As well as Inquisition, In Solitude, and Svarttjern! Read about it from this Facebook post here:

BEHEMOTH and CRADLE OF FILTH – spreading infernal darkness across Europe on their double-headlining tour!

Looks like February will be bedazzled by a rather black sun: British dark / black metal fan faves CRADLE OF FILTH will embark on a 19-date European co-headlining tour with Polish death / black metal legends BEHEMOTH!!!

BEHEMOTH might have been a classic black metal act in their early days (circa “Sventevith” 1995), but the priorities of mastermind Nergal shifted quickly: the following years saw the band opt for a death metal approach, and progressive / experimental influences turned BEHEMOTH into a multi-faceted and unique beast on albums such as “Zos Kia Cultus” (2002)! After the landmark release of “Evangelion” (2009), Nergal had to face leukemia – and battled this severe disease successfully! They`ll release “The Satanist” in 2014 and you can look forward to pitch-black shows pairing avant-garde spirit with the atmosphere of a black mass!!!

Nergal comments:

"We are immensely proud to start promotion of "THE SATANIST" on the release date of the album in such a noble company. It's been a while since we toured Europe for the last time… The wolf pack grew stronger and hungrier and with new opus and stage production we have so much more to offer. This European crusade will be the catalyst of 2 years long tour so keep your eyes open!"

Transferring gothic horror from screen to record – a specialty of Grammy-nominated British veterans CRADLE OF FILTH! Cult albums like “The Principle of Evil Made Flesh” proved in the 90s that authentic black metal doesn`t necessarily have to come from Norway. Nowadays the band incorporates dark and death metal elements too, and recently Dani Filth made his “Fairytales for adults” come true on “The Manticore and Other Horrors” in 2012. This headlining tour will mark the 20th anniversary of "The Principle of Evil Made Flesh“, so prepare for some true Supreme Vampyric Evil courtesy of one of the biggest names in extreme metal.

Vokillist Dani Filth comments:

"We are very much looking forward to touring with Behemoth et al, as I think the combined line-up for these momentous shows is definitely very killer. Prepare for some riotous shows immersed in such esteemed dark company, as Cradle traverses an Old Skool tour programme set against a viscerally visual backdrop of nocturnal metal supremacy. In other words, be there or be squared. Pinhead-style!"

Swedes IN SOLITUDE are often called „the better Mercyful Fate“ – let`s not be blasphemous, but it`s still astonishing how hit-laden and gripping their mix of 80s metal spirit and unholy atmosphere sounds ever since their self-titled debut in 2008! The Uppsala-based act and Metal Blade recording artist is currently thrilling press and fans alike with its third effort “Sister” which taps into classic heavy metal vibes while remaining wholly original. The sonic experience is captivating and visceral and it belongs entirely to IN SOLITUDE! The album will surely top the media's "Best Albums of the Year" lists worldwide.

Founded in Colombia in the late 80s, duo INQUISITION soon left for the United States to worship at the altar of truly satanic black metal! Their brand new album is called “Obscure verses for the multiverse”: on it, these veterans are forging catchy riffing with pure aggression, destructive atmosphere and blasphemous lyrics to a classy amalgamut giving acts such as Immortal a run for their money.

This reign of darkness will be opened by SVARTTJERN – the Oslo-based combo is wading knee-deep in misanthropy and true Norwegian black metal on albums such as “Towards the ultimate” and brings back fond memories of the early 90s!!! The third SVARTTJERN album “Ultimatum necrophilia” will be released on February 7th, 2014 and is a must have for all fans of pure northern hatred!

Get your tickets for this brilliantly unholy line-up at http://www.hardticket.eu


BEHEMOTH & CRADLE OF FILTH
Behemoth
Cradle of Filth
In Solitude
Inquisition
Svarttjern

TOURDATES
07.02.2014 DE – Munich, Backstage
08.02.2014 DE – Stuttgart, LKA Longhorn
09.02.2014 NL – Amsterdam, Melkweg
10.02.2014 UK – London, Forum
11.02.2014 FR – Paris, Bataclan
13.02.2014 CH – Pratteln, Z7
14.02.2014 DE – Wiesbaden, Schlachthof
15.02.2014 DE – Bochum, Matrix
16.02.2014 BE – Antwerp, Trix
18.02.2014 NL – Tilburg, O13
19.02.2014 LU – Luxembourg, Atelier
21.02.2014 AT – Wien, Gasometer
22.02.2014 DE – Chemnitz, Südbahnhof
24.02.2014 SE – Gothenburg, Traedgarn
25.02.2014 SE – Stockholm, Tyrol
26.02.2014 DK – Copenhagen, Amager Bio
27.02.2014 DK – Aarhus, Voxhall
28.02.2014 DE – Hamburg, Grünspan
01.03.2014 DE – Berlin, Postbahnhof

LINKS
http://www.behemoth.pl
http://www.theorderofthedragon.com
http://www.facebook.com/insolitudeofficial
http://www.facebook.com/inquisition.official
http://www.facebook.com/svarttjern

Now that is one tour I'm jealous of! Cradle of Filth and Behemoth both had to cancel their 2013 US tours, and both have spoken about returning to the States in the not-so-distant future to make up for that. Seeing both bands together would be spectacular. Inquisition did tour the US earlier this year with Marduk and Moonspell, but I passed on because I had Cradle of Filth tickets, and look how that turned out. As for In Solitude: they tore it up at the Watain show and I'd definitely like to see them again. Not familiar with the last band, but man, what a killer line-up!

Want to go and see this. As usual Cradle of filth clash with someone else I want to see though, Tarja's playing here and not had a chance to see her either. Last time Cradle of filth played it clashed with Epica and stream of passion so I didn't go. I think I'm going to go to see them this time, unless they get added to Wacken or Bloodstock, as Behemoth are already at Wacken.

Unfamiliar with In solitude and inquistion, any starting points?

Twin_guitar_attack, Inquisition are the current darlings of the black metal scene (at least in the things I read!) I'm delighted I'll get to see them live, finally. They have a solid discography, packed full of delicious riffs, and apparently the live show is very intense.

I heard the vocals are off-putting for some people, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlkG81Uxk58

Will be great to see Behemoth too. Looking forward to this very much.

For In Solitude, I would start with their third and latest album, Sister. I've linked the title track. That album has been getting nothing but praise since it came out. They've added a lot of gothic influence; people are comparing Sister to Sisters of Mercy. In my opinion the new songs almost have a Billy Idol vibe, especially the vocals.

As they only have three albums out they've been playing a good mix of songs on tour. Their self-titled debut and second album bear a lot of Mercyful Fate influence, especially the former, but in general both are straight-forward heavy metal.


From 1st album:Witches Sabbath
From 2nd album:To Her Darkness (music video)

Fanboy moment of the day: Cradle of Filth announced on their Facebook that they're gonna be playing Haunted Shores on this tour.

Dani may destroy his vocal chords for good by doing that song. It's the most extreme song they ever wrote and it will be interesting to see if he can handle the vocals every night.

Damn, now that's something I'd like to see. They opened up with Heaven Torn Asunder and Funeral in Carpathia on the latest US tour, it was amazing.

There really needs to be more stuff from Vempire and Dusk in their setlist. Just imagine a set of theirs that had all the seminal tracks from Dusk (Funeral In Carpathia, A Gothic Romance, the title track, Malice Through the Looking Glass, Haunted Shores) plus the stuff from Vempire that they either rarely do or don't do anymore (Nocturnal Supremacy, Queen of Winter Throned, The Rape and Ruin of Angels), and that's in addition to all the typical stuff they've got in their set (The Forest Whispers My Name, The Principle of Evil Made Flesh, Cruelty and the Beast, Her Ghost in the Fog + one other Midian song, From the Cradle to Enslave, Nymphetamine, and the token one or two new album songs). Now there's a dream set for you right there. Hell, considering that TPoEMF turns 20 next year, I would love for them to include in their sets some of the forgotten songs from that album (A Crescendo of Passion Bleeding, To Eve the Art of Witchcraft, and ESPECIALLY Of Mist and Midnight Skies).

Also, setlist.fm says that they only did Haunted Shores five times live and it hasn't been done since May 1997.

They've hinted at doing something special for Principle's 20th anniversary, maybe they'll play the whole album on tour? I'm still bummed they cancelled the US tour earlier this year, so if the 20th anniversary thing has anything to do with a tour, I hope it comes to the States.

From what I've been able to tell, CoF may never come back to the states. Paul was asked about the cancellation and he said that at the very least it would be a long time before they're able to come back. I think it was even something beyond visa issues.

Never? I find that hard to believe. In the cancellation statement, I remember Dani saying he was hopeful that the tour would happen later this year, and Paul later refuted that, but from what I understand he was talking about short-term plans, not into 2014. I had my doubts there was a visa issue, though, seeing as how they've been here plently of times before. My hunch was that their new bassist has a criminal record preventing him from coming into the States, but that was just a wild guess. I really hope you're wrong! Would you mind sharing where you read that, if you remember?

It's in this video interview. Around halfway through if I'm not mistaken. I think he says it will be a long time before they're able to get entry. There was also talk/speculation on the CoF forum. I did also mention the criminal record thing on the forum, which was my hunch as well.

http://youtu.be/bK_IW4QuWG4

The biggest thing I learned from that is Paul lives in the USA now. Never knew that.

Behemoth
Cradle of Filth
In Solitude
Inquisition
Svarttjern

Am I alone in thinking this is a really confused line-up?

A better lineup:
Inquisition
Svarttjern
Behemoth
Never heard of In Solitude
CoF GtFo

CoF aren't nearly as bad live as they were in 2006-2009. Dani has gotten back some of his high screams. Just watch some videos from their tours last year when they played Funeral in Carpathia. He does most of the song as is on the record, though he uses his growl more often live. I'm pretty sure everyone knew his voice would never hold up over time. I remember hearing the Dusk... album back in 99 or so and I thought to myself that this guy will probably go mute one day.

Their setlist has vastly improved over the past few years. They were playing A Dream of Wolves in the Snow/Summer Dying Fast again for the first time in many years (it was the Principle of Evil version to boot), and of course Heaven Torn Asunder/Funeral in Carpathia. Hopefully one day soon they'll also decide to play live the full version of The Rape and Ruin of Angels. Now if only they'd put out a record similar to Dusk or Vempire.

They played Rape and Ruin in full exactly one time at a show in 1995. There used to be a bootleg of it up on Youtube but it's long since vanished. The only other time any piece of that song was done live was at a show in 1996 where they medley'd the slow part of the song into Malice Through the Looking Glass. That too exists on a bootleg, which also has one of the only times they ever did Hell Awaits live.

DaBuddha, I'll have to check out that interview, thanks.

Speaking of The Rape and Ruin..., I partook in a video chat with Paul Allender two or three years ago and he mentioned that he'd be making videos to teach a few CoF songs. Since he was taking requests, I asked about The Rape and Ruin... and he said he had plans to do that. I don't know if that ever came about, but I believe it was supposed to be free, as opposed to being exclusive to his guitar students on Skype. Anyway, I'd love to see that song played live. After Beauty Slept in Sodom, it's my favorite song from them.

Plus we know that the band hasn't forgotten about that song since it was remade on Midnight in the Labyrinth, so here's hoping that at some point in the future they finally put that tune in regular live rotation.

I haven't listened to Midnight in the Labyrinth yet, how do you like it? I wasn't getting into the track they put on Evermore Darkly, Summer Dying Fast, I think, so I didn't pick up the album.

I get what they were trying to do, and for the most part it kinda works, but it's not an album I find myself going back to all the time. I much prefer the fan-made mixes of the MitL versions of the songs with the original versions since they match up pretty much exactly.

Also, for whoever said that Dani's gonna completely wreck his voice with Haunted Shores on this tour, his voice somehow got WAY better in the high screams department on the Manticore tour. He's got a lot of the mid-range in his voice back that he lost around the time of Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder, and his highs at times sound like 1996 Dani again. I think he'll do great with it.

From watching videos of their 2012 tours he does sound a fuck load better than he did in 2006-2009, which was pretty awful. Maybe that's why they are doing almost all older songs now. Unfortunately I won't be able to see them on this next tour but I'm sure Haunted Shores will be up on Youtube when it happens and I'll be thrilled to see it since it hasn't been performed live in around 15 years that I know of.

Hopefully they will sort out all the problems soon so they can come to the states. I haven't seen them since 2007 and that time was pretty bad. The set list was poor, the only old songs played being Dusk and Her Embrace, From the Cradle to Enslave and Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids. Dani's voice was shot then as well. Apparently he had a cold or something.

Must've been a 4 year long cold, because from 04 to about 08 his voice was completely and utterly shot. Compare the live shots of them at, say, Rock am Ring 06 (ironically my very first exposure to Her Ghost in the Fog) with them at Graspop 2011.

There are some videos of their show in (I think) Mexico City 2012 on Youtube and besides the crowd being maniacal, Dani sings Funeral in Carpathia like a banshee.

I'm listening to a recording of them from this year's Hellfest and Dani's voice absolutely does sound reinvigorated. His highs aren't close to what they were during the Cruelty era, but akin to after Midian. Actually, it's almost like I'm listening to Live Bait for the Dead, I used to play that all the time. I thought he sounded great when I saw them in 2011 (the set list was really good too) but this is an even bigger improvement. Also, A Dream of Wolves in the Snow and Summer Dying Fast sounded brilliant.

Subrick, those fan-made mixes are awesome. There's a couple parts here and there where they get too cluttered and busy, particularly the beginnings of both Dusk... and Funeral in Carpathia, and I thought Summer Dying Fast sounded strange. The breakdown at 2:48, which I've always loved anyway, was really cool. For the most part it works though. From 1:15 to 3:32 in Dusk... was perfect.

Edit: Thirteen Autumns and a Widow was setup to be breathtaking if it weren't for the narration underneath, it's pretty distracting. Should have used the instrumental track!

Funeral In Carpathia is my favorite of the mixes. The original was pretty much perfect as is, but the expanded orchestrations make parts of it, particularly the slow section, even better than the original.

In another "Fuck yeah!" moment, Cradle said on Facebook a few days ago that they're gonna be doing Beneath the Howling Stars on this tour too.

Dani just seems intent on destroying his voice this tour, it seems. All they need to do is add Nocturnal Supremacy.

They've gotten their act together in the past few years. While I thought Manticore... was a step-down from Darkly..., they've been going back to their roots in some ways with the last couple albums. They wanted (but to my ears didn't succeed in getting) a live, organic sound on Manticore, and I think I remember hearing/reading that Paul Allender wanted to continue with that on subsequent recordings. I think it was also he who said they wanted to do another photograph cover with models, but didn't have the time or resources? And now they're making an effort to throw in some old, and in some ways, obscure songs into their live set.

You know, when Dimmu Borgir came out with Abrahadabra, I said that record was going to make or break them. I felt it was a pretty important release for them, considering they took a stripped-down approach with In Sorte Diaboli and a lot of people were on the fence about the band's future. What ended up happening is they released a mediocre album, played a couple (admittedly cool) shows with the NRK, and have since slipped off the radar.

Cradle of Filth stopped being relevant years ago, I'm afraid, but people started to notice them again when they came out with Manticore, with reviews hailing it as a return to form. Honestly I thought the previous album was more befitting of that phrase and had better songwriting overall, but the response to Manticore considered, I think Cradle are in a similar boat that Dimmu Borgir were in three years ago. Cradle's last three albums have been similar, and they might be growing comfortable with the direction they've taken. The next album will probably cement a good chunk of their future, and I'm not certain about what to expect, since the band's suddenly throwing back to their old material. Should be interesting. But that's all your sports analysis for the day.

I started to lose interest after Damnation and a Day, but when Godspeed... came out I started to pay attention again. What I liked was that they started to play fast again and the riffs were good, something Nymphetamine and Thornography lacked. DDVA was an even bigger improvement. Manticore... was not as good to me as the previous album, but that's not to say it was bad. I think finally they are beginning to realize what made them great back in the day. The music has gotten so much better in the last 4 years or so. Dani can scream again and Paul is writing interesting songs again. I only hope the next album is even better, something more akin to Vempire or even Principle of Evil (Paul said he took inspiration for Manticore from the first album.)

The live shows are also much, much better than in 2006-2009. Old songs are being brought back out that haven't been played live in years. I'm hoping eventually Rape and Ruin of Angels, Nocturnal Supremacy, Queen of Winter, Throned, Twisted Nails of Faith, and A Gothic Romance are all brought back.

They actually did do Nocturnal Supremacy at a show in Mexico in 2009. There's (low quality) video of it on Youtube. As for the other songs, Queen of Winter, Throned is LONG overdue for another appearance in a setlist; it hasn't been played in over 12 years. A Gothic Romance's last documented performance was at the show that the shitty Peace Through Superior Firepower DVD was shot in Paris. That DVD's production completely destroyed whatever good might have come out of the actual show. Twisted Nails they did twice in 2011, once in Mexico and once in El Salvador. As much as I'd love for them to do Rape and Ruin, I don't see it happening unless they went on an old song binge and did a show of nothing but songs from Principle, Vempire, and Dusk.

Aside from the songs off Principle that haven't been played since the 90s, I'd love if Cradle did some of the "forgotten" songs off Midian. Only four songs from that album, those being Her Ghost in the Fog, Lord Abortion, Cthulhu Dawn, and Tortured Soul Asylum, have ever been played live. Gimme some Saffron's Curse and Death Magick for Adepts. Hell, gimme my 2nd favorite song on the album, Tearing the Veil from Grace. There's so much excellent material on that record they haven't done for whatever reason.

Does anybody know how long each band will play? If I go it'll be for In Solitude and Inquisition, but If they only get sets round half an hour I don't know If it's worth the price....

The most I know is that both Behemoth and Cradle are getting an hour each regardless of who's closing. The support bands I'm not sure about.

The openers won't get more than 40 minutes, that's for sure. As in any big tours where there's two headliners. In Solitude were the direct support for Watain in NA and they played 45 (superb) minutes.

Happy for Inquisition, I hope they make a lot of fans this tour. It is a semi-bizarre line-up, but I feel it would be an entertaining evening. Alas...

Hopefully they will get 40 minutes. It's a steep price but I decided to go for it. Can't wait to be down at the front for Inquisition!

Yeah but Dani won't do the same vocals from the album. He changes it up live of course.

Two of the best drummers in metal will be on this tour. That's what I would go just to see.
Martin "Marthus" Skaroupka from Cradle of Filth.
and Inferno from Behemoth.

Cradle are planning on releasing their demo Total Fucking Darkness on Vinyl in 2014. According to what was said on their site.

I haven't listened to their demo stuff in years but I'd buy that. I remember Unbridled at Dusk being a great song!

And indeed, I love watching Martin behind the kit. He's intense and his fills are fantastic! I recall them being a point of dissension when Godspeed came out because they were too busy, but they've gotten a lot better on the past two albums and he does justice to the older songs. And despite only being in the band since 2006 he's one of their longer sustaining members. Definitely hope he remains in the band for a while longer!

Newest old song they've announced as doing on this tour: Nocturnal Supremacy. In addition to that, Dani implied on both Cradle's Facebook page and his own that they'd be busting out some Principle songs they haven't done in forever to commemorate that album's 20th anniversary.

I really hope they play Of Mist and Midnight Skies. That song kicks so much ass that it's hard to see why they haven't played it since, what, 1995?

I'd also like to hear Desire in Violent Overture and Beauty Slept in Sodom. Hell, why not throw in some demo songs like The Raping of Faith and Unbridled at Dusk.