Cradle Of Filth – Midian (2000)

July 12, 2021

Depending on who you speak to, COF either died with Midian or it is one of the greatest records the band ever did. I fall somewhat firmly into the latter camp, Midian was a stand-out in the gothic craziness that was the earlier Cradle days. I remember reading a review online, which must have been done by a very serious, very kvlt black metal fan, who said that Midian was pure trash and was nothing but pop music with distorted guitars. I don’t know how much trve northern crack that fuckin’ idiot had been smoking, and yes, Midian is different to the albums before it (a style-change marked on the Cradle To Enslave EP), but it is still a meandering, pompous clusterfuck of an album.

My one criticism is the production is really treble heavy and the drums sound fake as fuck, even more so than the usual metal triggering, perhaps as a side-effect of this odd, un-naturally dense production choice. The guitar work here, shared between Gian Pyres and Paul Allender is nothing short of mesmerizing, as is of course Dani’s bizarre lyrical musings, which range from out-right filth (no pun intended) to fragile verses of poetry.

Top all that off with Sarah Jezebel Deva’s excellent operatic vocals and Martin Powell’s mysterious keyboard work, and Midian is truly a winner, if you take it warts and all. I could sit here now finishing off by recommending a series of tracks, but Midian is probably best taken as a whole, where the full journey (not to mention the epic nature of the closing tracks) can be appreciated properly.