01.The Cult Of Venus Aversa
02.One Foul Step From The Abyss
03.The Nun With The Astral Habit
04.Church Of The Sacred Heart
05.The Persecution Song
06.Decieving Eyes
07.Lilith Immaculate
08.The Spawn Of Love And War
09.Harlot On A Pedestal
10.Forgive Me Father (I Have Sinned)
11.Beyond The Eleventh Hour
Dani Filth (Vocals)
Paul Allender (Guitars)
James McIlroy (Guitars)
Dave Pybus (Bass)
Ashley Ellyllon (Keyboards/Backing Vocals)
Martin Škaroupka (Drums)
Guests:
Lucy Atkins (Vocals)
Dora Kemp (Backing Vocals)
Mark Newby Robson (Orchestration)
Andy James (Guitars)
Choir:
Ruth McCabe
Tim Cutts
Craig Miller
Philippa Mann
Dora Kemp
Anna Asbach-Cullen
Love them or hate them the one thing you cannot do is ignore them!
Since forming back in 1991 the Suffolk band have crossed boundaries of black metal and
goth to extreme metal, courted controversy by design and accident, made outstanding
albums and some which should never have seen the light of day!
The last few albums have been pretty average to be honest, but with James McIlroy
once more in the fold i have high expectations of a worthy follow up to the awesome
Nymphetamine album from 2004.
The concept behind the album is the demon Lilith, the first wife of the Biblical Adam.
'The Cult Of Venus Aversa' starts with some cool harpsicord and orchestration and we are introduced to Lilith then comes those trademark blast beats and a screaming Dani.
Its clear from this beginning that some time has been spent working on their sound to create something worthy of the name.
Keyboards and orchestration once again lift the next song, 'One Foul Step From The Abyss', and the next few songs move along with the same level of production and care, each song complimenting its predecessor.
'The Persucation Song' slows the pace with a simplistic but catchy guitar riff and some nice piano playing.
Up next is 'Decieving Eyes' a real heavy "Satyricon" vibe echoes through this but the choral backing lets you know that this is still "COF" at full blast.
'Lilith Immaculate' manages to tick every box with what you would expect and even adds a catchy chorus!
The next two tracks return to the albums formula, but the next song 'Forgive Me Father (I Have Sinned)' is a real surprise in as much as it borders on a commercial goth/metal "single", hell Dani even sounds like he's trying to sing (dare i say) normally, and the female backing works very well, catchy riffs and keyboards.
Way better than that "Temptation" crap they put out a few years back.
Finally the breathtaking, 'Beyond The Eleventh Hour' a dark gothic/black metal sleaze fest!
Stunning lyrics are delivered by both Dani and Lucy, the music is "all out" seemingly throwing everything they have into the mix to create 7 minutes of pure classic "COF"
All in all the perfect follow up to Nymphetamine and an album to restore faith in a band that deserve attention for the RIGHT reasons.
STU
Rating 10/10
For Fans Of : Dimmu Borgir, Satyricon, Therion
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