25 November 2023
Years ago, an old interview with Mayhem’s Euronymous was published in Non Serviam magazine. There, Euronymous argued that death metal, as its name suggests, should talk about and glorify death, and that black metal should talk about the devil and devil worship in accordance with its purpose. Of course, this issue is open to debate, but looking at the first appearances of this genre, it is obvious that the aim is not far from this.
However, when you make an examination from the formation of the genres to the present day, you will observe that the groups are labeled with these labels, but they have no boundaries in the subjects they cover. Bands that talk about trees, forests, insects and even social issues are presented as black metal.
Cradle Of Filth, which we all know, is such a band. Since their founding, they have been talking about vampires, dark eroticism, demons and various evil creatures. Of course, their music has evolved over the years. The real album that brought the band to international fame is, Dusk and Her Embrace. The group grew a lot after that, and at one point they even had the success of signing with Sony.
Dani Filth’s vocals that created a new school and his lyrics reflecting his great literary knowledge played a huge role in their success. If you ask which was the best line-up of the band, which has gone through many member changes over the years, except for Dani, maybe I cannot answer that, but the best work they have done is by far the ‘V empire…’ EP. This EP, which is almost an album long, has great chemistry, spooky atmosphere, a complete adrenaline rush with Nicholas Barker’s animalistic drum performance and of course Dani’s superhuman vocals.
The album opens eerily with Ebony Dressed For Sunset. This short song, which serves as an intro, is a harbinger of what the album promises.
‘The Forest Whispers My Name’, one of the constants of Cradle’s concert playlists, is available in its re-recorded form in this EP. With this recording, it is much better than its version in “The Principle of Evil Made Flesh” album.
In my opinion, the best Cradle Of Filth song ever, ‘Queen of Winter, Throned’, is included in this EP. The track, which is around 10 minutes long, changes its introduction so many times that I remember thinking I was listening to different songs when I first listened to it.
The EP, which includes a total of 6 songs, also includes an instrumental track called She Mourns a Lengthening Shadow. This instrumental serves as a perfect bridge between a terrifying, gassy track “Nocturnal Supremacy” and the closing track. The album ends with the song “The Rape and Ruin of Angels”. The screams coming from burning people at the very end of the piece bring to mind the events in Salem.
Long story short, this is a perfect album/EP. This album-like EP should not be missed by anyone who enjoys extreme music. This EP, released by Cacophonous Records, was very difficult to find as it was out of print and could not be re-released due to copyright issues. Finding it is no longer a problem as it was licensed back in 2012 by The End Records. I would like to end the review with the statement on the back of the EP.
“being a ritual involving six parts and having a duration of forty minutes”
