Cradle Of Filth - Midnight In The Labyrinth (CD Review)

01.A Gothic Romance (Red Roses For The Devil's Whore)
02.The Forest Whispers My Name
03.The Twisted Nails Of Faith
04.The Rape And Ruin Of Angels (Hosannas In Extremis)
05.Funeral In Carpathia
06.Summer Dying Fast
07.Thirteen Autumns And A Widow
08.Dusk and Her Embrace
09.Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids
10.Goetia (Invoking The Unclean)
 
Disc Two: Orchestral

01.The Rape And Ruin Of Angels (Hosannas In Extremis)
02.Dusk And Her Embrace
03.Summer Dying Fast
04.The Twisted Nails Of Faith
05.Funeral in Carpathia
06.The Forest Whispers My Name
07.Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids
08.A Gothic Romance (Red Roses For The Devil's Whore)
09.Thirteen Autumns And A Widow


Mark Newby-Robson (Orchestration)
Dani Filth (Narration)
Sarah Jezebel Deva (Narration/Vocals)
Ralph Woodward (Choir & Orchestra Conductor)

Midnight in the Labyrinth is an orchestral album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth, well actually its not, lets face it this is a Dani Filth solo album that he doesnt even sing on!

The songs selected are from the band's first four releases which in itself shows a lack of imagination, its okay to do a few covers in this way but some new and intresting concepts wouldnt have gone a miss.
Definatley a missed oppertunity here to do what Glenn Danzig did with his 2 Black Aria projects.

So the first disc features narration by Dani Filth (Dani here perhaps trying to emulate Richard Burton from the Jeff Wayne War Of The Worlds), plus additional vocals from Sarah Jezebel Deva.Its okay but nothing outstanding, certainly the oppertunity to re create and make new has been wasted, albeit pleasent enough to listen to.

Disc Two contains the same recordings minus the vocals and somewhat labours the pointless exercise even more pointless.

So Mr. Filth claims the album would "reinvent" tracks from the band's first four albums and include "full soundtrack-quality stuff... with choirs, strings and some narration".
Well in my opinion it has failed to do so.

Dani wrote; "All songs will be fully orchestrated akin to a horror movie soundtrack (think Danny Elfman, John Williams, Christopher Young, etc.) and [the record is] comprised solely of tracks from our first four releases - 1994's The Principle of Evil Made Flesh; the 1996 EP V Empire; 1996's Dusk... and Her Embrace and 1998's Cruelty and the Beast - [with] "Funeral in Carpathia" being my favorite conversion thus far."

Thing is that even Hellraiser composer 'Young', the legendary 'Elfman' and others have all utilised electronics and electric instrumentation in many of their compositions to give it a fuller sound.

So basically NOT a Cradle album but a Dani solo album with speech instead of vocals, make of this what you will....

Rating: 5/10

For Fans Of: Dani Filth, Glenn Danzig - Black Aria, Jacula - In Cauda Semper Stat Venenum, Devil Doll - Eliogabalus