From the Cradle to Enslave is a very significant release for the band, but not for the music. I’m sure you all noticed that they couldn’t have been using two drummers and three guitarists all at once. That is because this EP (their second after Vempire) signals some very important lineup changes in their career. Guitarist Stuart Antsis didn’t stay; he was simply a guest musician on a few of the tracks. This also marks Lecter Smith’s second and last work with the band after doing
Cruelty & the Beast. Martin Powell took over soon after. But the most important change of all was in the drumming. Nic Barker played his last few tracks with Cradle of Filth here while Adrian Erlandsson permanently took over to finish the EP and stayed on as full-time drummer. ‘Tis hard to decide who is better…they went from one kickass drummer to another.
The record catapults to a deceptive start with the title track
From the Cradle to Enslave. If one were to listen to this track only, they would be tricked into thinking that this EP was well worth the money. In short, the song is amazing. The into kills with the bass and keyboard, especially when Dani starts vocalizing. The entire track is built around being very melodic and atmospheric and they did a damn good job of making it. The heavier parts aren't quite as special, but add a nice build-up effect for the magnificance. Never pass up this song - in fact, if you're a fellow Cradle fan, then it would be worth paying the money for this one song. It also has the most explicit and ridiculous music video of all time, which I will go more into later.
Of Dark Blood and Fuc
king follows. Nothing too special here, but its still nothing to overlook completely. The drum/bass into is nice and interesting. The entire song is mostly heaviness without a whole lot of pure melody (topped off by overabundant speed). At times it just sort of sounds generic with nothing to make it stand out. The only thing really notable about it is that its Adrian Erlandsson's debut with the band. Its not nearly as good as the title track but I suppose this would be second best.
And then we come to
Death Comes Ripping. Oh, the horror. As much as I love Cradle of Filth, they are one band that should not cover other bands. This song is a Misfits cover (Dani's favorite band) and is proof that punk and metal really shouldn't mix (at least, not in this way). Dani's vocals are unique on this song, but sound horrible overall. The rhythm doesn not work well with the band's style. They also tried to give off that punk atmosphere, which clashed horribly with their sound. I don't know what the hell they were thinking, we just have to hope that they never think it again (just be thankful that the song is less than two minutes long). And of course we proceed to another cover, this time they tackled
Sleepless by Anathema. Needless to say nothing could combat the terrible
Death Comes Ripping.
Sleepless is a little better. Its slower and much more melodic, while for some reason the guitarists seemed desperate to prove that they knew how to pull a pinch harmonic. This track is very linear with a lot of repeating, but luckily it isn't very long either.
By looking at the title, you may have initially seen a shimmer of hope. The remake of the amazing track Funeral in Carpathia was completely pointless, however. All they really did was take a classic and subject it to their surrent style. There was more synth and the song was played at a higher tempo, but there was nothing special about it. I suppose they just had an urge to play an old song again...which is very understandabel. Stick with the original if you must. To wrap up the 1999 release, we have
Dawn of Eternity, which was released instead of
Perverts Curch on the US version only. The entire first half of the song is atmospheric noises without any actual music to match. A little more of punk/metal type stuff goes on for over six minutes. Not quite as bad as
Death Comes Ripping (which is a hard one to topt) but is merely a 6:24 waste of time to be honest.
I'm sure there are many like me who payed for it knowing that it was bad but still wanted to complete their Cradle discography. It wasn't a total waste...we did get one very good track. But those who don't care about the band and only want the good stuff should avoid this like a plague. Thank God
Midian followed to redeem them or the could've had a serious disaster on their hands.
Recommended tracks:
From the Cradle to Enslave
