Search - Cradle of Filth :: Nymphetamine

First Off....

G. Sanchez | Chicago, IL USA | 10/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'd like to say I've been a COF fan back when they were still underground... and like I have heard someone say... every band explores new territory in sound and no band to date keeps their same sound for long... every album comes out different... but its just something thats left that can be identified as original...If you don't realize this already then you obviously haven't listened to bands for too long. This album isnt obviously like their first... not as raw and straight hardcore... but in my opinion... COF still delivers... if you're listening to this album expecting to hear the same sound as Cruelty and the beast or Principles of Evil Made Flesh... you have obviously popped this cd in with the wrong state of mind. The only thing I see COF have done since their very first EPs and album releases is become more melodic... and another thing... if you don't know that the former members left on their own... you shouldn't rant here about how the band sounds better with them...Gian stayed until after they did Midian.. then he announced he was leaving the band... this all started with nick leaving and joining Dimmu Borgir... then the rest of the members leaving... and what can they do but recruit someone else? This album is good in my opinion... different then their first ones... but since midian... COF had started changing their sound... so this doesnt sound drastically different to me."

Nothing short of a masterpiece.

Prosthetics1209 | Wisconsin | 07/02/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"


I have read a million reviews of this CD, and for some reason it's considered their worst album. Why, i'll never understand. In my opinion it is a masterpiece, on par with Dusk And Her Embrace and Midian, if not a step above.







Song by song:



1. Satyriasis - [8/10] One of my favorite instrumental tracks by C.O.F. It has a sense of urgency and build-up that just explodes when Gilded C*nt kicks in.



2. Gilded C*unt - [10/10] This is one of the best album-openers i've ever heard. The beginning sounds like armageddon in musical form, and just when you think it can't get any more intense, the thrash kicks in and Dani's venom-spitting vocals welcome you back into the land of C.O.F. Alternates between mid-tempo heaviness and pure thrash genious. Overall, a great metal song.



3. Nemesis - [10/10] One of my favorites off of this album. Not too heavy, not too speedy, but just... beautiful. The lyrics are basically poetry, and the guitar riffing is emotional as opposed to an excersise is technicality. Though it clocks in at over 7 minutes, it never gets boring and always remains haunting and intense. A masterpiece.



4. Gabrielle - [8/10] An awesome song. Doesn't stand out compared to the rest of the album, but even so, you'll never want to skip over it. Slows down for almost two minutes in the bridge before putting the pedal to the metal again for the ending. Great lyrics.



5. Absinthe With Faust [15/10] The best song off of the album in my opinion. This song is just pure heartwrenching beauty. It represents everything that this album is. The guitar riff that kicks in at 2: 29 and comes back again later in the song is gorgeous, and the strings add a nice layer of sound. The ending of the song gives the same sense of urgency that you get with Satyriasis, which then leads nicely into Nymphetamine Overdose. An amazing song.



6. Nympthetamine Overdose [10/10] One of Cradle Of Filth's most beautiful and emotional songs perfectly encased in two slabs of thrashing bliss. If you've heard the song Nymphetamine on the radio or anywhere else, it's that, just with a different intro and outro. However, it's very different and worth your time. The constant addition of strings even over heavier riffs is awesome. 7:14 to the end is a headbanging favorite of mine.



7. Painting Flowers White Never Suited My Palette - [9/10] Another instrumental piece. Very intense, brings L.O.T.R. to mind :) Very ethereal, multifaceted beginning that sounds like a flight to heaven with the angels, until halfway through, when after a brief vocal solo, Cradle plunges you straight back into hell with much darker orchestration. Good break from the heaviness, beautiful piece.



8. Medusa And Hemlock [9/10] - Not much ethereal or pretty material here, just f***ing metal. Lots of choir work in the background.



9. Coffin Fodder [8/10] - Great guitar intro, and great dualing guitars throughout the verse. Again, if i could only choose 5 songs from the album, this wouldn't be one of them, but still a great song. The main riff is very epic. Awesome track.



10. English Fire [10/10] - Similar in ways to Absinthe With Faust. Not too fast or heavy, but emotional and beautiful. Nice piano work. One of my favorites off of the album.



11. Filthy Little Secret [10/10] - Another thrasher. Kicks in right away with a good old-school metal riff. Cradle again manages to be heavy as hell, but have a continuing mood of sadness. Insane guitar solo in the bridge. The verses in this song are amazing (1:05-1:26 for example). Another C.O.F. song that clocks in at almost 7 minutes, but never gets boring or old.



12. Swansong For A Raven [15/10] - One of the most beautiful intros i've ever heard, right before Cradle comes in, barrels blazing with one of the fastest riffs i've ever heard them play. The mood constantly alternates in this song, but every part remains catchy and interesting and C.O.F. tie it all together. Overall, it has feeling of lost beauty and much sadness (as does much of the album). An amazing song. Great piano work. Guitar riff from 6:03 to end is especially good. Has one of the most haunting piano outros i've ever heard.



13. Mother Of Abominations [10/10] I couldn't have asked for a better album closer. This song begins with one of C.O.F.'s classic chanting mantras, which swells until they kick it in with shredding 36 seconds in, and then completely throw it down at 56. All the way through, an intense, pounding, menacing monster of a song. Nice fade out at the end. A perfect ending to a near-perfect album.







As an album, this is much more emotional and filled with sadness and beauty than their previous work (which is mind-blowing as well, just different). It is an amazing piece of music that has a mood no other album can capture. It is dark, beautiful, tragic, and filled with songs that will blow you away.



Go buy it.



Now."

Extra sales

Gozer the destructor | North Carolina | 05/04/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Firstly, the remake of "Nymphetamine" is a just what it is, a remake, a second take for the Sara fans. Liv is capable of high, low and middle ranges. She is even capable of operatic vocals. In this case, her vocals, soft and light, add to the eerieness of the song. Sara's sound out of place and make the song awkward. The harmony is tacky. This is a slow song, and the power contrasts between light beautiful vocals and growls, not to uncommon with Liv's vocals in Theatre of Tragedy (with growls of the male singer) and Leaves' Eyes, again with growls. There is no way the alternate take could have provided the over-all mood "Nymphetamine" brings. The original version is very creepy, eerie, and yet beautiful. Liv added as a great guest in the video too, not just because of her beauty. I think Sara is a brilliant vocalist, and she has her prominent part in more powerful Cradle songs. But some nay-sayers of Liv don't know who she is, or they would realise that she has had a prominent part of the metal scene since the early ninetees. She isn't some gimmick for trendy goth folk.



As for a "Special Version", nothing convinces me that this was for the fans, rather than for a few extra bucks. This is a novelty release. The extra's sound rushed. Moonspell have provided a better cover of Mr. Crowley. This band goes through good and bad stages, like a lot of bands. I am not bashing the creativity and efforts of this band because it isn't their intentions of appealing to neo-goth kids these days. The record companies want to over-promote these bands as much as possible. These kids are just jumping on the band wagon. Since the internet has progressed, access to these so-called underground bands has risen and kids find ways to access these not-so maintream bands. Nymphetamine is a romantic album. Romanticism can be expressed through many ways."