It’s been a long time since we had an official live album from British metal stalwarts Cradle of Filth, the last being 2002’s Live Bait For The Dead (somewhat confusingly reissued, with new artwork, as Eleven Burial Masses in 2007), and much has changed in the intervening years. Since 2002, the band have unleashed nine studio albums and torn through four record labels, arriving on Napalm Records for the release of this special, double-CD set that serves as a chance to regroup in the wake of 2021’s well-received Existence is Futile. Boasting sixteen live cuts and two brand-new studio pieces, Trouble and Their Double Lives pulls together performances from around the world captured between 2014 and 2019, allowing for the very best performances to be used and a tighter focus on tracks not previously released in live form (although the odd classic creeps in). Capably mixed by Scott Atkins, it is a remarkable overview of Cradle of Filth’s potency in the live arena.
The Package
Given Cradle of Filth’s enduring commitment to expansive, gothic artwork, it is no surprise that Trouble and Their Double Lives arrives on a variety of tempting formats. For physical fans, there’s both CD and vinyl, the former in a smart digi-sleeve, the latter pressed in a variety of colours; while for the die-hard fan, there’s a deluxe box set that comes housed in a smart wooden box (embossed with the CoF logo) and containing a variety of trinkets, including earplugs, pendant, patch and plectrums in a custom-printed CoF tin. Of course, it is a limited edition and, this being Cradle, it is limited to a glorious 666 copies. There are also various packages available, all of which can be checked out at Napalm’s own site here: CRADLE OF FILTH – Buy records and official band merch directly from the label itself (napalmrecords.com)
The Album
CD One
Each of the CDs follows the same format, with a new studio cut and a bonus track bookending the live material. While I would generally prefer the live set to be sequenced together, given that this is a compilation rather than a single show, the sequencing makes sense, and allows each disc to have its own identity.
The first CD kicks off with brilliant new cut She Is A Fire, a track that mixes heady gothic atmosphere and scything riffs in classic CoF style. Reminiscent of the gothic glory of the band’s Cruelty and the Beast-era, it’s a stunning track and it shows that CoF have lost none of their fire, while their musical chops have only improved in the intervening years. It’s then straight into a blistering rendition of Heaven Torn Asunder from the classic Dusk and Her Embrace. Surprisingly well recorded, it finds the band on furious form and sets a high bar for the album. As if to make the point that consistency has never been an issue with CoF, we then fast forward from to 2015, for Blackest Magick in Practice (taken from Hammer of the Witches), complete with comical introduction from the ever-sardonic Dani. With its operatic backing vocals and Maiden-inspired riffing, Blackest Magick perfectly showcases CoF’s deft ability to create compelling pieces that straddle the monstrous and the melodic, and this live version is absolutely devastating.
From the excellent Godspeed and the Devil’s Thunder, Honey and Sulphur is similarly bombastic, the cinematic opening bars yet grander on stage than on record. Perhaps inevitably, the hulking great single Nymphetamine (Fix) makes an appearance, and it remains a love letter to the band’s lighter, gothic influences, but flanked as it is by the hyper-speed fury of Honey and Sulphur and Born in a Burial Gown, it provides some much-needed respite. Bringing the live portion of the disc to a close, we get a pair of cuts from Cruelty and the Beast, still a towering artistic achievement in the Filth canon. First up, the unassailably brutal Desire in Violent Overture sets the scene, before the epic Bathory Aria, over the course of eleven minutes, shows Cradle of Filth at their sweeping, bloodily romantic best. Honestly, for the long-term fan, this remarkably dynamic performance of a Cradle classic is worth the price of admission alone, and it leaves the listener breathless in its scope and execution. The first CD closes with the darkly gothic The Death Of Love, originally featured on the brilliant Godspeed And The Devil’s Thunder. It’s the perfect curtain closer with which to lead into the interval and it suits Cradle’s theatrical nature to pause on so compelling a crowd pleaser.
CD Two
Opening with the mid-paced and doom-laden Demon Prince Regent, the second disc gets off to a darker start, once again painting a tantalising picture of where the band’s next studio effort may head. Then, via a darkly comic introduction from Dani, it’s off to Cryptoriana for Séance and Heartbreak, a full-tilt battering, only slightly softened by the richly textured keys. However, not content to rest on their laurels, Cradle then lead us into one of the bravest cuts of their storied career. Drawn from Hammer of the Witches, Right Wing Garden of the Garden Triptych may blaze with unholy fire, but it’s framed by a remarkably melodic introduction that is more Therion than Venom, and it’s that sense of melody that renders the track absolutely compelling. In contrast, The Promise of Fever is rather more CoF-by-numbers, although it sneaks in a couple of devastating riffs along the way. Fortunately, waiting in the wings, is another cut from Dusk… in the form of Haunted Shores. One of the album’s most straightforward blackened assaults, it’s an admirably dry rendition, with only limited keys and the riffs given plenty of space to fizz and spit their dark fire.
With tongues firmly in cheeks, Neither Dani nor the band can resist the lure of Gilded Cunt, one of Nymphetamine’s more bracingly memorable moments. While, compared to the gothic grandeur of material from Cruelty and the Beast, it feels a touch simplistic in its cheery attempts to shock, there’s no denying the power of the riff that drives it, although it’s soon eclipsed by Saffron’s Curse (Midian) and Lustmord and Wargasm, both epic moments in the band’s catalogue and a fitting finale to the album. There remains another bonus track, You Will Know the Lion by his Claw (from Cryptoriana), which, although a fine track in its own right, feels a tad redundant in the wake of the blistering Lustmord and Wargasm.
Conclusion
Drawing from across Cradle of Filth’s immense catalogue, Trouble and their Double Lives acts as an impressive best of, picking out numerous singles and adding a smattering of deeper cuts that will keep long-time fans happy. By drawing from a variety of tours, we get only the very best performances here, and producer Scott Atkins has done a great job stitching it all together to create the ultimate Cradle show. Happily, Scott had the sense to recognise the importance of Dani’s stage banter, a good deal of which is left intact, and this small but important detail, helps to underscore the sense of occasion a Cradle of Filth show brings. With suitably gorgeous artwork, two new studio cuts, blistering sound and a fantastic selection of tracks, many of which have not seen a live release before, Trouble and their Double Lives is far more than just a stop gap. Real care has been lavished on this release, and it provides a compelling overview of Cradle’s remarkable work over the last two decades. 9/10
