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This was it, my first real and legit exposure to the ever-beloved, derided and controversial English vampire metal horde that, try as all sorts might, could not be ignored, and like so many other first album exposures this has stood the test of time. It has stuck with me over the years due to it, as well, being one of the very first extreme-styled albums I checked out when I first stick my toes into far darker waters than what thrash and modern metal provided. Though my getting the album was purely by accident, I later learned that anyone even minutely interested in black metal would find this band's name plastered all over the place, as around '98-'99 they still had some amount of clout within the genre, whether its more crypt-dwelling of fans and cohorts liked it or not. But at the time, it didn't matter…what did was whether it was good or not, and as I soon learned, it was. It was fantastic, an aural beauty to behold, and even now I care not for where it sits style-wise and, blasphemous of me to admit it, I can still come back to this far more willingly than a lot of other extreme metal albums that came out around the same time. It had that much of an impact on me…
What made/makes this album work far better than what one would come to expect is its level of tightness, richly dark atmosphere and higher rate of cohesion than what earlier albums had. The previous work, "Dusk…and Her Embrace" has the vampiric night vibe down cold, but it was bogged down that tiny bit by way of wayward arrangements. Not so here. Everything feels just right, moving in one direction and not dicking about with anything less than full-on menace. Taking that perfect marriage of gothic flair, orchestral dramatics and black metal intensity, Cradle of Filth (copyright 1998) have provided one of the best soundtracks to nyctophiliac wonders off its presentation and aura alone. The group goes about it the right way by making the keyboards the central musical figure, basing almost everything off its candle-lit lines of varying moods and voices, with the guitars, bass and drums doing their own part to play off the foundation provided. They have never done their best work off riffs and leads alone, even in their earliest days, and always seemed more at home creating soundscapes than thrashing your fool head off, and they'd not done it better than here, with this. There's just so much musical meat on the corpse's bones that even repeated listens over years upon years still warrant the same amount of entertainment and nightly thrills it did upon first glance.
It feels so timeless, so bursting with wicked creative juices and bestial brutality, every little part working so well with one another (even Dani's screeching fits the stylistic bill better than any other vocal approach he could have done). Cardboard production issues and the occasional misstep song aside, the band comes at the listener with full force like a tidal wave of depthless shadow, rendering all forms of light (natural, holy, or otherwise), save for moon-borne, gone without a trace. Blinding violence and gentle autumnal winds grace its poor victim in almost equal amounts, sometimes within the same song (its dual features in "Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids", "The Twisted Nails of Faith" and the monstrous "Bathory Aria", to name a few), all of which play in perfect concert for the subject's own decline into relentless insanity; though "Cruelty…" is a concept based off Countess Elizabeth Báthory, it's not a fact-by-fact textbook lesson so much as a horror film reimagining, complete with basing itself off the main character in name only and throwing in as many sacrilegious and dark terrors within its setting. It becomes a monster all its own, brought to life by way of Poe-etic odes and generous wordplay no other band at the time shot for, black metal-oriented or otherwise (only fellow countrymen Bal-Sagoth were able to beyond simple lyrics and into the realm of thesis papers). It was such an interesting twist on a gimmick and image that, during that time, was starting to become overwrought old hat, and one could find themselves drawn in and able to craft their own mental image of the horrors to come. Thus has always been the best method of storytelling, if I may say so, and Cradle of Filth proved themselves to be as adept as undead traveling bards as they are ghouls haunting ruined churches and graveyards. If anything, going down such a path has always made their outputs far better than regular, lyric-driven albums, with this being the best example of the lot.
All in all I found this an absolute masterpiece, one of the very few times CoF ever took themselves seriously and made sure we did as well. The years have been very kind to this collective of blackened blood-letting anti-hymns, and even though theirs was a path that twisted and turned a few too many ways, I still come back to this if'n the desire to unleash the inner vampire out for a night or two becomes too great.
Are Cradle of Filth good? Are Cradle of Filth bad? Are Cradle of Filth really responsible for their own actions? And so on, ad infinitum, until we all get bored and just don't care anymore. I bought most of CoF's albums when I was a good few years younger, at a time when the mild extremity and semi-pornographic album booklets and lyrics had more of a lure than they do now. For pictures of hot women in their death throes, 'Cruelty and the Beast' is rather a failure compared to some of CoF's later albums (one contest where 'Nymphetamine' and 'Damnation and a Day' are actually winners), though the music on offer here is much closer to their black metal roots than on any subsequent offering, since 2000's 'Midian' toned down the long tremolo riffs and blastbeats. I'm not the most ardent black metal fan in the world, but I'm aware that some of what followed was pants, so that's the first advantage for 'Woman with 1960s fringe in a bath of blood' album.
The riffing style on this album may be partly alien to many of CoF's latter day fans, with its drawn out, sweeping atmospheres, classic melodies, and greater extremity. I'm not sure exactly where to place CoF in black metal's pantheon and I'm not completely sure whether 'Cruelty and the Beast' is a black metal album, but I hear more similarities to Emperor than any other classic black metal band, despite the similar ages of both bands. I don't believe that Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir sounded particularly similar at this point in their careers, though the keyboards are a noticeable presence on this album, sometimes downplaying the guitars to the extent that the six-stringers must have been crying out in frustration. Other than the whole black metal debacle surrounding CoF, there are some noticeable death metal-influenced parts with a heavier, broader guitar tone and less atmospheric delivery that to my mind belong distinctly to this band alone. Then there are numerous softer parts, where we come close to gothic doom: during these passages, there is more emphasis on keyboards than anything else and Dani Filth gets to do his storytelling pervert voice, which becomes dull at points yet breaks up otherwise long songs into manageable pieces of heaviness and moodiness.
The whole point of CoF has always been not to be restrained by the specific subgenre into which they planted their seeds and to increase the drama, emotion, and general complexity of extreme metal. Reading the lyrics of albums like this usually satisfied me, because Dani Filth is a masterful lyricist, even if he doesn't quite understand the phrase "over the top": 'Cruelty and the Beast' is finally an album on which his vocals are audible, getting rid of that annoying shriek through which he could be saying absolutely anything. Let's have a quick peek at 'Desire in Violent Overture':
"An emanation of phantom madness
The Countess beheld in shroud
By girls bereft of future vows
Soon to wed in white the frosted ground
Burning like a brand on the countenance of god
A yearning took Her hand to His Seraphim, bound"
This is pretty par for the course from our friend Dani - depravity, death, sex, irreligion. You may get tired of his subject matter pretty quickly, but there's no denying that he is a poet and that he has a mastery of rhyme, rhythm, and excess like few others in metal. His vocabulary and innuendos impress, even if the end result is as subtle as a concrete dick (from which I hope he won't take ideas).
Problematically, now that we can hear some of the things he's saying, a little of the aggression drops from the music and takes away the thrust of the meaning. The drums are produced so weakly that the riffs lack the bite they should have, while the keyboards are overwhelming at moments and are calming rather than atmospheric. I agree with Natrix below who simply writes 'Typewriter Drums' - that's correct. The guitar tone is great, if a little quiet, and the bass gets surprisingly broad usage, especially during the slower sections, where it is needed to give some kind of anchor to the sound. The band sound best at quicker paces, since the fast sections have more varied riffs and the melodies are very good, but the slower sections are poor and all to the same purpose.
As such, shorter songs would be welcome. 'Desire in Violent Overture' is not the best song on here, but it sounds better because it's the only one under five minutes. On the other hand, all the interludes are shit and serve little purpose; it's like the band couldn't work out how to break their compositions into digestible pieces, so they randomly inserted fragments of half-baked ideas. The two opening songs are both strong, while the closer and 'The Twisted Nails of Faith' are worth your time, but that's a low success ratio for a fairly long album - we're talking about half an hour of good music with some slightly poor production. CoF come out of this one just about intact: it isn't better than the previous album, or the next one, but there are some parts to recommend.
To those reading this, either curious as to why this is my favourite album or downright offended that this could be anyone's favourite album, let me take the time to explain my position. Cradle of Filth are a band I think get far too much negative attention. Sure Dani Filth can come across as a proper arsehole at times, sure his voice is not for everyone, sure not everybody likes the gothic image and accessibility of their later albums, but Cradle are not the blight on metal everybody makes them out to be. I believe you shouldn't hold bias notions towards an album simply because you do not like the band/how the band chooses to do things. I am a fan of both their earlier and later work, their shift to a more "mainstream" sound does not bother me and I think it's a bit juvenile to criticise any band for changing their style. You can argue that they only did it to make money, etc. However taking a look at Cradles influences, their later work only represents a different end of the spectrum from where they draw their influences. Cradle were never a fully black metal band, they never claimed to be, and their first three demos are pretty much straight up (filthy sounding) death metal. Symphonic/Gothic elements were always present, perfected on this album, then toyed with/accentuated on later releases. So hopefully, with a more open mind, you'll be able to appreciate my thoughts on this album rather than downright disregarding it if you hate this band.
Let's get it out of the way first, the major gripe everybody has with this album is the production and I can sure see why. The drums are clicky and flat, the female vocals of Sarah Deva and Ingrid Pitt can seem buried at times, the guitars can feel thin and the bass buried, also Dani's vocals can seem to overshadow all the instrumentation at times (in both clarity and volume). However, while I do not believe this production is particularly good, I can say it does not bother me and also seems to give the album an odd charm. I am the kind of person that can overlook the production woes of an album if I find the music strong enough to surpass it, for example, Bathory's 'Hammerheart', The Misfits 'Earth A.D.' or Deathspell Omega's first two releases. The bass criticism is one that I feel isn't actually well deserved, at times Robin's bass actually overbears the guitar with it's throbbing glory and gives the music a further texture (See 'Thirteen Autumns and a Widow', 'Beneath The Howling Stars' and 'The Twisted Nails of Faith'). Furthermore, while Stuart and Gian primarily play melodic leads to compliment the music, the bass provides a nice amount of low-end frequency to the mix with which I have no qualms whatsoever. The drums are well played, everybody knows Nick Barker is a talented drummer and his blasts/bass patterns are no less frequent on this album, however slightly toned down just a smidge in order to compliment the melodic nature of this album. The guitars, while thin, are so melodic and the riffs are so memorable/catchy/evil (the closing riff to 'Bathory Aria' being one of the most sinister riffs I've ever heard) that I can't help but be swept up in their atmosphere and headbang along. Little slides along the strings and an occasional pitch harmonic being heard (intentional or not, I have no idea) only add to the nuances this album holds for all those people who love when an album reveals secrets after repeated listens.
I view 'Cruelty and the Beast' as Cradle's peak of songwriting. Ten songs spanning an hour in length. Some people, insultingly, forget about "Lustmord and Wargasm" claiming the album to only hold 9 songs, a fault that can be attributed to an early 12" version of the album that omitted the song. Three instrumental interludes and seven songs spanning from four to eleven minutes makes this a varied album to listen to, not just a 30-40 minutes of 3-4 minute songs (I'm looking at you, every single Deicide album). Structures are varied and exciting, no two songs sound the same (something Cradle are very good at) and each track packed to the brim with intense, clever and well written lyricism detailing the life and crimes of Báthory Erzsébet.
One of the key points of this sort of concept album is STORYTELLING. Cradle and Carach Angren are two bands that do this exceedingly well and many comparisons can be drawn between the two. On 'Cruelty and the Beast', Dani tackles the thrilling tale of Elizabeth Bathory that has become synonymous with the genre of metal and it's lyrical concepts with band such as Bathory (obviously...), Slayer, Sunn O))), Venom, Ghost and Electric Wizard creating songs based upon her. However, go back to 1998 when the album was released, where the concept isn't as overdone as it is today. Cradle didn't just decide to have an album about Bathory to be "evil" or "edgy" (though they have had their fair share of shock value in their time), they created this album to praise and detail her life, to pay tribute to the very inspiration from which Dracula (the full concept, with the drinking of blood to retain youth) was created. Without Bathory, there would be no Dracula. Love or hate vampires (we all know how butchered they've been in recent years), they are important to the genre of metal and the development of the Goth subculture, that if you love metal you should appreciate because if you're going to judge Goths then you're just as bad as everyone else who has ever judged you for liking metal. Capisce? Good.
The lyricism is something that needs highlighting on tis album. Some criticise Dani for his wordiness, sure he is probably one of the biggest lexophiles in all of metal, but if he can't write incredibly wordy poetry then who can? Dani is a poetic genius in my eyes. Sure he later disregarded his talent in favour of more streamlined and somewhat silly lyrics (Gilded Cunt), but this album shows his lexical ability in full force creating some truly beautiful and chilling passages.
"As the Demon slavered foetid vows
And bore His prey away
In talons itching to perpetrate
The nausea of eternal rape
The Sorceress screaming in His grasp
Spat a final curse to stain
The Countess with the promise
That Her lord at war would be cruelly slain
And She would rot.
On the twisted nails of faith."
This excerpt is taken from the climax of 'The Twisted Nails of Faith', probably one of the best climaxes to any song of all time. The lyrics tell of Bathory and her sorceress summoning a demon, Bathory makes a deal with the demon in exchange for the sorceress and the demon then drags her away for "eternal rape", but the sorceress curses Bathory that her husband will die at war and she would die alone and insane (chillingly concluded in 'Bathory Aria'). The intense melodic guitar, Dani screaming his vocal tract out of his throat, the deep brooding bass, pounding drums and mind-blowing keyboards drive me to a musical orgasm at the end of this song. That song is among many on this album that just throws constant barrages of clever lyricism that tells an interesting story screamed at the top of Dani's lungs. Speaking of his voice, it's not for everybody, that's abundantly clear. However, Dani is a distinct vocalist. His banshee screams unmatched is their sound and to me his is the best literal "screamer" in metal (even though his voice has changed considerably over the years). One complaint I've read about his voice is that he doesn't pronounce his words very well, which I think is bollocks. Dani is British so maybe that comes across in his delivery and others cannot understand it, being British myself I have no issues with following along with the lyrics and I really love his little gurgles, growls that sound like Jacob Bannon being semi-submerged in water, deep narrated passages and whispered sections. Though I have been criticised by my friends for liking "shit" metal vocalists (I love Revenge/Conqueror, VxPxOxAxAxWxAxMxC, Converge, Hellhammer) so what do I know?
I feel like I've rambled on enough, yet I also feel like I've barely scratched the surface as to why I love this album. Oh well. Hope this was useful to someone and maybe even turned a few people on to an album/band that they may have previously overlooked.
Upon a few listens to I'd have to say that the music far outweighs the mixing and is far better if some instruments didn't outweigh the guitar melodies. An epic and well written album, but the mixing as I said kind of killed it. The guitar was not well heard and I know that COF is extreme gothic metal, however, they still should take pride in recording an album that surpasses it's predecessors. On Cruelty, the vocals and lyrical content were superb, just the guitar work needed not to be drowned out by the vocals, synthesizers and drums. They just made a mistake in that respect otherwise my rating would be far much higher than It is.
There are tempo changes galore and the music fit well with aura of the essence, but most of the changes had to do with synthesizer overtures, not so much in the guitar melody orchestrations. A lot of songs were epic in the fact that they seemed to be more focused on the aura of the album, a desolate, ambient, and captivating essence of a gem. The lengthy songs were devoted to an atmospheric kind of feel and it suited I guess what their focus was which seemed to amylate an evil vibe that took place on the bulk of the album. This is totally extreme gothic metal here and the guitar work wasn't as emphasized here than other past releases.
I had to accept the fact that this is not COF's really noteworthy guitar work like on Dusk, but merely an evil and transient orchestration of blackness, darkness, inexplicable revelation that meshed well with their gothic focus. Dani's voice contained a majority of high-end screaming mixed with burley low-end growls that seemed to pop up on occasion during the songs. The synthesizers pathed the way towards the recording, again, not the guitars. Female vocals were present too, so relevant to expand on the gothic "feel" to this eclipse. I'd have to say that they did a lot of experimentation that I think got blinded if you looked for more of a guitar based aura.
My opinion of the album improved on repeated listens to because I was behind on the philosophical metaphysics of artwork and transient binding of other uses of the guitar, relying more on the synthesizers and achieved a monumental overture of utter gothic annihilation. To conceive of this album as being poor in songwriting style, that would be an injustice to the band when it seemed like they wanted a more epic sounding feel or vibe instead of one focused on the guitars to revolutionize it's essence, when in reality it didn't seem like they really attempt to achieve and ambient sense of purpose.
I'll make the statement that yes, the drums pounding away especially the snare was a tad bit annoying, but it didn't dominate the recording, it simply meshed into the release quite well upon my contingency. Totally evil and despondent release here, which deviated from the norm and seemed to represent the gargoyles of doom. To tell you what to expect musically is a constant sauna of transient, epic, estranged epiphony of sounds like never heard before. It remains in my estimation to get an average rating though because I believe that gothic metal should emphasize more on the guitar overtures, not a weighty amount of synthesizers leading the way for a metal band.
Dani's voice seemed to have a high utmost apocalypse that was tainted with an echo filled sound to it only to drive it away with low end burly bits and as mentioned some guest female voice that dominates the aura that the album keyed off. This is extreme gothic metal revisited like a combination or what the first few albums depicted, but mixing it with all different kinds of sounds coming in from everywhere. A spellbinding apocalypse, blissfully filled with an evil sense of the end of the world in mind upon the main focus that the band achieved on here. I'd have to say a great effort, just not a favorable overall rating, but just average. I expected more guitar oriented bits and got jaded by it's nonexistence,
I started this review almost a year ago today, and it took me a lot of time to actually remember a reason why I wanted to do this. Perhaps its because I feel like this album gets far too much slack for what it actually is, and because of the band that now represents a giant zit on the face of the genre of Metal as a whole. Perhaps it is their own fault and any good they have done in the past is deservedly overlooked for the trash they release every other year.
However, I actually kind of like Cruelty and the Beast. The dark and terrifying tale of Elizabeth Bathory, her bloodlust, her infamous brutalizing of virgins for their blood in an attempt to reach some perverted fountain of youth, and her descent into madness. Now the keyword is clearly "Kind of" this album is not without faults, but it is not beyond recognition. What Cradle of Filth has done here is craft a very interesting and devious concoction of extreme metal coupled with extremely concise, clear, and clever lyricism. Dani Filth is a lot of things, but he is a very good lyricist. Be it detailing a lustfilled encounter between Elizabeth Bathory and a man she meets at a ball, in "Beneath the Howling Stars". The butchering of one of the many young women, and the subsequent bathing, and even getting a sexual thrill from, in the young women's blood, in "Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids." As such it becomes clear that this has always been the mode of operation behind Cradle of Filth. Perverse themes that tie into corruption, rage, royalty, and blood lust (see my pun?)
However, there are lots of problems with this album that prevents it from scoring a high grade, in my book. First, the production is terrible. This is one of the most poorly produced albums I have heard in years. Some people like the really leaky and echo-y production. But it sounds like Nick Barker's drums are too flat, and his bass drums are too triggered. The bass is completely lost in the mix, and the guitars are either simultaneously toned down or have too thin of a noise. Often times the only things that come out, powerfully, are Dani's vocals and the synthesizers.
I am sure I am not in the minority when I say Dani Filth's singing becomes incredibly taxing, and quite frankly, annoying after a few minutes. The majority of his vocals sound like an already high pitched, and yipping, Pomeranian getting kicked over and over. Then when he tries to lower his vocals into a darker growl, it sounds as though someone is pretending to be a pilot on a commercial airline, addressing the passengers,with how much his lyrics end up slurring together and becoming incoherent. Its just terrible and the fact that music around him can be so poorly produced, it makes a majority of the song just him yelping into the microphone while a weak and heavily triggered double bass tries to keep rhythm.
I actually am a fan of the interludes on this album, they set a haunting scene, and do a better job than most songs in general, of describing what is going through the head of Elizabeth Bathory. Some of the more haunting ones, like "Venus in Fear," feature a haunting melody playing to the sound of a woman being butchered to death. Through these interludes you can feel the hatred and blood lust boiling in the eyes of Elizabeth Bathory.
The album comes to a head when "Bathory Aria" picks up. A long song that brings the entire story of Elizabeth Bathory to a head. The better part of this song, is the finale when Sarah Jezebel Deva, the female background singer, narrates Elizabeth's final moments of insanity being forced to live alone and in seclusion in his castle where her beauty slowly rots away. Surprisingly the entirety of the album went along a lot faster than I had originally anticipated. Though, again, it seemed as though I was paying attention to reading the lyrics moreso than being interested in the poorly produced music.
Thats really the summary of the album. Its very well written, and there are occasional gems, such as "Beneath the Howling Stars," and "Thirteen Autums and a Widow," but once again its so poorly produced and the annoyance of Dani Filth's vocals just make the rest of the album a real disappointment, not in that it was awful, but that it could have been so much more. Perhaps if the album was put together with a different band, or recorded even with a different vocalist and better production, on atleast the rhythm section, this would be more than salvageable. As it stands, when the final interlude "Portrait of a Dead Countess" concluded, I felt satisfied as though the album wasn't a complete waste of time. Another example of an artist structuring a theme and creating an interesting concept for an album and keeping a listener interested.
Countess Báthory Erzsébet and Cradle of Filth have something in common. Elizabeth purportedly murdered young virgin girls to bathe in their blood and ensure her own immortality. Thus, one might conclude that she was one of history's 'vampires'. Dani Filth and his merry band of Gothic outcasts also wanted to be vampires, pretty hard. Just look at their pictures, in and out of their album packaging from the 90s. So it's only too fitting that the one might create a tribute album to the other, and this manifest rather early in the UK band's career, with '98's Cruelty and the Beast, an album that arrived during the estimable height of their popularity, as smoke shop haunting mall teens began snapping up their t-shirts and pissing off their families, friends, and clergy.
Cruelty and the Beast is vintage Cradle, performing in that confused blend of black and Gothic metal aesthetics that caused one of the biggest rifts in the band's once cult following. Primarily, this is a symphonic black metal in the vein of Emperor or Dimmu Borgir but with a lot more ingredients of traditional or power metal riffing thrown into the mix. You'll still get a lot of the band's vicious tremolo picking speed akin to Dusk and Her Embrace or the debut, dowsed in synthesizers, choirs and Sarah Jezebel Diva's operatic backups, but it certainly seemed here that the band were content with 'stretching' themselves and their Romantically adorned lyrical concepts into a wider array of moody, historical haunted house flavors and Dani Filth's schizoid garden of snarls, grunts and growls back when the guy could actually pull most of his 'character' off on stage.
When it works, as with the excellent "Desire in Violent Overture" (one of my individual favorites across the band's discography), it truly excels. A firm escalation of violent, spattered riffing born from black and grind is slathered with wild leads and a blast bridge (about 1:00 in) that explodes into this glorious, Iron Maiden-like dual power metal melody. I don't like the actual production of the drums on the album, but Nicholas Barker blasts and double basses with the best of them regardless of its rather hollow sound. Other highlights here would be "Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids", a thundering atmospheric piece which swaggers about numerous tempos; "Beneath the Howling Stars", which has some of the better faster picked riffs on the album and the band's heavily symphonic, Gothic centerpiece "Bathory Aria" which manages to survive 11 minutes of existence without trampling the listener into a puddle of muddy mascara.
Unfortunately, not all tracks here are created equally, and there are a few like the post-intro opener "Thirteen Autumns and a Widow" or "Lustmord and Wargasm (The Lick of Catharsis)" which amount to little more than scatterbrained fits of Goth-core that bite off a little more than they can actually chew. The intros and interludes are fitting enough symphonic ligaments for this sort of conceptual beast, but aside from possibly the intro ("Once Upon Atrocity") they seem a bit foppish and forgettable. The instruments are all well defined in the mix, and yet I admit I would have gone out for a more fulfilling guitar and drum tone, both of which often feel as if they're about to drown under the overflowing tub of bloodshed created by the vocals and keys. The ensuing effort Midian handled this range of elements and instruments far better, though it was a superior album all around.
As usual, one of my favorite ingredients to a Cradle of Filth album are the lyrics, and those written for Cruelty and the Beast might number among Filth's very best, loaded with imagery worthy of the saga's idealized, part-fictional Hungarian backdrop and the horrors of this particular noblewoman's sanguine vices. A smutty, seductive play upon the classic styles of poets like Wordsworth, Milton and Gray, and there can be no question of the effort spent in scribing them. It's a shame so many people hate this band on principle, since I feel that even their vocal opposition might enjoy thumbing through the lyrics themselves. All told, this is the album the Brits really needed to make in this period: dynamic and slightly more accessible than the last, yet not abandoning the ripping speed and chaotic conflagration of the band's earlier vision. It suffers a bit from inconsistent writing and being 'flanked' by superior works (Dusk, Midian), but there are at least a few examples here of properly drawn virgin plasma to soak in through the years.
Following the same note as Dusk and Her Embrace, Cruelty and the Beast brings forth even more vampire-themed Symphonic Black Metal, but this time there are some differences from the previous release. First of all, there are even more orchestral strings on this one. Secondly, Dani's vocals have become much better and his screeches aren't annoying this time. And last, but certainly not least, the lyrics revolve around countess Elizabeth Bathory's life, describing it in chronological order, as opposed to the lyrics from Dusk, who just offered us different stories about vampires, without being able to connect them in some way. Now let's get to the actual album.
Once Upon an Atrocity is a calm instrumental which begins with Sarah's low-note chanting, sounding almost like an Orthodox Christian choir. Truly creepy! Makes you feel as if you're trapped in a dark chamber in some medieval castle. The strings soon join, and they add more to the epic atmosphere, which sets the mood perfectly for the next song. Thirteen Autumns and a Widow has one of the best intros I've heard in a long time! It starts with synthesized choirs from the keyboard, to which the drums and guitars play a bit. When Dani comes in with his first screech, the drums play some great headbangable beats! And to make it even more awesome, Sarah Jezebel Deva joins in with her beautiful voice, singing the same song that the keyboard choirs are playing. Then Dani begins his growling and other stuff as the instruments and Sarah repeat the riffs with which the song began. Afterwards, the rest of the song is good ol' tremolo picking and Dani screeching. The ending, however, is a slower version of the intro, having some low-note choirs being played by the keyboard and Dani whispering here and there. But even so, the song manages to keep its slow tempo until it ends. Good opener for an amazing album!
Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids is the title track and one of Cradle's most played songs ever. And on its own right! This song is a masterpiece, and my favorite from the whole album! It starts with Sarah playing Elizabeth Bathory's role and speaking with an imposing voice: Hear me now! All crimes should be treasured if they bring thee pleasure somehow! Then the tremolo picked guitars come in, along with Nicholas' insane drumming. Dani comes in and growls a bit, and then the best part of the song starts. A horror movie like orchestral string riff comes in, and Dani whispers a bit. Then the riff is continued, this time with the rest of the instruments playing along it. Dani keeps narrating Elizabeth's story as well. Then the guitars continue their tremolo picking for some time, but not for long, as the strings make a fast return. That is when Dani practically sums up Elizabeth's story with the following lyrics:
"Raped of faith, She now embraced
The narcissistic unrest frozen on the mirror's face
With this disdain, inside these veins
(Highborn wanton that She was)
She sought to keep what age would claim
Her soul was sold and for this toll
Reeking pyres ever smouldered
On the whims of one so in control
Elizabeth, mysterious.
Cruelty brought thee orchids
From the bowels of the abyss"
This moment of pure epicness has no words to be described. After that ends, the guitars play some semi-heavy riffs and Dani screeches. You find some string parts here and there, and then we reach the song's bridge: a piano riff, whose catchiness makes you want to dance. The rest of the instruments, along with Dani's voice, add more epicness to that. Once the bridge is over, the riffs before it are played once again. This time we also have Sarah Jezebel Deva interpreting Elizabeth's role once more, as the countess was raping naked virgins before killing them for their blood. Again more riffs are repeated, and then we reach to the album's climax moment: the drums and guitars are playing, more brutal than ever, and then Dani screeches more than once: Cruelty and the Beast! The haunting string riff from before returns once more, everything creating a perfect atmosphere for the moments when Elizabeth tortured and killed those innocent girls. Then the guitars play more tremolo picked riffs, and afterwards we just have the drums, bass, keyboards and Dani. The keyboards play a different symphonic riff, which helps you imagine Elizabeth bathing in the blood of the girls she just killed. Dani repeats the lyrics which I've copy/pasted above, and then the haunting string riff comes back one last time. Then the keyboards, guitars and drums slow down a bit and Dani screams the word 'abyss', thus ending one of the band's masterpieces. Congratulations, Cradle of Filth, for making such a fantastic song, and one of my top favorites!
Beneath the Howling Stars starts with some strings. The instruments soon join them and play some fast riffs. Dani joins in and screeches here and there. There are also some few instrumental breaks, where you can only hear Sarah's singing and the bass. On those moments, Dani would scream 'Beneath the Howling Stars!', and things would get fast once more. By 2:23 we reach an organ interlude. It's probably the only church organ part in this whole album, and an awesome one indeed! It helps you see better the night ball at which Elizabeth attended which is described in Dani's lyrics. Sarah also joins in with some clean vocals. Once the organ riff is finished, a piano one starts, with Dani and Sarah singing/screeching beautifully. After the interlude finishes, we get some faster strings here and there, and also some beginning riffs repeated until the song ends. Venus in Fear is one of Cradle's creepiest instrumentals, ever! At first it may seem it's just another string instrumental, but soon you will hear the tortured screams of the virgins which Elizabeth killed AND the countess' sighs as she is about to have an orgasm. Truly a sick track!
Desire in Violent Overture returns the usual speed and screeches that we are used to with Cradle. Occasionally we get some keyboard melodies, but that's really all I can say about this song. The Twisted Nails of Faith begins with a creepy horror movie-like string intro, which also features a speech from Ingrid Pitt, Elizabeth Bathory's actress in the movie Countess Dracula. Then everything becomes heavy, and we also get Dani screeching as always. After a few minutes of heavyness, a cool string riff comes and everything is then built up around it, including Dani's vocals. Then the guitars stop and we can hear Dani whispering as the drums and piano accompany him. Afterwards everything gets heavy again and soon ends.
Bathory Aria is the second masterpiece off this album, right after Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids. It has all the great elements to make it a black metal symphony. It begins with Sarah's beautiful choir singing, once again sounding like a Christian choir, and she is soon followed by a mournful piano. Dani whispers a bit and when all the instruments join, the whispers become shrieks. Also, orchestral strings join the piano in playing the same mournful riff, making everything a delight for the ear. Once the strings cease to play, the song gets faster, not without Dani doing his typical vocal work. Then the guitar plays some tremolo picked riffs, and all the instruments join in again, but the speed does not remain for too long. In the following riff, Dani mostly speaks with his deep voice, as the drums play some catchy stuff. These elements are repeated until we reach the middle of the song. At 4:52 all the instruments, except for the keyboard, stop playing. Then you hear one of the most beautiful string piece ever, courtesy of Lecter's genius. It gives a perfect image of countess Bathory being on her way to her judges, which would soon seal her fate. The drums and guitars join, but with a much slower tempo than in the rest of the song. Dani screeches a bit more, and then we're left only with his voice, the drums and lead guitar. But not for long, as for once this riff ends, the orchestral strings join once again with the same beautiful riff. Dani screeches a bit to it, and then the speed returns once again. This is when Dani's vocals change from screeches and shrieks to growls. Afterwards, a piano plays and you can hear Elizabeth's accomplices being burned on the stake. Dani whispers something and then the final riff starts. It's a slow choir riff, with slow drumming and guitars as well. That's when Ingrid Pitt makes another return and delivers Elizabeth Bathory's final speech, making shivers fall down your spine. And thus, the countess has died and her soul had been taken "To peace, or hell for company". The only bad thing about this whole masterpiece is that at the very end, Dani just felt the need to do some useless screeching as all the instruments ceased playing. Portrait of the Dead Countess is the song that helps Bathory Aria to conclude the story. With even more mournful strings, this instrumental helps you imagine the corpse of countess Bathory as it had been discovered by the guard from the castle, as well as imagining her funeral. Truly epic feeling!
With all honesty, I'll tell you that Lustmord and Wargasm was a useless addition! They should've let the album end with Portrait of the Dead Countess, instead of adding this song which just has the rest of the album's elements, without anything catchy to add. All in all, this was an amazing listen, and one of Cradle's best albums! If I were to recommend it to someone, I would recommend it to avid symphonic black metal fans, vampiric metal fans OR fans of conceptual albums. This album is epic win on all these three levels. Sadly, it would be Cradle's final symphonic black metal album, but NOT their last great album.
Favorite tracks: Thirteen Autumns and a Widow, Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids, Beneath the Howling Stars, The Twisted Nails of Faith, Bathory Aria.
Cradle of Filth have produced seven albums proper in a career which now spans almost two decades. This album was their last release worth buying. "Cruelty and the Beast" does not really sound much like any other Cradle of Filth album. That is not to say it isn't good; it is arguably one of their best.
The album is self produced, and whilst the quality is generally good, the drum sound is slightly tinny. This only really stands out after a good few listens, and this is compensated by Nick Barker who is actually a fantastic drummer.
Like most Cradle of Filth records, this is a concept album. It probably sticks to this concept more rigidly than the other releases (for example songs on "Midian" and "Dusk and her embrace" being loosely tied in to one lyrical theme) chronologically recounting the story of the blood countess Elizabeth Bathory.
Whilst the previous album, "Dusk…" was heavily influenced by a NWBHM sound (notably Iron Maiden), "Cruelty…" whilst keeping the heavy metal aura, has an overlying, sisters of mercy-esque, goth feel pulsing through it. This is a welcome change, as they haven't simply tried to re-hash the preceding album.
Songs like 'Thirteen autumns and a widow' and 'Cruelty brought thee orchids' have remained fan favourites and firmly lodged in most live set lists since. More epic efforts 'Bathory aria' and 'The twisted nails of faith' provide a captivating and decidedly spooky sonic experience. Even the albums weaker moments ('Beneath the howling stars' 'Desire in violent overture') serve as exceptionally good examples of gothic black metal.
Countless bands aspire to producing this kind of material and attaining the success that Cradle of Filth's own brand of 'tongue in cheek' black metal and industry savvy has earned them. This release marks the transition from quality albums to the instantly forgettable filler they produce now, and serves as an epic swan-song for most of the band's original fan base.
Stand-out tracks: 'Thirteen autumns and a widow' 'Cruelty brought thee orchids' 'Lustmord and Wargasm – the lick of carnivorous winds'
Cruelty and the Beast, and the band who made it, is either loved or loathed. On one hand, fans praise this album as CoF's best outing and a harbringer of the band's sound, claiming it as an artistic coming-of-age; on the flip-side. those who never liked the band in the first place bash this album relentlessly, citing that the band's over-the top vampiric image had gone entirely too far, and that the music was vapid and weak. While this certainly isn't the band's best or worst offering, it has its faults which set it apart from everything else in the band's discography; which somehow seems to work in CoF's favor.
By no means does this album offer the epic soundscapes of the famous Dusk... and Her Embrace, which took gothic metal to a whole new extreme. CoF tamed a lot of things for this release: Dani's vocals are more in the style he uses now than the ear-piercing shriek seen on the preceeding album, and though the keyboards are still very much present in the mix, they've taken a backseat to guitar harmonies, leadwork, and Dani's incessant vocal patterns. The interludes/intros that CoF are known for still come through, though these one are not as spectacular as ones on later albums; they seem to serve the purpose of setting atmosphere than breaking the music up.
Another noticeable change is the production. Though everything is significantly clearer and more polished than the band's previous albums, the majority of passion and aesthetic is lost; Dusk... and Her Embrace placed the listener into a true Gothic atmosphere with its pseudo-classical flair and Byron-esque lyrics. Cruelty, on the other hand, seems more bent on brutality. Nick's drums are out front in the mix, maybe a bit too much for their own good; the bass drum is exactly the same level as the snare, so there's a non-stop pounding during the faster moments, especially "Desire in Violent Overture". Guitar work seems a bit more ominus in riff work, as seen on "Beneath the Howling Stars" and the sprawling "Bathory Aria". However, the classic Maiden-esque harmonies are still in full swing and work gloriously on "Cruelty Brought thee Orchids".
Despite the differences, this is an important release in the band's catalogue. Indeed, it was the beginning of the band's new sound. The songwriting methods have gotten slightly better; slower moments are more layered and tend to hold the listener's interest more, and the thrashy numbers have more variety. Since the keyboards aren't as obvious, the band achieved a greater sense of balance with the instruments.Furthermore, songs like "Thirteen Autumns and a Widow" have ultimately gone down as fan favorites and classic live songs. "Bathory Aria", though a bit overambitious and disjointed in the latter half, proved that the band did indeed have the balls, talent, and patience to compose a song of epic proportions that expressed the true nature of the album.
The guitar work is definitely one of album's high points. "Desire in Violent Overture" contains ripping lead work and scorching harmonies, while the aforementioned "Bathory Aria" takes the guitar work into more epic, emotional territory. The all-around atmosphere isn't as "gothic" as any of the band's previous songs, but still maintains a nostalgic, vampiric aesthetic. Wonderful harmonies weave webs around the listener on "Thirteen Autumns and a Widow", as well as the closer "Lustmord and Wargasm." Nick's drum skills are also of special note; he doesn't go apeshit here like he does in Dimmu Borgir, and does help to push the music along with swift battery and brutal double bass drumming while maintaining a degree of technicality with fills and rolls.
Cruelty and the Beast shows CoF's keyboards at their best before going cheesy. You won't find an excessive use of organs here, but instead a use of mournful string sections, powerful choirs, and some brass instruments. "Portait of a Dead Countess" is one of the best interludes the band has composed, and the waltz-like pianos on "Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids" helps bring a somewhat romantic flair back to the band's sound. "Beneath the Howling Stars" is one of the only songs to use organs, but not for an extended amount of time. Though this album doesn't have as much atmosphere, the keyboards still serve an integral role to the band's sound.
Dani's vocals certainly shifted gears. On the upside, his highs are much more restrained and comprehensible than the vocal work of the first two albums. His growls are still rough, but are better as well. There is some interesting layering here, and Dani does a wise job of crossing the highs and lows together. The lyrics certainly are long-winded and maintain the poetic flair of former works, but there is a larger use of metaphors, giving everything a cryptic veil of mystery.
Though it's certainly an oddball in the CoF discography, it's an important one; not just for the band, but also for metal.
Highlights: "Cruelty Brought thee Orchids", "Bathory Aria", "Lustmord and Wargasm".
Considering how much of a fucking twat I was when I originally reviewed this album, I really hope people were able to find the purpose amongst the bullshit wordcrafting and generally piss-poor sense of "humor" I employed.
Why am I re-reviewing this? To cover my ass, really.
My opinion really hasn't dislodged since my initial listen, but in fact, has become more bitter. If you will, imagine the spine tingling darkness and edge of such musical progedies as say, the Insane Clown Posse, then inoculate a bunch of mongoloid post-black metal burnout BDSM aficionados with the aforementioned "parental advisory" 'tude, and you've basically got yourself a campily sarcastic, macabre-tinged vampire porno romp. Throw in some instrumentation and you've got yourself one of the shittiest turnaround albums I've ever heard.
I'm not really sure what it is about this album that throws me into such a "hulk smash world"-esque rage, as compared to the previous releases (each of which I'll admit my quasi-admiration for), it's not all that different, but there's just something undeniably off about this mundane crank of sound. The excessive keyboarding just seems to overwhelm all possible atmospheric bleakness the guitars would have produced, the catchiness of Dusk And Her Embrace has all but dissipated, and the vocal patterns of frontman Dani Filth just lack the glorious "oomph" required to elevate him above the soundtrack provided by a decent sized rat being slowly crushed by a cardboard bailer. In fact, the vocals are probably the most tangible gripe I can fisty-cuff with. His approach is what initially drew my interest to the group, and this half-assed performance (albeit nowhere near as awful as his followup performances) proves to be impossible for me to get over, especially with the exceedingly lengthy lyrics on this album. The drumming of Nicholas "Uncle Fester" Barker is pretty fucking good to be honest, failing to enter the territory I from this point on dub "BM Generica", featuring lots of those crazy "blastbeats" that are not tired out in the slightest. No sir. Why the hell he screws around with these guys and Dimmu Borgir boggles my mind...
The bonus disc is truly atrocious, though, and I sometimes regret the fact that I even gave it a shot... the way they utterly butt-rape Sodom and Iron Maiden is inexcusable, even though I can't claim fanship of the latter act...
Overall, a total waste of time. Stick with the originals; they kick this shit down a flight of stairs equivalent to the autobon is length. Psh-tosh.
Why is this release good? Well, it has a lot of "good" parts and not much filler (unlike later releases) and has a really harsh drum sound, along with razor guitars. The songwriting is still somewhat serious, and it's a really awesome headbanger. Why isn't it great? Because unlike Dusk and Her Embrace, it's impossible to take this thing even 90% seriously. It doesn't posess that dark, demonic atmosphere of the previously mentioned masterpiece. The instrumentals are mediocre at best (with the exception of Portrait of the Dead Countess) and even that one seems to building up and such without really going anywhere. It's akin to driving really fast and wasting gas, while really having no destination in mind and going in circles while your at it. The instrumentals end without having a climax (girls, imagine a dude who cums in a minute- guys, imagine a girl with a really loose vagina. The instrumentals are like that.)
The Bathory Aria has about 4 or 5 minutes of filler. They had something going with part two and even part one, but they didn't elaborate on that, and spent time on part three, which was pretty horrid, to tell you the truth. The riff on part three was repeated over and over again, and kinda sucked. They had a brief pause, and it seemed they might actually play a great riff, and they returned to the horrible riff.
Another thing, Dani really needs to shut up!!!! The songs did not increase in length from Dusk and Her Embrace, but the lyrics almost increased twofold. Shit, I wished Dani Filth would just SHUT THE FUCK UP for once.
About the good parts of this album. The second track (the first true song) was really awesome. It was the epitome of the beauty side of COF, and was truly awesome. The drumming was good, but it was fucking awesome throughout the whole album.
The third song, which was slower, but way more epic, was pretty awesome. Again, though, Dani needed to shut up. But we already knew that. The song, the first time I heard it, left me floored. It was that good.
The forth one, Beneath the Howling Stars, was a bit boring upon first listen, but really grew on me after that. It has a kind of "halloween, transylvania" feel to it. The pipe organs don't hurt, also.
The sixth song is a vicious thrashy song. It seemed out of place on this album, but oh well. The drumming is fucking awesome on this song.
The seventh, The Twisted Nails of Faith, was pretty much filler shit until the ending, which I felt should have been the ending for the Bathory Aria.
The tenth song, Lustmord and Wargasm, is like the sixth one, Desire in Violent Overture, but better. It was pretty much heavy, fast, AND melodic. Totally awesome.
But a detriment, was the lyrics. Instead of writing dark eulogies and eloquent oratories like on Dusk and Her Embrace, Dani basically was saying "Look at me and my humoungous vocabulary." It was kinda embarrassing to read them.
What's particularly sad is that this is the last truly awesome album. Midian was ok, but it's sad, because you compare a song like A Gothic Romance (Red Roses for the Devil's Whore) to songs like Gilded Cunt, Coffin Fodder, and Filthy Little Secret from Nymphetemine, and it almost makes me wanna cry, if I wasn't so busy laughing at how horrible COF has gotten. Even when they did Midian, the lyrics were in the Sucking department. The music soon followed. Even Midian's predecessor, From The Cradle To Enslave, sucked. Apparently COF is dead set against alienating their original base so they could appeal to the more moneyed mallcore and mallgoth crowd. I hang my head in shame. X[
Cruelty and The Beast, Cradle of Filth's third official release into the music world under the label Music For Nations, enraptures a listener who delves much more deeply into the music. A person can skim through the songs and not truly appreciate the genius of this record. This is mainly due to the fault of the production. The drums are severely weak, thus, there is no power. Guitars seem thin - and if your treble is too high your stereo, you will most likely have bleeding ears after Daniel Filth is done. The keyboards are extremely processed and do not come out very well. Sarah Jezebel Deva also seems to just disappear, but if you listen closely, you can hear her beautiful work.
In order to appreciate the quality of this record, you need to look past the obvious flaws of production, and the acquired taste of Mr. Filth. Another thing to note, is that there had already been short of a dozen line-up changes prior to this record. Lez Lector takes over keyboard duties from Damien, Stuart Amstis had taken over the guitar spot of Paul Ryan after the Principal debut, and Gian Piras was the chosen one to replace Paul Allender, who had left the band in 1996 to raise his son. The only original members at this point were Dan Filth, Robin Graves, and Nicholas Barker. So, coming into Cruelty and The Beast was almost a whole new band.
The album is a conceptual - lyrically based on the "Blood Countess" Elizabeth Bathory, a 16th noble woman who bathed in blood of young peasant and noble women. After an estimated 650 victims, her accomplices were put to death, and stone men covered up the windows and doors, leaving one small hole for food to pass through. She died at age 44, face down in her castle in 1614, just four years after she was walled inside her castle.
We start off with the instrumental "Once Upon Atrocity," which is a very thought provoking piece. It's dissonance creates the atmosphere for the opening chords of "Thirteen Autumns and A Widow." Faint chorals fade in as the album starts. An array of instruments start to come in and create a great introduction to the album.
After the instrumental, "Thirteen Autumns and A Widow" comes roaring with tremolo picked chords. Quick drumming and vocal layers start to come in as a simple, but effective, chord progression remains to play. Then the interesting parts come, Cradle of Filth are very successful at combining melodic qualities while still maintaining a level of extremity. The spoken words of the melodic tremolo notes are quick effective behind Nicholas top drumming. Also note the nice solo! However, Dani sings over it, so you can't get into it as much as you would like it. This is a pretty packed song, with various feels and tempo switches. Listen to Nicholas bass drum work and his cymbal usage, complimenting the guitar riffs.
Next, Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids, Sarah speaks a nice passage, and the trademark Filth scream echoes your stereo and a beautiful synchronized tremolo riff beckons to be turned up louder. The great thing about this song: Robin is audible. There are many instances where is bass stands out and makes the presence of the song that much more powerful. This song is filled with harmonies and melodic guitar riffs, with vocal overlays. It's particularly difficult to hear everything at once, as there are plenty of keyboard tracks adding to the power of this song. The most amazing part of this song starts at 3:03, as the tempo picks up and Dani shrieks, and Nicholas pounds his snare and the Sarah sings beautiful over the top, and then the drums and keyboards take over. Followed by that is a spoken verse with a great piano line and accompanying strings. On top of all that, harmony guitar riffs! Simply amazing. This song will need to be listened to multiple times before you're able to comprehend everything that is going on at once.
Beneath the Howling Stars starts with an eerie organ progression and the trademark Cradle of Filth tremolo guitar riff, and Nick's superb blasting abilities. Nick's bass and cymbal usage to compliment the synchronization of the guitar riffs are definitely something to take note of. At about 1:00, Nick rips off sextuplet double bass drum fills like we eat our cereal in the morning, as he keeps impeccable time. Again, the musicianship of Gian and Stuart shine as they play a perfectly harmonized guitar part. After some time, the song slows down, a tubular bell rings in the background as a pipe organ plays a somber progression. Sarah performs quality spoken quotes as Robin's bass powers through.
After that, we move into the instrumental Venus In Fear. This is probably the only thing I do not like about this record, as it's basically a bunch of women screaming with a keyboard pad synth playing some simple notes, and very delicate bell sounds are played in the back. The string part is quite nice though. But it's somewhat all ruined with the torture screams.
Desire In Violent Overture - Amazing! The trademark tremolo riff, and Nicholas' blast beat explode your speakers as Dani does what he does best: scream. One thing to note right now, is DanI uses his vocals in quite a range during this whole album, but it's quite notable on this track. Another thing, is the obvious leads played by Stuart right before Nicholas starts to blast again, just like a machine! After this, there is a groove part, with a harmonized guitar riff. The harmony is three guitars ending with a pick scrape into power chords, palm muted at the end. Nick's fill blazes you back into the blast beat as Gian and Stuart tremolo pick their way into a bass solo before the bridge is repeated, with slightly different orchestration. The song does have a repetition, but the overlays of vocals and keyboards do keep you interested, as does the quality of Nick's skin beating as he rips off sextuplet bass drum lines again, and intensifies his blast beats by using the very raw china cymbal.
"The Twisted Nails of Filth" comes into your mind with a high pitched string line… with a varying degree of spoken words and instruments, the best part being the very low note made by the strings. The song then bursts into a groove drum beat with Dani shrieking (of course) and power chords. This is probably Cradle of Filth's most "thrash" song on this album as the power chords play a big role. Nick's use of the crash cymbal brings out the guitars rawness as they are played in an intricate picking style. Again, not to point out Nick's bass drum usage during the drum and vocal solo would just be a sin. It almost seems that two people are playing at once, as the kicks are doing something totally different from of the kit. This song is quite repetitive as well, stacking up to almost 7:00. But there is a great blast part followed by a nice synth section with overlaying vocals - creating an atmosphere is what CoF does best!
Ah, the epic "Bathory Aria." An 11 minute masterpiece, as the song flows from section to section, creating the whole world of the 16th century. Starting with a very saddening piano line, and a whisper of Dani's voice. Enter the feedback of guitars, and then the ballad of Elizabeth Bathory starts. This song contains various degrees of compositional mastery, brought forth by all members of the band. It definitively will take you more than one listen to understand what is all going on! And then, with a thunder, the song kicks into high gear, with a high guitar melody and a crunching tremolo power chord underneath. Continued through this song, is that high melody. Other great things to point out about this song are the abundance of riffs. This song isn't exactly repetitive. Even though it is 11 minutes, you generally have more than enough to listen to. I do have to say, though, that the end of the song does drag on and does get a tad bit boring. A minor detail!
"Portrait of the Dead Countess." An effective suffix to the epic Bathory Aria. A combined layer of string lines play as if to paint a portrait of, you guess it, Elizabeth. The song will allow your imagination to run free, and picture whatever it is you'd like to take as her world.
The album ender, Lustmord and Wargasm, is great. A perfect closure to the concept of Ms. Bathory. Strings slowly fade in a melodic string line penetrates the rhythm of the lower strings. The violin slowly vibratos as other instruments and chorals start to fade in, and finally, the blasting of guitars playing the same melody overtake you as Dani begins his magic. This song is packed with beautiful harmonized guitar lines, blast beats, vocal overlays, and keyboards. It's definitely an encore to the album, Cruelty and The Beast.
Seriously folks, when this record was first released the media attention it received from the underground cannot be understated. Everything seemed ready to break into the open, with Cradle of Crap leading the way for band after band to bring the diluted "gothic black metal" to the masses.
Thankfully, this CD was universally disliked and the whole movement failed to generate the eventual promise of greatness that later "big label" releases such as "Midian" and "Damnation and a Day" attempted to capture. This record was the thankful weakening point of the whole CoF concept.
Musically, the "classical" compositions work well enough as horror-movie fodder, setting up an ominous mood similar to a Hammer Horror styled film. Sadly, the guitar/drumwork often drones in and out of the mix leaving little melody or hook to work from. This was probably the bands most unique line-up, with each member playing a sort of "role" in the visual aspect of the band but these musicians cannot lift this droning goth-opera styled music to any form of useful climax. Sure, "Desire and Violent Overture" and "Lustmord and Wargasm" blast out some pretty good drum/guitar work but it does little to make the record
The artwork and lyrics make good for the band, but like the keyboard instrumentals they do little to lift this from being a droned-out gothic slop-fest that is more of an ego-piece for Dani and his seventeen annoying voices than anything else. Sure, the man can twist the English language with a certain gift that few others can, but without the strong riffwork and performance needed to bring his witty goth-poems to life the elaborate artwork with it's witty andecotes can do little to improve the entire affair.
It was an interesting concept...and certain members of the band tried hard to put this together in a highly memorable form but the end result of this is a feeling of failed gothic pomp that does little to drive one into a sense of genuine theatrical interest.
Skip it and buy a Bathory record...
(The bonus CD is eqaully pointless...though the Maiden cover rates as "ok".)
The name of this album is Cruelty and the Beast, but actually, it just depicted half of its content. In my opinion, the most appropriate way to describe this one should be Beauty and the Beast.
Because in this album, cradle of filth had continued its style of pretty gothic black metal, which mixes lots of elements from other kinds of music, and makes the song itself sounds kaleidoscopic. Dani Filth¡¯s voice is adapted to the melodic song structure and many female voices that are used in this album. Actually, this one has many samplings of female sound, nearly making it a little over-polished. But you must admit, it matches their style very well. It does not sound like something of plethora, but becomes an important part of this album. With all of this samplings, beside the cruel black metal music, this album gains some erotic atmosphere, which is the most remarkable feature that cradle of filth had brought to the musical kind of black metal.
Compared to their earlier album, dusk and her embrace, this album became more fair-sounding and popular, and in some extent lost some essential spirit of black metal. The music can be accepted by much more people than some earlier black metal, and gives cradle of filth a success in commercialization. But, this is not the point we concern most, what we take care is the quality of the album itself.
Okay, I'll admit that I enjoyed their previous albums, but I sure don't classify this band as black metal for obvious reasons. They're more like atmospheric Iron Maiden with extreme metal elements. Up 'til here, things were at least interesting.
That's the problem with this album. Apart from adding in a few Suffocation-esque vocals, the whole thing really feels tired and boring. Absolutely NOTHING new here. Songs are long, but they don't really build or go anywhere. It is really frustrating, because with bands like this, who build really long epic songs, you expect powerful changes at appropriate moments, but when the change comes around it's a big let down. A few good riffs here and there, then the rest is total filler.
The atmosphere that was on Dusk... is pretty much gone. Oh yeah, they throw in the obligatory keyboard intros, but as I've always found, they're total filler. Crap! Oh, and no soaring Maiden-esque melodies either. It's like they wanted to do Principle of Evil... again to look hard, but instead took two steps back.
What really pisses me off is the drum sound, which is nearly as bad as St. Anger in places. Listen to the first real song on here...the bass drums sound like the fucking snare! And that doesn't change throughout the album. AAARRRGH! Dusk and Her Embrace had a really full sound to it, which worked wonders with this atmospheric music, but on here, with a more "brutal" sound, this shit doesn't work anymore. You need some bottom end for music like this, and this album most certainly lacks that.
Sweet packaging but a cowpie of an album inside...sheesh. At least they ditched the stupid ass vampire shit for this album.
I'm quite aware that black metal fans hate this band, as they're not black metal but are often confused for it much as Marilyn Manson is for goth. A lot of metal noobs confuse anything with shrieky raspy vocals -- originating in Bathory, though they wouldn't know it -- and corpse paint as black metal, myself included for the first month or two I found CoF about 5 years ago. This certainly isn't black metal, as it lacks crucial elements of the genre, though to think that this band never listened to Bathory or Mayhem would be absurd.
CoF's style of music is usually called "faggoth," and usually contains a few is half-decent fast tremolo riffs reminiscent of bands like Dark Funeral, some occasional bass work, but is mostly defined by the overdone but weak drumming, the really shitty vocals, and especially the all-drowning keyboards. However, this isn't goth either, even though CoF is known for their terrible cover of goth as well as black metal songs in their attempt to court fans. Most goths would probably find this to be very tacky, though they may or may not like the lyrics.
This entire album is a drawn-out account of the fictional life of our favorite blood-bathing countess, Elizabeth Bathory. The lyrics to the album are actually very well written, show a large vocabulary that's actually well-used and not just thesaurus abuse, and it far surpasses the usual ubiquitous "dark" poetry. However, most of it is based around vampires, demons, witchcraft, and eeevil women, and most metal heads would probably consider it to be for "goth" pussies, which I will not completely refute.
Once Upon Atrocity is just a simple pseudo-symphonic keyboard intro that grows from quiet to loud. Nothing amazing or memorable.
Thirteen Autumns and a Widow instantly shows what most of this is about -- keyboards and pseudo-symphonic effects, along with hideous vocals that drown out the occasional fast riffing and drumming. Dani Filth can write lyrics, but he's probably the shittiest vocalist in metal. This song mostly drones on, and sucks.
I considered Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids a song I liked years ago or so, but it's rather mediocre in my book nowadays. The drumming is weak and the keyboards are poorly used but the riffs aren't half bad. It's seven minutes long, but switches up enough to stay somewhat interesting.
Beneath the Howling Stars could have potential, if it didn't have whispering slow moments filled with keyboards and a dying rat on vocals. There's actually some pretty good riffs in this song, but it's the exception, and not the rule.
Venus in Fear is just a female orgasm keyboard song with screaming mixed in. I can see them thinking as they made this: "Does this make you randy?"
Desire in Violent Overture -- the guitars might be good if I could hear them over the fucking overdrumming. At 40 seconds, they begin doing 5 second half solos. The guitars at 1:15 aren't a bad idea, and might have worked somewhere else -- though it's sort of a slowed down, simplified Iron Maiden riff. They also really should just let whoever the girl is (Deva?) sing instead of Dani Filth, and then it'd be a huge step better.
The Twisted Nails of Faith begins with some pseudo-Halloween music. The riffs that begin the actual song a minute later aren't terrible, and if it sounded like this the whole time, it might be worth listening to. Then we hear a screech of "Three moondials froze..." and the guitars almost disappear. The lyrics to this song, however, are kind of funny.
Bathory Aria. 11 minutes of suck, and that's all I have to say.
Portrait of the Dead Countess is another quasi-sympnhonic sounds like something I heard in a movie before.
LustMord and Wargasm sounds like there's a rapid-fire cap gun off for most of the drumming. When you hope there's going to be some guitar work, it just comes back with more tick-tick-tick drumming that doesn't even thud. Then, at 2:35, it becomes good for a whole 15 seconds. Dani Filth's vocals drop from shrieks, and the riff is pretty thrashy. If they could sound like that the whole time, it'd be much better -- but they just return to the usual random shrieks, terrible overdrumming, keyboards, and random female vocals with random good riffs here and there, as well as an unremarkable ten second solo at 7:05.
Fortunately, I also have the single CD version with none of their ridiculously butchered and outright godawful cover songs. An album full of those would be almost as bad as St. Anger...
This isn't absolute total shit as some would say, but it's pretty bad. It has some occasional riffage in it, even if everything else is rather horrid. It's not worth any money, and the only thing that's really any good about it is the lyrics, which are on countless internet sites for free.
If you really want to join the cool crowd and must, must listen to Cradle of Filth, get Dusk and Her Embrace instead. This album, however, is slightly better than Midian and isn't nearly as bad as Bitter Suites or anything afterwards. Or if you just happen to like the vocal style for some reason, get an Anal Cunt album instead, Seth does it far better. If you're looking for black metal but don't know where to go, pick up Beherit's Drawing Down the Moon, Graveland's Celtic Winter, Immortal's Pure Holocaust, or the classics like Hellhammer's Apocalyptic Raids and Bathory's The Return.


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A requirement that health plans must permit you to enroll regardless of health status, age, gender, or other factors that might predict the use of health services. Except in some states, guaranteed issue doesn't limit how much you can be charged if you enroll.
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subset: commoncrawl


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ORA Dental Studio pampers its guests with in-wall iPod docks to play their own music, HD satellite TV and radio during treatment, massaging treatment chairs, complimentary Wi-Fi, and lemon scented facial towels along with an all organic refreshment bar.
ORA Dental Studio is currently featured in New Beauty Magazine. More information can be found at www.oradentalstudio.com and www.orasurgery.com.
Contact: Amy Dorris-Hulth/Adrianna Allen
Company: Two Muses Media & Entertainment
Phone: 917-561-1062/917-446-6789
Fax: 312-960-9061
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Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/ORA/Dental_Studio/prweb1861544.htm
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Bratton picked as minority leader of NM House
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Republican state Rep. Donald Bratton of Hobbs was picked as minority leader of the New Mexico House of Representatives.
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The worry is real. Ms. Reding is an unelected leader, who does not represent the people of Hungary. Then she attends secretive conferences, where decisions are made about Hungary (and about others).
As noted in previous posts, this is a confluence of undemocratic forces. Unelected leaders with actions lacking in transparency is a cause for worry. The EU is not a democratic institution.
Mrs. Reding's credibility as an impartial EU comisioner is proven to be flawed not only by what she may have said at a secretive meeting, but also by her actions as EU commisioner. She tears into Hungary for little things, while a few months back, when Ethnic Hungarian MP from Romania Laszlo Tokes aproached her to inform her that in Romania the court system is being used in a double standard, ad-hoc manner in order to hurt the Hungarian minority in Transylvania, she told him to take a hike. In other words, the fact that Hungary's new constitution may harm the status of the hindu religion to which maybe 5,000 individuals in hungary belong to is reason for her to call for a crucade against that country, but the 1.3 million EU citizens of Hungarian descent living as a historical minority in Transylvania, can be subjected to double standards by Romanian oficials and judges with unlimited impunity for all she cares. If she was trully concerned about the rule of law, uniformly and with impartiality within the EU, would she behave like this?
@ Zoli - Correct, absolutely correct - reding is just part of this anti-Orban / Hungarian way which is challenging the status quo of the not only the EU but the long-standing structures behind it. She doesn't give a hoot about Hungarians, as confirmed by what you state re totally ignoring the abuse of ethnic Hungarian rights in Transylvania as well as Slovakia, instead she's just a political ladder-climber solely interested in getting even more power and prestige. She needs to be stopped, not just for Hungary's sake, but for that of EU integrity. But sadly, the EU demogogues will always defend one of their own so we shouldn't expect her to just acknowledge her bilderberger comments and admit she's using Hungary to further her own political ends, nor expect her to be sacked by the EU for her hypocracy. So, so much for EU integrity, huh?
Those who critique the current government of the country are actually doing the Hungarian people a favor because domestic criticism s all too foten dismissed as empty rhetoric from partizan politicians.
Ms Redding is a CONSERVATIVE and member of the same EU political family Fidesz belongs to.
Zoli wrote: "Mrs. Reding's credibility as an impartial EU comisioner [sic] is *proven* to be flawed not only by what she *may* have said..."
As the quote shows, it is only the credibility of these self-appointed Defenders of Hungary and their Fidesz government friends that is lacking.
The Orban government is often criticized that they have a very poor communication strategy, and that they come across as the elephant in the china store.
But to be fair, the same goes for Viviane Reding. She doesn't seem to be capable of handling things in a diplomatic manner. She does not respect other people's cultural sensitivities. She is a boarish sow dressed in a political suit.
only a few know what was discussed about there. One thing is for sure, however. I know Reding and also we all know her track record. We are pretty much sure that she is totally unqualified for the job she holds and only an organization like the EU establishment would give her another choice. shame on the EU.
..and one more thing. with these sorts of "leaders" the EU/Brussels is bound for disaster.
Vivi Reding is simply undermining Hungarian democracy by questioning the legitimacy and democratic commitment of the government which was elected by an extremely high popular support (53% of voters voted for the government party in 2010). Because of the high bank, telecom and energy taxes I am sure that lots of lobby-groups are active against Hungary in the EU and we all know what these lobbyists can achieve in this beautiful organization in Brussels. Honestly, it is a shame.
But specially to the last d*mb-a*s one above, the : "(ab)Normal anonym(enem)aus"
Please verymuchkindly kapd-nyeld mán' be !
I did very disappointed of the EU Parliament's vicious attack on the Hungarians internal "matters" !
Europe - Look out ! The "kocos" was born in Hungary Gönczcz Kingazaccz, than (from 'the franccc') Cohn-Bendit , than Eva Lichtenberger, Ulrike Lunacek, Hannes Swoboda all from the next great "friendly neighbors" of "AUSTRIA", so the troops are on the move !
Of course not on the British, not on the Germans, not on the "Skandinavs"(YET !), not on the "WEST" BUT ON THE EAST !
The EU is OVER ! They Start Attacking a sovereign Nation Hungary(as they did at ww.2.), attacking again from the west to east as they always did this- through out History !
Mrs. Morvai is right -(!)today...(!)- Hungary is NOT a Colony(if we, the Hungarians don't stand up today, than tomorrow's "Colony" will be yours, any Country !!!!!) !
Get the HE*L OUT OF THE EU !
Greece for the next 200 years and any other Country, who touches their toxic MONEY is OVER-finito-gone !
We can't allow this for Hungary- or any true and great nation !
-You may Congrat. to all the jewish saboteurs in Hungary and around the world who are attacking everywhere the Country Hungary - by the way who gave them shelter/home, who gave them power, who gave them life... !
Eu Parliament members from the MSZP : gönczcc(kocos) kingazacccz, tabaj-dibli czaba, gurmac zita, herczog edit .
Margitova and Veronikovú ! Arn't you glad today? Can you be any happier-
what a great DAy for all r*tard-trait*rs ...
Excuse moi !
*it was attended to the cretin traitors(although we got some here to )for the article of :
"Central European Manufacturing Indexes Offer Hope"
Srry !
Glad to see the government lapdogs appearing everywhere. The best way to use taxpayer money.
Also, the guilty until proven innocent sentiment is very amusing.
"sdp" !
"Small world..after all- Jackals !", in the defected condition -for some-, what "sdp" could only stand for is "Screeching Dog/butt Perfume-stick". How can we know that you're trying to run off the "betrayers pauldron" or not- but if you are, than- that cleansing "run off" can't happen to you, 'cause by a betrayer "guilty mud infected mind" won't let you,..you can smear with it, but trust me friends, it can't happen :
""It's a small world after all. / Chorus...
It's a world of laughter, a world of tears.
It's a world of hopes and a world of (!)FEARS(!) ...""
..my message to you push-over, arrogant lying moochers is "..you can run, but you can't hide for long from the LAW !"- You dirty thieves, because what you or your forefathers did makes you feel every night in bed : we wish, that won't let you sleep - just w. heavy therapy and serious medication !
IMO the EU is the most artificial state to date. Its fragility exists - in it only takes one major player to pull out, as its foundations is no more solid than a house of cards.
In this case it's purely a battlement for the socialists and anti-Orbanists to fire their poisoned arrows from - in tandem with another interest, which I won't name for reasons of being accused an anti-semitist.
Hungary needs to stand proud and not have the work today, however amateurish in some ways it has been carried out - undone.
It's plain to all, Hungary has no or very little friends within the EU, if they have their way, the country/culture as it is known today, would cease to exist. Chunks of history and heritage will be sold off or removed because it offends, its treasures (water the next liquid gold) sold off or put under the control of externals.
Vivian Reding, is as guilty as her co conspirators (the ex-prime minister for example) in not working for the benefit of Hungary, to add which is a member of the EU, they are only looking to see what they can milk for the benefit of the EU Union, at the countrys expense.
To : Mark
Welcome back in this "Club of......." and you you fill the blank MY SOBER FRIEND !
Your words are pure wisdom !
"House of Cards" ! As you know those silly things can be put up from scratch in two ways. One is like what I see in Europe/ EU - in the "Club of....", the other is by hart and love ! There are others like in the US. and one in e.g. India !
- In "my book" there are more but i live smtg. to others, just fot "food for thoughts" but not to put others in coma with it ! - In "my book" your mentioned card of house, should built up with caring and gentle hands ! The USA did it long ago- out of colonizers-slavemakers -the killers- grip, they built the base to it, in India on the other hand...
India is special or interesting-teach us smtg. but they don't need one yet ! If crooks try to make one in their Country on loose ground, up to a point - utill it shambles/or kills-, but if that "house" does any damage, than the crook(i.e. vivien"bilderberg" reding) better be run off the MAP !
Emerging Europe Real Time provides sharp analysis and insight into what's making news in Central and Eastern Europe. Drawing on the expertise of our reporters in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Turkey, the site provides an inside track on economics, politics and business in this emerging part of the European continent.
Check out the main contributors to the blog and their bios here.


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New York bus accident lawyer David Perecman comments on the serious bus accidents in New York that can and do occur, including the recent Trailways bus accident.
Eight people were injured when a New York City bound Trailways bus rear-ended a tractor-trailer on the New York Thruway near Sloatsburg, New York.
"If the bus had hit a car or SUV instead of a tractor-trailer, this would likely have been a fatal bus accident. A bus and a tractor-trailer are more equal in size and weight," said New York bus accident lawyer Perecman.
The tractor-trailer driver told police that he slowed down for a car merging into traffic from a rest area. When the truck driver reduced speed, the bus hit him. The bus hit the right rear side of the trailer, crushing the driver's-side area of the bus and trapping the driver, police said.
Unlike some other recent bus accidents in New York, no serious bus accident related injuries or deaths were reported.
"Bus companies have a special duty to provide for passenger safety due to the vehicle size, passenger capacity and to the trust the public puts in them," said New York bus accident lawyer Perecman, a bus accident lawyer in New York for over 30 years.
New York bus accidents can be caused by a number of reasons including driver error, dangerous road conditions, inadequate driver training and maintenance issues. Regardless of the reason for the bus accident, New York bus accident lawyers at The Perecman Firm work hard to make sure victims of bus accidents, and their families, receive the compensation they deserve.
"A bus company that compromises the safety of passengers should be held accountable," said New York bus accident lawyer Perecman.
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new york city - Page 4
New York Subway Shark Mystery Has Been Solved
Shark on New York City Subway [PHOTO]
"Shark Week" hysteria continues as a "Jaws" was found on the Queens bound N train today.
Ex-Madam Running For NYC Office Charged With Selling Pills
NYC Adopts Tough Jobless-Discrimination Law
Sandy's Wrath Featured In Times Square Project [AUDIO]
For the next few weeks, you'll have the opportunity to walk on some New Jersey and New York boardwalks that were damaged by Superstorm Sandy.
NYC Mayor Bloomberg Calls For Tougher Gun Laws
NYC May Move Power Equipment Higher
NYC Working on Storm Prep, Bloomberg Says
NYC to Spend $500M to Repair Schools, Hospitals
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced a $500 million emergency plan to pay for critical repairs to public schools and hospitals damaged by Superstorm Sandy.


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SENATE VOTING TO INFRINGE YOUR GUN RIGHTS - Adams, Addabbo, Avella, Boyle, Breslin, Carlucci, Diaz, Dilan, Espaillat, Felder, Flanagan, Fuschillo, Gianaris, Gipson, Golden, Grisanti, Hannon, Hassell-Thompson, Hoylman, Kennedy, Klein, Krueger, Lanza, Latimer, LaValle, Marcellino, Martins, Montgomery, O'Brien, Parker, Peralta, Perkins, Rivera, Sampson, Sanders, Savino, Serrano, Skelos, Smith, Squadron, Stavisky, Stewart-Cousins, Valesky
Due to a recent change in the Liverpool Rod and Gun Club bylaws, all current members as well as prospective members must be members of the NRA (National Rifle Assoc.) Proof of NRA membership will be required with renewal payment in the form of a copy of the NRA member card or the label from one of the NRA magazine publications. The magazine label must have the renewing members name, address, NRA member number as well as membership expiration date. On April 1, 2015, all memberships that have not been renewed will be terminated without exception.
Liverpool Rod and Gun Club
Winter Rifle League
2014 - 2015
(Open to the public)
First relay 8:00AM
Nov 30th
Dec 14 th & 28th
Jan 11 th & 25th
Feb 8 th & 22nd
Mar 8 th & 22nd
Apr 12th
The best 10 scores will be used for record
Classes :
Hunter / Sporter
Military/Service Scope
Military Iron Sight
All scores are posted online at WWW.Liverpoolrodandgunclub.com
$10.00 registration (one time) $2.00 per relay
Question ?
Call Rick @ 668-7279
or firstname.lastname@example.com
The Liverpool Rod and Gun Club Winter League has not had a cost increase in 30+ years. Due to the increased cost associated with running this event the one time registration fee to join the league will be increased to $10.00 per shooter. The cost per relay will remain at $2.00.
Liverpool Rod and Gun Club CMP Match
7902 Henry Clay Blvd
Liverpool, N.Y. 13090
Registration starts @ 7:00AM
This will be a CMP sanctioned event governed by 2015 CMP Rules
Rifle Classes: Garand, Springfield, Vintage Military, Modern Military
Unlimited Garand, 100 yard Carbine Match (relay #4)
Course of Fire
All classes will fire the CMP Course "A"
Unlimited shots in 5 minutes (sighting)
10 rounds in 10 minutes slow fire prone
10 rounds in 80 seconds rapid fire prone from standing
10 rounds slow fire standing
All Fired from 200 yards
40 round CMP Carbine Match will be fired at 100 yards.
Liverpool Rod and Gun Club does not have pits all scoring will be done on the target line.
Event will be limited to 4 relays ( Relay #4 will be a Carbine match)Awards: CMP achievement award Pins will be awarded for all rifle classes on the cut-score system.
2015 Liverpool Rod and Gun Club Conventional Prone Match


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What gives SBUX its edge over competition?
Savvy shoppers know how to get good deals
Join the NASDAQ Community today and get free, instant access to portfolios, stock ratings, real-time alerts, and more!
A sleeping giant has awakened.
One of the country's oldest companies has reinvented itself. Once a
stodgy old cyclical company, this Dow stock has used its deep
pockets and global brand to create a juggernaut of
growth for the next decade.
In a lackluster
, this company has tripled profits since last year and projects
average earnings growth of +20% through 2012. But it's still cheap.
The stock sells for less than 13 times next year's earnings while
also paying a solid 4%
, compared to a 2.1% yield for the S&P 500.
This company makes products for a wide range of megatrends such as
increasing worldwide demand for food, growing demand for fossil
fuel alternatives and the increasing advancement of electronics and
communications technologies. It also does substantial and growing
business in emerging markets.
But this isn't some fly-by-night company that's been getting lucky.
The stock is a blue chip Dow component that's been around for more
than 200 years.
EI DuPont de Nemours & Co. (
, or DuPont, calls itself a science and technology company, but
it's also one of the largest chemical companies in the world.
DuPont offers a wide range of products from six separate business
segments including agriculture and nutrition, electronics and
communication, safety and protection, performance chemicals,
performance materials, performance coatings.
The company primarily makes products used to make other products,
such as chemicals used in LCD screens, fertilizer to feed crops and
chemicals used to weatherize and paint cars. The company's
products are used in things we see everyday including Teflon,
Corian (for countertops and laboratories), Kevlar
(stronger-than-steel thread used in tires) and Tyvek (for house
wraps, medical packaging and labels).
The company operates in 80 countries on six contents and generated
$26 billion of revenue in 2009. Most of DuPont's sales are
generated outside the United States in the first half of 2010,
including 19% in emerging markets, which have fast growing
economies and should grow in prominence in the future.
Why is it a good investment now?
Sales were up +26% in the second quarter, compared to the year ago
quarter, to $8.6 billion. Earnings nearly tripled in the second
quarter to $1.27 per share versus $0.46 last year.
All six business segments had double-digit sales increases, with
more than +25% volume growth in three of the segments. Agriculture
and nutrition (the largest segment accounting for 32% of 2009
sales) sales jumped +16% and pretax profits were up +31% from the
year ago quarter, primarily from the North American seed business.
This is particularly impressive considering rival seed company
Monsanto (
saw earnings drop -45% in the second quarter. The company said
several business earned revenues far in excess of pre-recession
How are they doing it?
As have most corporations in the past couple years, DuPont has
reduced costs, to the tune of about -18% in 2009. But the key to
growth has been in the company's research and development. The
company says it focuses on market-driven mega trends. In fact, out
of the $1.4 billion invested in R&D in 2009, 75% was directed
toward megatrends, including 50% toward increasing food production
and 15% for reducing dependency on fossil fuels.
This doesn't just sound good. It's working. Management says that a
surprising 30% of 2010 sales will come from products introduced in
just the last four years. Second quarter sales increased in every
major region but most of all in the fast growing emerging markets.
Year-to-date emerging market sales are up +32% from last year and
sales in emerging Asia are up a whopping +58%.
DuPont pays quarterly dividends of $0.41 (since 2007), which were
uninterrupted by the recession. The $1.64 annual divided translates
to a solid yield of about 4% at current prices -- far in excess of
chemical majors
Dow (
Ashland (
In the second quarter, DuPont upped its 2010 earnings projections
from a previous $2.50-$2.70 per share to $2.90-$3.05. The company
also forecasts average earnings growth of +20% per year through
Action to Take -->
DuPont has strong, well-diversified and relatively defensive
earnings. The company is on track to continue to grow earnings
while paying a yield far in excess of the market averages. The
stock represent a good value at current prices.
-- Tom Hutchinson
Tom has a 15-year history as a financial advisor with UBS
constructing investment portfolios. Tom's background includes a
NASD Series 7 and 63 certifications... Read more...
Disclosure: Neither Tom Hutchinson nor StreetAuthority, LLC hold
positions in any securities mentioned in this article.
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Welcome to Bristol Mountain! We are so glad you have chosen to spend your time here in the United States at Bristol Mountain Winter Resort. We have a variety of Ski & Stay packages available for you on the Ski & Stay page. Click here for the Ski & Stay page. Once you arrive at Bristol Mountain, please feel free to stop in the Guest Services Office if you have any questions regarding our ski and snowboard programs, base area services, or about the surrounding community. We would like you to feel at home during your visit to Bristol Mountain. The Downtown Canandaigua Merchants Association would like to extend specials to you when you visit their stores on Main Street. Just show your lift ticket to receive free offers and discounts.
New Canadian Special for February and March 2015
Stop by Skiis & Biikes, Ski Pro Shop or McMaster Ski Shop to purchase your $30 Friday Lift Ticket Voucher. These vouchers are valid any Friday in February or March (2015). All persons utilizing the lift vouchers must be present in the ski shop at the time of purchase. Combine this $30 lift voucher with a weekend Ski & Stay package for a long weekend at Bristol Mountain. Proof of Canadian citizenship required.
The following 2014-15 Bristol Mountain packages include an 8-hour lift ticket, class lesson and equipment rental.
Click HERE to go to our special Canadian page to view the details and the video regarding the special.
Ski or Snowboard Package - $89 (USD)
Ages 8+
1.5 Hour Beginner-Advanced Class Lesson
8-Hour All Area Lift Ticket
8-Hour Ski or Snowboard Rental
V.I.P. Learn to Ski or Snowboard Package - $99 (USD)
Ages 13+, First Timers Only
Weekends and Holidays, 9:45 am-2:45 pm
Dec. 20, 2014-Mar. 15, 2015
4-Hour Beginner Class Lesson
1-Hour Lunch Break
8-Hour All Area Lift Ticket
8-Hour Ski or Snowboard Rental
Ski or Snowboard Package with a Private Lesson - $139 (USD)
Ages 8+
1.5 Hour Beginner-Advanced Private Lesson
Dependent on instructor availability. Advanced reservations required.
8-Hour All Area Lift Ticket
8-Hour Ski or Snowboard Rental