Cradle Of Filth

Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder

Roadrunner/Universal

Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

11/12/2008 5:12pm

Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder, Cradle Of Filth's eighth studio album, tells the story of Gilles De Rais, a respected, God-fearing French nobleman and war hero in public, and child rapist and serial killer in private. Dani Filth is still a vocal acrobat, giving you growls and shrieks (but not quite on part with those on earlier albums like Dusk... And Her Embrace) often within a split second. New drummer Martin Skaroupka's impeccable chops are shown off on several breakneck tracks which sound like they're going to destroy your stereo, and guitarist Paul Allender plays better on the disc than he has in years. But there are a few major missteps, like the ridiculously melodic "The Death Of Love," which sounds more like a prog metal track than anything remotely close to extreme metal. Godspeed also features the type of laughable narration that has been used on Nymphetamine and Thornography... except this time, it anchors the album. It's hard to tell whether Cradle are being serious with this and are intending to end up as a caricature of themselves, or if they're just taking the piss out of the listener. My guess is both.