Thornography
Throughout the '90s, Cradle of Filth - led by vocalist, lyricist  and crypt-crawling master of ceremonies Dani Filth - beavered tirelessly  away, producing a series of peerless extreme metal classics that drew from  an endless, dizzying array of inspirations and influences while always  maintaining that instantly recognisable heart of filthy darkness. The  brutal and brief Vempire mini-album and the lustrous, lascivious Dusk & Her  Embrace (both 1996) began to reveal the band's great sonic range. Later  taking into account the slithering concept piece Cruelty & The Beast (1998)  and the Clive Barker-inspired Midian (2000) - not to mention their  excursions into the visual realm of film and promo - the Cradle Of Filth  sound showed itself to be a many-headed creature. It was one that took  delight in confounding both the purists and the critics who continually  assailed the band's motives and creativity even as their fan base expanded  and their status soared. With a line-up that seemed to be constantly  changing - thanks, perhaps, to the cobweb-encrusted revolving door that  rumours suggest marked the entrance to the band's rehearsal space during  this period - the music was never allowed to stagnate fresh blood and its  revitalising effects remained a permanent weapon in the boys' macabre  arsenal...