CRADLE OF FILTH – The Screaming Of The Valkyries (Album Review)

While I’ve always been more in tune with the more raw sounding black metal, I can’t but help be drawn into the melodically gothy goodness that Cradle of Filth keep grinding out. While many folks may have written the band off years ago when they took a more polished approach to their sound, after a number of listens to The Screaming of Valkyries I’d say that they’re missing out.

Don’t get me wrong, the Cradle of Filth of the 1990’s has not re-emerged, however, what is ever-present in every track on this new LP is clear advancement in musicianship and production. The introduction of Donny Burbage brings in a renewed vigor to the guitars and Zoe Marie Federoff shines as the new female vocalist. Federoff, who is married to guitarist Ashok, presents a voice that is especially profound on tracks like “Non Omnis Moriar” and lushly operatic on “White Hellebore.” In this respect, Zoe plays expertly off of Dani’s signature dirty vocals that really exemplify the ying and the yang ever present in the compositions.

“To Live Deliciously” is a slamming opener and destined to be another Cradle of Filth classic that just grabs the listener right from the get-go and doesn’t let go. A great deal of depth in songwriting that matches the cadence of the lyrics to the music incredibly well. Similarly, “You are my Nautilus,” uses a bit of a gallop to engage us and then takes us through a number of sections that draw heavily on the melody emphasized by interesting time changes, dueling guitars, and just the right amount of keyboards.

“Demagoguery” is an uptempo banger with a chorus you can’t help but sing along to. There is some killer riffing on that track along with a great wishbone style solo. “Trinity of Shadows” maintains the speed of the preceding track with some exemplary musicianship at the hands of all involved. “White Hellebore” is a third cut in a row that maintains the ferocious velocity interspersed with a pleasant reprieve every so often in the form of the melodic feminine vocals.

It seems that every extreme metal band these days needs a song about drinking blood, and we have that here with “Ex Sanguine Draculae,” a plodding, track with hints of tremolo giving us just a touch of that early black metal sound. The overall composition, however, is signature Cradle, with perhaps a hint of King Diamond influence here and there.

Overall this is really some solid output from Mr. Filth and company. You’d be hard pressed to find a song on this record that feels out of place or doesn’t belong. I expected a bit of filler on this record given the band’s strong relationship with mid-career mediocrity, however, to my surprise, it’s hard to identify any track here that wasn’t particularly well-crafted or well thought-out. The vocals are on point, the guitars have lots of room to produce unique sounds in the mix, and the band just sounds more complete than it has in a very long time. Quite frankly, I can’t wait to hear some of these songs performed live with the band hits the road later this Spring.

Release Date: March 28th, 2025
Record Label: Napalm Records
Genre: Black Metal

Musicians:

• Dani Filth / Lead vocals
• Martin “Marthus” Škaroupka / Drums, keyboards, orchestrations
• Daniel Firth / Bass
• Marek “Ashok” Šmerda / Guitars
• Donny Burbage / Guitars
• Zoe Marie Federoff  / Keyboards, female vocals

The Screaming Of The Valkyries Track-list:

1. To Live Deliciously
2. Demagoguery
3. The Trinity Of Shadows
4. Non Omnis Moriar
5. White Hellebore
6. You Are My Nautilus
7. Malignant Perfection
8. Ex Sanguine Draculae
9. When Misery Was A Stranger

Pre-order The Screaming Of The Valkyries here