In a trash bin behind a London porn shop, MetalJazz discovered the shopping list Dani Filth presented to Life Is Art Visuals when he was planning Cradle of Filth's livestream:
100 pretty women in medieval garb
20 naked pretty women
13 sacrificial virgins
30 assorted wizards, alchemists, vampires and Druids
13 lepers
50 medieval swords, daggers and spears
13 castles
50 assorted giant runes
13 mystical groin ornaments
6 supernatural mirrors
20 moons
100 gallons of blood . . .
The full list for backdrop/superimposition visuals would run too long to tally here, and would not embrace CoF's pyro spurts, light show, silver skeleton mike stand and harnessed/robed/spiked band costumes. "Spectacular" barely describes this production.
There is also music.
When Cradle of Filth first rocked back in 1991, English vocalist Dani Filth & co. were purveying a brand of entertainment some optimistically but inaccurately termed "modern" metal -- optimistic because a form relying on shrieks and dense drum noise seemed likely to claim only an evanescent slice of modernity, and inaccurate because, despite the din, much of the music looked backward to classical and folk forms, and the concepts often referenced ancient myth and history.
Supported by a large and loyal following, CoF and thousands of other black/death-metal performers continue to laugh last. Far from fading, theatrical modern metal as represented in "Dracula Spectacular" is riding a crest.
With nearly all the musicians onboard for at least seven years, Cradle of Filth lack no coherence. Guitarist Richard Shaw and bassist Daniel Firth churn out the grandiose riffs, simultaneously twirling their now-gray locks as in vernal days; newest guitarist Marek Smerda, the group's most technical axman, renders age moot by sporting a shave-domed Anton La Vey look. Once or twice those stalwarts (or Dani) lose the beat, but YOU try counting to Martin Skaroupka's nearly undifferentiated double-kick torrent, and switching between time signatures, whilst encumbered in bulky Halloweenery and fighting the footlight flames that lick your buskins. New keyboardist Annabelle, allotted a substantial slice of the vocal pie, hits all her notes elegantly, waves her hands operatically and sports appropriate Morticia cleavage.
Always the trademark-bearer, Mssr. Filth strides the stage as if trying to recall where he stashed the blood beakers, yet appears to be in casual command. Although he has lost some of his highest shriek range, his hisses and hate barks convey the necessary friendly menace. No one knows better than Dani that it's not what he blares (one must consult the lyric sheet) but how he blares it, and that the sights and instrumental hooks are what keep the ghouls a-gatherin'. 1994's "The Principle of Evil Made Flesh" was finally unmasked as a secret cover of "Theme From Midnight Cowboy"; 1999's "From the Cradle to Enslave" closed with the simplest beats, the widest dynamics, the most keyboards and the highest energy.
It all looks and sounds magnificent, as the comments window attests. Too bad the fans couldn't also show what they were wearing, but for the next plague, that technology will surely arrive.
Dani adapted his closing exhortation to the times: "Stay safe -- but stay f*cking filthy!"
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CoF's "Dracula Spectacular" remains viewable for $20 until Wed. May 26 here.