Dusk and Her Embrace
Template:Short description Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox album Template:Music ratings Dusk... and Her Embrace is the second studio album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on 28 August 1996<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and is their first release on the label Music for Nations. Template:TOC limit
Background
Much of the material for the album was written while the band were still under Cacophonous Records' contract.<ref name="CoC">Template:Cite web</ref> Speaking to Ryan Bird of Kerrang! in 2008, Dani Filth remembered:
Filth later told Kerrang! that the tone and content of the record were also partly the result of Cradle's isolation from the European black metal scene:
The album climaxes with a guest speech from Venom's Cronos on the final track, "Haunted Shores".
Release
Dusk and Her Embrace was released on 28 August 1996 by record label Music for Nations. It charted just outside of the UK top 100, at 107.<ref name="Chart Log UK: Chris C. – CZR">Template:Cite web</ref>
Critical reception
Critical reception of this album has been generally positive. AllMusic wrote: "Dusk and Her Embrace may be [Cradle of Filth's] finest moment."<ref name="AllMusic"/> In 2021, it was elected by Metal Hammer as the 4th best symphonic metal album of all time.<ref name="MHbestsymph">Template:Cite web</ref>
Track listing
Template:Track listing Template:Track listing Template:Track listing
Personnel
All information from the album booklet.<ref>(1996). "Dusk... and Her Embrace liner notes". In Dusk... and Her Embrace [CD booklet]. Music for Nations.</ref>
Cradle of Filth
- Dani Filth – lead vocals
- Stuart Anstis – guitars
- Gian Pyres – guitars (credited, but doesn't play on the album),<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:CbignoreTemplate:User-generated source</ref> songwriting on "Nocturnal Supremacy '96"
- Robin Graves – bass
- Damien Gregori – keyboards
- Nick Barker – drums
- Sarah Jezebel Deva – backing vocals
Additional musicians
- Cronos – additional vocals on "Haunted Shores"
- Danielle Cneajna Cottington – backing vocals
Production
- Kit Woolven – producer
- Dan Sprigg – engineering
- Mike "Exorcist" Exeter – engineering
- Sato Devinn – effects
- Eileen – cover model
- Nigel Wingrove – art direction
- Simon Marsden – photography
- Chris Bell – photography
- Salvatore – artwork
- Mez – artwork, layout
Charts
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Finnish Albums Chart<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 24 |
| UK Albums Chart<ref name="Chart Log UK: Chris C. – CZR"/> | 107 |
Dusk and Her Embrace: The Original Sin
Dusk... and Her Embrace exists in two versions. It was initially recorded as the band's second album for Cacophonous records following The Principle of Evil Made Flesh. Cradle's relationship with Cacophonous subsequently collapsed, however, with the band accusing the label of contractual and financial mismanagement. Acrimonious legal proceedings took up most of 1995,<ref name="Rockdetector">Template:Cite web</ref> and the original version of Dusk was shelved and later re-worked and re-recorded as the eventual 1996 Music for Nations release. Writing in The Gospel of Filth in 2009, Dani indicated that these early recordings were merely demos, rather than a finished album:
Dani Filth revealed plans for a 20th anniversary release of the original 1995 Cacophonous recordings in 2015, and a release date was officially announced in 2016. Filth told Team Rock: Template:Blockquote
The title for the new release was Dusk... and Her Embrace: The Original Sin. It was released on CD and digital on 8 July 2016.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> A vinyl version, limited to 666 copies, followed on 10 October 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The liner notes confirm that the lineup for this version was almost the same as for The Principle of Evil Made Flesh, including Paul Allender, Paul Ryan and Benjamin Ryan, but excluding Robin Graves, who was shortly replaced by Jon Kennedy. Allender, the Ryan brothers and Kennedy all left the band before the 1996 version of Dusk... was recorded.
Track listing
Personnel
Cradle of Filth
- Dani Filth – lead vocals
- Paul Allender – guitars
- Paul Ryan – guitars
- Jon Kennedy – bass
- Nick Barker – drums
- Benjamin Ryan – keyboards
- Sarah Jezebel Deva – backing vocals
- Danielle Cneajna Cottington – backing vocals
Guest/session musicians
- Steve Grimmett – vocals ("Arthurian Wails") on "Haunted Shores"
- Cronos – vocals ("Rabid Captor of Bestial Malevolence") on "Haunted Shores"
Production
- Andy Reilly, Mike Cowling, Zakk Bajjon – producer, engineer
- Scott Atkins – mastering (2016)
- Drake Mefestta, Frater Nihil, Dani Filth – sleeve art, art direction, design and layout