Thornography

Untitled

Thornography is the seventh full-length studio album by Cradle of Filth released through Roadrunner Records in October, 2006. The album is produced by Anthrax guitarist Rob Caggiano, engineered and co-produced by Dan Turner and mixed by Andy Sneap, and once again features narration by Doug Bradley (as with Midian and Nymphetamine).

Background

Dani Filth explained the album's title thus: "This title represents mankind's obsession with sin and self. The thorn combines images of that which troubled Christ, the Crown of Thorns, thus intimating man's seeming desire to hurt God and also, of the protecting thorn and the need to enclose a secret place or the soul from attack. An addiction to self-punishment or something equally poisonous. A mania. Twisted desires. Barbed dreams. A fetish. An obsession with cruelty. Savage nature. Paganism over Christianity. The title can also represent a sexual attraction to religious iconography as in the case of the 'possessed' Loudun nuns. I like the title because to me it invokes images of a darker, sexier pre-Raphaelite scene wherein Sleeping Beauty's castle is won and she is awoken by a poisonous kiss. A darker, more adult fairytale."

Paul Allender told Terrorizer magazine, "There are quite a few guitar solos on this album. To be honest, I've never really classed myself as a lead player as such, but this is the first time I've sat down and seriously practiced lead work. I've been so involved in actually writing new material and coming up with song structures that I haven't had time to practice all the frilly things that go on top of it. Up 'till now, there hasn't really been much room for guitar solos as such. The riffs we write, they're not riffs that are meant to be soloed on top of. They're melodic within themselves. But I'm a great believer that less is definitely more. I love listening to all the shreddy, widdly stuff, but I have no interest in playing it. This new album is quite guitar-orientated. The last album was, but this is definitely more melodic. Dare I say it, there are quite a lot of typical Maiden-esque harmonies in there."

In news posted on the official Cradle of Filth website in mid May 2006, it was revealed that the planned artwork for Thornography had been vetoed by Roadrunner Records. A replacement was soon forthcoming (see box), although numerous CD booklets had already been printed with the original image. Dani Filth stated in an interview with Metal Hammer that the controversy was over the nakedness of the female figure's legs on the original cover: "When we put the original next to the new version, it was so slightly changed... The nymph's skirt was a little longer. It was like a game of spot the difference". Charles Hedger told Gothtronic.com that the new cover "is practically the same... A lot of Americans are really religious and Roadrunner were basically saying that Wal-Mart was not going to take Cradle albums with that on the cover. But Wal-Mart never takes Cradle albums anyhow, so it doesn’t make any difference."

Three cover versions were recorded during the album's sessions, namely Samhain's "Hallowe'en 2", Shakespears Sister's "Stay", and Heaven 17's "Temptation". "Hallowe'en 2" (renamed "HW2") was released on the Underworld: Evolution soundtrack. It is included as a bonus track on the Japanese release of the album. "Temptation" is part of Thornography's finalised track listing, and features vocals by Dirty Harry. Harry also stars in the promo video for the track, which was released a week before the album as a digital single. "Stay" surfaced in early 2008 on the Harder, Darker, Faster re-release (see below). Press releases by both Liv Kristine and Cradle themselves announced that "Stay" would be Kristine's second guest vocal spot with the band (following "Nymphetamine"). Adrian Erlandsson later confirmed however that the duet never actually took place, although versions were recorded with both Harry and Sarah Jezebel Deva. The latter is the version included on the re-release.

Early reports during the album's production process mentioned a track called "The Flora of Nightfall, The Fauna of War". It is unknown which track this was the working title for, although the words appear as a lyric in "Cemetery and Sundown".

The album was leaked to p2p and torrent internet sources a month before its official release date.

Thornography debuted at #66 on the Billboard Top 200 chart selling nearly 13,000 copies.

Press reviews

• "...Nails the formula they've been banging away at since 1999's From the Cradle to Enslave EP: sharp, slick, elegant, focused, catchy, accessible heavy gothic metal, with the dark romantic schtick still present, but reined in and more explicitly parodic..." (Chris Chantler, Terrorizer issue 150, November 2006)
• "...The black magic for which they're usually so dependable is in short supply... If there was a word to sum Thornography up, it would be "incomplete"..." (Nick Ruskell, Kerrang! issue 1130, October 21, 2006)
• "...Undoubtedly their heaviest and most guitar-dominated record in many years... "Temptation" is ridiculous and best avoided..." (Dave Ling, Metal Hammer issue 159, November 2006)

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Under Pregnant Skies She Comes Alive Like Miss Leviathan" (Instrumental)	1:40
2.	"Dirge Inferno"	4:53
3.	"Tonight in Flames"	5:55
4.	"Libertina Grimm"	5:51
5.	"The Byronic Man" (feat. Ville Valo)	5:03
6.	"I Am the Thorn"	7:06
7.	"Cemetery and Sundown"	5:37
8.	"Lovesick For Mina"	7:00
9.	"The Foetus of A New Day Kicking"	3:43
10.	"Rise of the Pentagram" (Instrumental)	7:02
11.	"Under Huntress Moon"	6:58
12.	"Temptation" (Heaven 17 cover) (feat. Dirty Harry)	3:47
Total length:		64:44

• All lyrics by Dani Filth
• All music except track 12 composed by Cradle of Filth
• Track 10 composed by Paul Allender

Harder, Darker, Faster: Thornography Deluxe

File:Harderdarker.jpg

Alternate cover art for Harder, Darker, Faster: Thornography Deluxe.

• Release Date: UK: February 4, 2008; USA: February 5, 2008

In a September 2007 interview from the band's official MySpace page, Dani Filth revealed details of a forthcoming Thornography special edition. Harder, Darker, Faster: Thornography Deluxe is a CD/DVD package; the original album in standard stereo format on CD and DVD, with the following additional bonus tracks (on the DVD only):

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Murder in the Thirst"	1:17
14.	"The Snake-Eyed and the Venomous"	5:47
15.	"Halloween II" (Samhain Cover)	3:36
16.	"Courting Baphomet"	5:20
17.	"Stay" (Shakespears Sister cover)	4:55
18.	"Devil to the Metal"	6:20

• All lyrics by Dani Filth, except for tracks 3 and 5
• All music by Cradle of Filth, except for tracks 3 and 5
• Music and lyrics of track 3 by Glenn Danzig of Samhain
• Music and lyrics of track 5 by Marcy Levy, Dave Stewart and Siobhan Stewart of Shakespears Sister

Thornography Deluxe also includes the entire album in mp3 format, live footage taken from Philadelphia and Worcester, a mixing feature for the tracks "Lovesick For Mina" and "Under Huntress Moon", and the promotional videos for "Temptation", "Tonight in Flames" and "The Foetus of a New Day Kicking". Original plans to include "Mater Lachrymarum" from the soundtrack to Dario Argento's The Mother of Tears were scrapped due to rights issues.

MVI CONTENT

• The entire Thornography album on both the MVI DVD and the bonus CD
• 6 bonus tracks on the MVI
• MP3 audio files of every song
• "Tonight In Flames" (music video)
• "The Foetus Of A New Day Kicking" (music video)
• "Temptation" (music video)
• The Making Of The Video for "The Foetus Of A New Day Kicking" (behind-the-scenes video)
• Nu-Myx® computer application--create custom remixes of "Lovesick For Mina" and "Under Huntress Moon"
• Ur-Tone® computer application--create custom Cradle Of Filth ringtones
• Song Lyrics
• Photo Gallery
• Computer Wallpapers
• New original cover art
• Digital Album Booklet (PDF) with complete liner notes and credits
• Cradle Of Filth MVI Updates--register to gain access to bonus content

SELECTIONS

• Under Pregnant Skies She Comes Alive Like Miss Leviathan
• Dirge Inferno
• Tonight In Flames
• Libertina Grimm
• The Byronic Man
• I Am The Thorn
• Cemetery And Sundown
• Lovesick For Mina
• The Foetus Of A New Day Kicking
• Rise Of The Pentagram
• Under Huntress Moon
• Temptation

On November 6, 2007, Dani Filth spoke about the new tracks in the magazine BW&BK:

"[they] were written during the Thornography session, but actually finished slightly later... There's "Murder in the Thirst"—that's one of our classic intros. The title was stolen from the lyrics of "Cemetery and Sundown". "The Snake-Eyed and the Venomous" is sort of an anti-critic song; it's metaphorical. "Halloween 2" (a Samhain cover) has been remixed and remastered, so it sounds a bit better than it did on the Underworld 2 soundtrack—which was the only place it was available prior to this. "Courting Baphomet" is another fable-type song in the vein of "Her Ghost in the Fog". Again, it's metaphorical. "Stay" is a track by Shakespears Sister that we've bastardized. Now it sounds a bit more like a symphonic "Nymphetamine". "Devil to the Metal" is a celebration of everything dark and nasty really. It could have come off Vempire; it's really fast and brutal. It's got some really nice drop-downs and weird bits."

Personnel

Dani Filth - vocals Paul Allender - guitar Charles Hedger - guitar Dave Pybus - bass, backing vocals on Halloween II Adrian Erlandsson - drums Doug Bradley - narration on tracks 3 & 10 Sarah Jezebel Deva - backing vocals Mark Newby-Robson - keyboards on original edition, keyboards on "Courting Baphomet" and "Devil to the Metal" Daniel Presley - arrangement of orchestral passages, composition and arrangement of "Murder in the Thirst"

Christopher Jon - additional keyboards on original edition, keyboards on "The Snake-Eyed and the Venomous" Chris Rehn - composition and performance of "Under Pregnant Skies She Comes Alive Like Miss Leviathan", orchestral arrangements on "Stay" Tommy Rehn - additional arrangements of "Under Pregnant Skies...", orchestral arrangements on "Stay" Veronica Rehn - vocals on "Under Pregnant Skies..." Tony Konberg, Tommy Rehn, Chris Rehn, Hanna Tornqvist and Linnea Kibe - supporting vocals on "Under Pregnant Skies..."

Ville Valo - Background vocals on "The Byronic Man" Rob Caggiano - producer, drums on "Stay", backing vocals on Halloween II Dan Turner - engineering Aric Prentice, Keith Halliday, Charlie Jenkins, Moira Johnson, Ruth Nixon, Chris Mitchell, Rachel Line, William Harrison, Sophie Allen, Laela Adamson - choir voices Laura Reid - cello Martin Walkyier - backing vocals on "The Snake-Eyed and the Venomous"

Chart positions

Year	Chart	Peak
2006	UK Albums Chart	46
2006	Australian ARIA Chart	35
2006	Canadian Album Chart	50
2006	German Album Chart	27
2006	Finnish Album Chart	16
2006	Billboard 200	66