Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder

Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder
Studio album by Cradle of Filth
Released	October 27, 2008
Recorded	March – July 2008 at Backstage Studios in Derbyshire, England
Genre	Extreme metal
Length	71:22
Label	Roadrunner
Producer	Andy Sneap
Cradle of Filth chronology
Thornography (2006) Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder (2008) Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa (2010) Singles from Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder "Honey and Sulphur" Released: 2008 "The Death of Love" Released: 2009
Alternative Cover
Special Edition Cover

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Blistering
ChartAttack
IGN	(7.2/10)
Kerrang!	[citation needed]
Lords of Metal
Music Emissions
PopMatters
Terrorizer	[citation needed]
Thrash Hits

Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder (subtitled The Life and Crimes of Gilles de Rais) is the eighth studio album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on October 27, 2008 by Roadrunner Records. A special edition containing bonus material was also released. Once again, Doug Bradley provides narration for the album (as with Midian, Nymphetamine and Thornography). The title of the album derives from a valediction vocalist Dani Filth once used to sign a letter. It is Cradle of Filth's first album in which the band is depicted as a four-piece, rather than its usual six-man staple. It is also the last album to feature backing vocalist Sarah Jezebel Deva.

The album debuted at #48 on the Billboard Top 200 chart with sales of a little over 11,000 copies.

Recording and production

The album is produced by Sabbat guitarist Andy Sneap, who previously worked with Cradle of Filth while mixing the band's 2006 album, Thornography.

The band's official message boards recently revealed parts of an interview with guitarist Paul Allender, conducted by MédiaMatinQuébec: "We already have four new songs ready and I have to say that they are... much faster than the songs on Thornography. [They] sound like old Cradle of Filth... A mixture of Midian and Dusk...." The interview goes on to state that the album will be followed by a European and American tour. Dani Filth has described the album as, "our most extreme, dramatic and deeply disturbing album to date. The legend of Gilles de Rais has been given fresh, vampyrical life in this conceptual meisterwerk, swathed in pitch-black magic and a viciousness unsurpassed in the annals of Cradle history. Screw what our detractors say, everyone who has heard this album has bruised their jaws on the pentagram-bejewelled floor."

In an interview with Blistering magazine, Filth revealed that three additional songs were recorded during the album sessions, among them an instrumental piece and a cover of Celtic Frost's "Into the Crypt of Rays". On the topic of their absence from the album, Filth has stated that they "were taken out so that the album wasn't too long. They'll turn up somewhere." They were ultimately included on the special edition.

Concept

In an interview published in February 2009, Dani talked about Gilles de Rais, and how his story manifests on Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder:

“

After Joan of Arc's death, he slid into a life of debauchery, which ended up with him trying to reclaim his fortune through alchemy and witchcraft. This led him to murder and kidnapping. He was eventually arrested by the Catholic Church and tried. It's a great gothic sort of fairytale story, because he's a very pious man at the beginning, turns extremely evil... The story runs concurrently throughout the album, it's not just vague ideas orbiting a main satellite. It's a story, and the narrative is actually taken from trial transcripts that were taken down in secular court at the time of his judgment.

”

Promotion

The track "Tragic Kingdom", was made available for free download by Roadrunner Records on August 27, 2008. 30-second samples of each track on the album were made available on amazon.de on September 27. The track "Honey and Sulphur" was the album's first single, and has been made available for purchase on the iTunes Store. A music video for the song was filmed at the Chislehurst Caves of Kent. In addition, "Midnight Shadows Crawl to Darken Counsel with Life" is available for streaming on the band's official website. A video for "The Death of Love" was released on July 31, 2009. Andy Sneap has mixed a new version of the song for the video.

Press reviews

• "...Grandiose, epic but still feral... eclipses the relatively weak Thornography... mixes scorching dynamics, atmosphere and overblown theatrics..." (Paul Travers, Kerrang! issue 1223, October 25, 2008)
• "...Ticks all the band's usual boxes, while also boasting genuine narrative depth and real emotional resonance... Cradle's heaviest album yet and their strongest set of songs..." (Dom Lawson, Metal Hammer, November 2008)
• "...A much more cohesive, consistent and convincing album than Cradle have made for ages... Too samey to justify 71 minutes, but ultimately this is cracking..." (Chris Chantler, Terrorizer issue 177, December 2008)

Track listing

• All lyrics by Dani Filth. All music by Paul Allender, Mark Newby-Robson and Cradle of Filth.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"In Grandeur and Frankincense Devilment Stirs" (Instrumental)	2:27
2.	"Shat Out of Hell"	5:03
3.	"The Death of Love"	7:13
4.	"The 13th Caesar"	5:35
5.	"Tiffauges" (Instrumental)	2:14
6.	"Tragic Kingdom"	5:59
7.	"Sweetest Maleficia"	5:59
8.	"Honey and Sulphur"	5:37
9.	"Midnight Shadows Crawl to Darken Counsel With Life"	8:58
10.	"Darkness Incarnate"	8:55
11.	"Ten Leagues Beneath Contempt"	4:58
12.	"Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder"	5:36
13.	"Corpseflower" (Instrumental)	2:41
Total length:		71:22

Limited Edition Bonus Disc
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Balsamic and Anathema"	6:05
2.	"A Thousand Hands on the Maid of Ruin" (Instrumental)	8:04
3.	"Into the Crypt of Rays" (Celtic Frost cover)	4:10
4.	"Devil to the Metal"	6:17
5.	"Courting Baphomet"	5:17
6.	"The Love of Death" (Remix)	5:13
7.	"The Death of Love" (Demo)	7:16
8.	"The 13th Caesar" (Demo)	5:27
9.	"Dirge Inferno" (Live)	6:45
10.	"Dusk and Her Embrace" (Live)	5:46

Personnel

Cradle of Filth

• Dani Filth – Vocals
• Paul Allender – Guitar
• Dave Pybus – Bass
• Martin Škaroupka – Drums

Additional personnel

• Mark Newby-Robson - Keyboards
• Stephen Svanholm - Baritone Voice
• Doug Bradley – Lead Narration
• Carolyn Gretton - Lead Female Vocals
• Sarah Jezebel Deva – Spoken Voice, Harmonies
• Luna Scarlett Davey - Child Narration
• Elissa Devins, Julie Devins, Leanne Harrison, Carolyn Gretton, Tonya Kay, Rachel Marshall-Clarke, Liz Willgoose, Laura Willgoose - Choir
• Charles Hedger - Live Guitars
• Rosie Smith - Live Keyboards

Production

• Recorded at Backstage Studios, Sneapy Hollow, Derbyshire, England, Mars-Juno 2008 E.H
• Produced By Andy Sneap & Doug Cook
• Engineered By Scott Atkins, Andy Sneap & Doug Cook
• Mixed and Mastered By Andy Sneap

Other credits

• David Ho - Art Work
• Travis Smith, seempieces - Design Production
• Daragh McDonagh - Photography
• Eternal Spirits - Costumes