The kind of quality one expects from a new Cradle of Filth record is constantly being upped with each successive release. With Midian, Dani Filth and company have concocted a witches’ brew of classy satanic imagery, the undead, killer guitar licks, guttural vocals, high-pitched screams, and spooky organ that rises and falls throughout tracks like the Coney Island Cyclone on vomit. No one should arrive at the gates of Hell without a few Cradle jams on the old Walkman, and with songs like “Cthulu Dawn”, “Death Magick for Adepts”, and “Lord Abortion”, you’ll be sure to have the coolest mix tape in Hades.

Purists may scoff at Cradle of Filth, crying “sell out” and cringing when they see CoF videos on Total Request Live, but the simple fact remains that band is incredibly talented, tight, and proficient. Ranking among the best groups of this genre, which includes such lofty comrades as Emperor, Mayhem, and lest we not forget Abruptum, the devilish Swedish duo that is home to It, the black metal midget too evil to have a human name, Cradle of Filth continue the evilution of black metal past corpse paint and church burnings.