Absolutely Beautiful
02/21/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Take no heed to the word of Cradle-haters. I love Emperor, Enslaved, Darkthrone(Blaze thru Transilvanian), and other such "true black metal" bands, but I like them for their music, not how "black" they are.
This album is quite amazing, and is instantly comparable to the subsequent three albums. The production is rather muted, but relatively clear nonetheless. It's more raw than later Cradle, but that is the very attraction behind this album; it provides for just the cold edge the music calls for. There is a huge amount of emotion in the songwriting, which defines its beauty.
Principle falls short of the intricate perfection of Cruelty, Dusk, or Vempire, but fans of those albums will certainly love this. The only reason they wore corpsepaint on Principle is circumstance of the time - anything not black-and-white in 1994 would have been discredited."