Suffolk, UK · symphonic black metal · extreme metal · gothic metal

Cradle of Filth

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Gothic-horror black metal with orchestration, shrieks, and a theatrical streak a mile wide — extreme metal's most committed haunted-house act.

Cradle of Filth formed in Suffolk, England in 1991 and are led by vocalist Dani Filth, whose range runs from high shrieks to low growls. The band's first three years produced three demo tapes before a planned album, Goetia, was lost when its intended label collapsed. They then signed to Cacophonous Records, whose first release was the band's debut.

The band's early records placed them within British black metal, but they moved steadily toward a symphonic and gothic style, incorporating keyboards, orchestration, female vocals and spoken passages. Singer Sarah Jezebel Deva joined for the EP V Empire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein, whose songs remain live staples; Kerrang! later named 'Queen of Winter, Throned' among its essential extreme metal anthems.

Albums including The Principle of Evil Made Flesh, Dusk... and Her Embrace and Cruelty and the Beast established their reputation, the last built around the story of Elizabeth Báthory. Metal Hammer later listed The Principle of Evil Made Flesh among the top black metal albums of its era. An earlier, scrapped version of Dusk..., recorded before a dispute with Cacophonous Records, eventually surfaced in 2016 as Dusk... and Her Embrace: The Original Sin.

Their lyrics draw consistently on Gothic literature and horror, and the band's theatrical presentation has made them one of extreme metal's more visible acts. More than thirty musicians have passed through the lineup over the years, drawing at times from Sweden, the Czech Republic and the United States alongside England; current members include drummer Martin "Marthus" Škaroupka, bassist Daniel Firth and guitarists Donny Burbage and Joff Bailey. Despite frequent use of Satanic imagery, direct references to Satanism in the lyrics are rare, the imagery serving more for shock value than any stated belief.

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symphonic black metalextreme metalgothic metal