Sassy! Elite Posts: 3857  |
Oh man. Why does every review concerning a popular band start filling up with pointless statements from people who are insecure about their music tastes? :/
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| Vonpire Posts: 471 |
Hehehehe, First of all, I just think having only extreme (and some very mediocre) metal bands as fav bands is a little like your first fav band. Besides that, I don't know what you expected! My fav bands are from many different segments of metal, I can't say the same about yours. Apparently you have some "issues" with my fav bands, as you stated. Sadly you just haven't said any argument for that. My hears can take many things but in fact there are bands on your favs i can't stand at all, but i'm not gonna troll about that. Your tastes are your tastes, no prob with that. Now the tone you used to talk about my tastes appeared as you were superior in any way, which after looking at your list made me laugh. I listen to metal for 20 years, so I don't think you can teach me anything about it. But let's be objective - I like many of you fav bands - Burzum, Carcass, Carpathian Forest, Enslaved, Megadeth, Satyricon, Slayer ... But there's also some others I complete hate, specially Napalm Death ! Now if you think the only good metal is extreme it's pointless discussing anything more with you. Said that, cheers. Stay Extreme Written by Fat & Sassy! on 04.11.2010 at 19:26 You're right, let's get back on topic.
---- Beware the Shadows of Dusk
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