{"id":94182,"date":"2022-06-20T00:00:51","date_gmt":"2022-06-19T23:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=94182"},"modified":"2022-07-04T16:12:39","modified_gmt":"2022-07-04T15:12:39","slug":"album-review-black-eden-cradle-of-fright","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-black-eden-cradle-of-fright\/","title":{"rendered":"BLACK EDEN – Cradle Of Fright (2022) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

BLACK EDEN
Cradle Of Fright<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nSelf-released (2022)<\/span>
Rating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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It\u2019s a shame that the CD version of this album is limited to just 100 copies because this German combo comes well equipped when it comes to creating a composition of dark, Gothic metal. Julian (vocals and guitar), Marco (guitar), Chris (bass) and J\u00fcrgen (drums) are talented musicians, and this is Black Eden\u2019s second full-length opus.<\/p>\n

Clinically German, Cradle Of Fright<\/em> brings doom metal strains, symphonic moodiness and, dare I say it, hints of groove metal married with snappier, blackened vocal squawks.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of versatility here from the off. Opening track \u2018Cure Of The Vampyre\u2019 features sweeping Gothic structures alongside haunting female vocals before a chugging menace intervenes, coated by Julian\u2019s snappy vocal retorts which transform to clearer, booming tones on the chorus.<\/p>\n

I often find Gothic \/ symphonic metal rather cold and soulless, but as this opus unravels there\u2019s quite a bit to savour. The punky opening notes of \u2018Hell Bound Their Wings\u2019 merge into mid-paced melancholy. It\u2019s just a shame the drums sound a bit too clicky, but there are streaks of Type-O Negative, more so when the track resorts to a stark, brooding style. Again there\u2019s another shift into an almost Alice In Chains-like grungy chorus yet with symphonic overtones.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s always that interesting mix of styles, and with each listen new ingredients reveal themselves to the taste buds. I like the doomy introduction of \u2018Shattered Kingdom\u2019, while there\u2019s extra aggression for the title track with its foreboding chug and black \/ death nuances.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, \u2018Mind & Machine\u2019 is another atmospheric Gothic jaunt with black metal aesthetics, thrashy chug yet power metal flecks. \u2018The Wayfarer\u2019 brings dollops of gnashing pace and energy, and \u2018Eternal Pyres\u2019 begins like a synth-laden horror soundtrack before the interesting percussion hits.<\/p>\n

The downside here, however, is that drum sound which is just too tappy for my liking when all else around is quite suspenseful. Even so, the mix of doom metal and those slurping vocal dynamics is very interesting as is the diversity exhibited on the chugging chunks of \u2018Medicide\u2019 and the simmering yet subtle \u2018Cold\u2019 with its dream-like sequencing of wistful vocals before the more rainy tempo unravels. Although I can live without the 80s Goth remix of \u2018Queen Of Pain\u2019 (from 2019\u2019s Dystopia<\/em> debut), but again it showcases the diversity on offer here.<\/p>\n

Industrial vibes, Gothic tones, Germanic steel and haunting passages make Cradle Of Fright<\/em> a dark and ruminating opus, albeit with at times a slightly too mechanical feel\u2026 but it\u2019s still good stuff.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BLACK EDENCradle Of Fright Self-released (2022)Rating: 7\/10 It\u2019s a shame that the CD version of this album is limited to just 100 copies because this German combo comes well equipped when it comes to creating a composition of dark, Gothic metal. Julian (vocals and guitar), Marco (guitar), Chris (bass) and J\u00fcrgen (drums) are talented musicians, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,4867],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-black-eden"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94182"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94185,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94182\/revisions\/94185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}