Factory Sealed CRADLE OF FILTH - CD -2001 - COF001CD - EAN 802644200125 - BLACK METAL Amazon.co.uk Throughout years spent touting their peculiar and purposefully offensive brand of gothic sex-metal, Cradle of Filth have remorselessly closed in on million-selling status, and now approach their first major label release. In the meantime, there is Bitter Suites to Succubi, intended as a stop-gap and, presumably, as an accompaniment to Alex Chandon's soon-to-be-released movie Cradle of Fear, featuring the band themselves. The album includes six new tracks, plus a cover of the 's classic "No Time to Cry", and three tracks taken from COF's aggressive but scrappy The Principle of Evil Made Flesh album, here (thankfully) re-recorded. The formula remains fairly stable throughout--a doomy classical opening is suddenly overwhelmed by an insanely fast riff and drums that have you thinking several helicopters are landing close by. As ever, Dani Filth's vocal rises from a bowel-deep grunt to a piercing shriek, the two voices often tracked to howl out in ear-splitting tandem. The album will win few new converts, and will surely have Sisters fans grinding their teeth in annoyance at a risibly weak "No Time to Cry". But Cradle of Filth's legions of followers will appreciate this fresh dose of unpleasantness, and look forward to the band's first big-budget production. Hopefully, that will be genuinely monstrous. --Dominic Wills