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Cradle of Filth > Total Fucking Darkness > Reviews > ClusterFuct
Cradle of Filth - Total Fucking Darkness

Cradle's Most Evil - 95%

ClusterFuct, May 23rd, 2014

Total Fucking Darkness is about as "necro" as it gets for Cradle of Filth. Since the release of their much lauded Dusk... LP, most of Cradle's releases that aren't total shit suffer from production woes in some way or another--specifically overproduction. Such is not the case with the band's best demo. This recording is seriously low-budget, which adds to the overall atmosphere of the release.

First and foremost, this demo contains by far the best version of "The Black Goddess Rises" Cradle of Filth ever recorded. (The song is totally butchered on their debut LP, as is "The Forest Whispers My Name.") This track best represents the potential Cradle possessed early in their career. "The Black Goddess Rises" epitomizes the atmosphere and style of the band's first viable demo, and marks the first and only Cradle of Filth release that "sounds like this." It's not black metal; it's not really death metal...it's just dark music.

Lyrically, Total Fucking Darkness is less angry, vampiric, romantic poetry, and more, well...just plain evil--which is a good thing! This demo contains the most evil music Cradle have ever recorded; and while their songwriting would evolve for better or worse, Total Fucking Darkness remains the pinnacle of a band that lost its way too early in its fated history.

This is the "proto-Cradle of Filth sound." Before the heady poetry, banshee-wailing, and Maiden-esque guitar harmonies, there was Total Fucking Darkness--a totally fucking dark recording by a band that will never sound like this again.