Long gone are the times when CRADLE OF FILTH were considered visually offensive, musically extreme and hyper influential. We all got used to them and took them for granted while band leader (and only constant member) Dani Filth lounged in the comfort of his self-invented style, solidifying it so that in 2015 he cannot release anything but the “very standard CoF album”.

 

With that known, it's only a case of how good would that album actually be, for its predecessors 'The Manticore and Other Horrors' and 'Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa' were only passing moments in the bands extensive discography. And even though 'Hammer of the Witches' certianly won't take the metal scene by storm, it is Filth's most diverse album for the last few years.

 

Starting off with first single 'Right Wing of the Garden Triptych' would be a mistake – this is by far the easiest as well as one of the more boring tracks in here. Too sweet and melodramatic for our hard metal hearts but obviously a treat for the teen pseudo-gothic boys and girls. However, if you direct your attention to 'Enshrined in Crematoria', you would quickly be reminded of CRADLE OF FILTH's Golden age (think 'Midian' and 'Cruelty and the Beast').

 

So, Dani managed to pull it off again even though the band went through another line-up change recently. CRADLE OF FILTH still sound coherent and tight, like a band that has been playing together for quite some time. The good balance between infernal screams, riffs and orchestral parts continues in 'Onward Christian Soldiers', 'Blackest Magick in Practice' and 'Hammer of the Witches'.

 

Of course, Dani and Co. stick tightly to the formula, so there are three pseudo-classical synth and plenty of medocre tracks ('The Vampyre at My Side', 'King of the Woods').
 

All in all, a good release but mainly targeted at the hardcore fans.