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BACK
 CRADLE
OF FILTH – Blood, Honour and Family
By Adrian ‘The Energizer’ Bromley
One
could assume that in any band it would be tough enough to have your
say and make sure things get done the way you want them, but imagine
being in a band with screamer Dani Filth? The pint-sized vampiric
frontman has been the stable image of Cradle of Filth since their
inception in the mid-’90s: evil, darkness, and chaos.
But even though Dani Filth has had his mug splattered across numerous
magazine covers and stories about the band, guitarist Paul Allender
reveals that Cradle of Filth has always been a band, and not just
Dani and his minions.
"I know people always perceive that, but Cradle is a band that
works as a team [the band is rounded out by guitarist Gian Pyres,
bassist Robin Graves, drummer Adrian Erlandsson, and keyboardist
Martin Powell]. It has always been that way, no matter which way
the press wants to perceive it," he starts. "I mean, Dani
writes all of the lyrics, comes up with song titles and album titles
and the rest of the band works on the music. We all need each other.
If it was Dani doing everything, he wouldn’t need us, would
he? (laughs)"
The band has just released their latest offering, Bitter Suites
to Succubi, a quick follow-up to last year’s promising Midian.
It’s not really a new album, more like a gap bridging Midian
and the forthcoming new album, due out in 2002 through Epic/Sony
(whom they recently signed to). Allender explains.
"This is really not a new Cradle of Filth album. It is more
like an EP with a lot of extra goodies attached onto it. We did
some revised versions of older songs [‘The Principle of Evil
Made Flesh’], contributed a cover song [‘No Time To Cry’
by Sisters of Mercy] and a large set of new material [‘All
Hope In Eclipse,’ ‘Suicide and Other Comforts,’ and
‘Scorched Earth Erotics’]. We will also have a CD-ROM
with a video for ‘Born In a Burial Gown.’ This release
has a lot."
I mention to Allender my love for the eerie, ambient track "Dinner
At Deviants Palace." What a cool song, but couldn’t that
have been at the beginning?
"I agree that is a great song. The whole sound of it is great,
with the scary sounds and the child talking. Actually, that is my
4 year-old-son doing the talking," he laughs. "It was
great to have him come down to the studio and do that. That song
was supposed to be an intro piece, or I guess it could have been
one, but we felt it would serve better somewhere within the album.
It works well where it is, as it breaks up the flow of the record
and slows things down a bit and adds a scary element to the music
as it continues onward. It is a great track, no doubt."
And what gives with a new album out so quickly? Midian only came
out half a year ago.
"I know, I know," notes Allender. "Most bands have
trouble getting a record out in a year or so. We had a lot of material
we were working on. This record is being released through our label
[AbraCadaver] and we decided instead of trying to spend months getting
a few bands signed to the label, why not just get the ball rolling
and release one of our records first? It has worked out great. It
has been a good deal for us."
While Allender had a strong part in the formation of the band in
its early years, he left Cradle of Filth four years ago primarily
due to the birth of his son and wanting to start a family and get
a day job.
He says, "It was just something I wanted to do. Cradle was
all that I had ever known. I was young when I started out, and it
was all that I knew of. Once my kid was in the picture, I wanted
to get out of it and enjoy time with him and just start this family
off right. It was great to be able to just get away from this, but
I admit I did miss it."
So how did Allender get back into the band?
"I was just home one day and Dani called me up and asked me
if I wanted to join the band as guitar player. Stuart [Anstis] had
left the band, and they needed someone to fill the gap. I obviously
knew what the band was all about, and I am glad to be given this
opportunity again.
"It is kind of like I never left. Sure, the music has grown
a bit since my departure a few years back, but once I came back
and started working again with Dani and the rest of the band, it
all just clicked. I guess there is no place like home," he
says, laughing.
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