Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder

Roadrunner

Giving the fans everything they could possibly have desired, England’s Extreme Metal overlords Cradle of Filth have returned with their most brilliant and uncompromising work to date following the release of their epic masterpiece of Cruelty and the Beast in 2001. Not surprising, this album finds the band once again delivering a concept piece where they chronicle the life and times of the world’s first known serial killer French nobleman and soldier of Joan of Arc, Gilles De Rais; not unlike Cruelty with it’s ode to Elizabeth Bathory. Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder marks the ninth chapter of maniacal renderings from the sick and twisted minds of these dark and provocative visionaries.

While I was a fan of the bands past two releases with which the production duties were helmed by guitarist Rob Caggiano of Anthrax fame, this new offering is by far superior in its ability to capture and convey the bands classic trademark sound. Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder comes across as less thrashier than the last couple of albums but maintains a faster, heavier, creepier and overall ambitious nature in it sonic aptitude much ado to the utilization of the very gifted talents of producer extraordinaire Andy Sneap. While I, as well as the majority of fans do agree that this is the album that will undoubtedly bring COF back to the forefront of Metal’s elite I digress to say that I could have stood to see their return to form minus the irritating shrieks of frontman Danni Filth. Although it is not as prevalent as past efforts it is still enough to warrant me skipping a couple of tracks. Perhaps some of the more potent perspectives to pay attention here are the bass solo deviant found in “Darkness Incarnate” a wonderfully wicked gem sure to become a live fav. of fans. “Shat Out of Hell”, the abruptly treacherous track that kicks the album off to evil grandeur and the title track of course which bleeds excellence in true Cradle of Filth fashion. This is probably the purest Black Metal contribution found in any of the thirteen tracks presented.

Spellbinding indeed, Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder is full of sinful, murderous sensation and depicts the band perfectly at home in their own despicable way. It is nice to hear Sarah Jezebel Diva on the CD, although her spoken word parts outweigh her beautiful singing. Hopefully we will hear something new from her own band Angtoria. in the coming New Year. Oddly enough there was quite a bit of low volume male opera vocals at times which made for a breath of fresh air as well. While recapturing their past history they have ultimately left the door open for the evolution of their future.

-Priest