If you yearn to hear the sounds of Celtic Frost, Bathory and Mercyful Fate all melded into one, then Cradle of Filth is the band you need to check out. Black melodic intensity mixed with screaming vocals and symphonic keyboards characterises most of their sound. The strong melodies, both in the lead and the background, are the most striking aspect of this release. The music can be best be described as "vampir-ish", feeding off of the listener's energy (it also fits the centre photo in the liner). While it is easy to get carried away after seeing CoF's shtick (which has been ripped-off by quite a few people), it would be wise to pay attention to their music which, although pretentious at times, borders on pure genius.