Cradle Of Filth – Dusk… And Her Embrace – The Original Sin (2016)

July 31, 2016

Well, first things first, this is something that I never, ever thought I would end up hearing. This was one of the painful parts of the early Cradle Of Filth lore; a massive causality of the ever-shifting line ups and legal battles. Personally, in my mind, probably due to always being disillusioned by the production styles on both Dusk… and it’s follow up, Cruelty And The Beast, I concocted the thought that this original shelved version of Dusk… would be like some extended session of the Vempire recordings. I figured, as they offered Vempire up only to fulfill contractual obligations, that those songs offered so hastily were from these sessions (crazy how that last-minute, half-arsed release is one of the bands best). So, the rest of it was sitting out there on a shelf somewhere, just waiting…

I wasn’t entirely right in my assumption. The production here is a lot rawer, and is easily the most notable difference. This original recording of Dusk… lends a lot more to the sound of Principles Of Evil Made Flesh (only much faster) than anything that it would become on the re-recorded version that came out in 1996. The second thing that’s mostly different is the vocals. They are a lot less “effected” and again sit more towards the original black metal style rather than the super high-pitch squawks that would become Dani’s trademark.

I’m not sure what kind of devilish pact the band have entered into to twist Cacophonous’ arm into releasing this finally, but 2016 being the 20th anniversary of the original Dusk… cannot be a coincidence. I’m super stoked to have finally heard this, and although this release will offer nothing new to more recent fans of the band, it is the most interesting and valuable of the “cash in” releases the band have done as of late (the extortionate Total Fucking Darkness repress, that awful orchestral record, etc. etc.).

This is a piece of metal history and it’s release into the world, for monetary gain or no, can only be a good thing in the long run, although it does destroy some of the mystery of the early Cradle lore in the process.