Cradle Of Filth/Nile/God Forbid/Crematorium

[Mark]

CRADLE OF FILTH/NILE/GOD FORBID/CREMATORIUM
July 11, The Palace, Hollywood, CA
By Rodrigo

The latest metal show to hit Los Angeles occurred on July 11 when the bill of Cradle of Filth, Nile, God Forbid and Crematorium played at The Palace. I was able to get there early and thankfully got in with plenty of time to get a good spot to be able to watch the first band. Crematorium is a local Los Angeles band that plays death metal and this was actually the second time I saw them (first being when they were part of the Mayhem bill). They play a very spirited set and I could tell that many people in the crowd liked what they heard. At one moment the singer, Dan, tossed tapes of their material and the crowd was eager to take them. They played for a very entertaining half an hour and I plan to catch them more often now.

The next band was God Forbid who recently released their debut Century Media album, Determination. I had been looking forward to seeing them live for a while now especially since they were unable to play when they came to Los Angeles with Nevermore. Once they started playing you could tell that they were having a great time and they sure played with a lot of energy. The highlight of the show was hearing "Divide My Destiny" because that song is my favorite song from their new album. God Forbid did a very good job in getting the crowd involved and many people really liked them. While I wasn’t particularly blown away by Determination I do have to admit that God Forbid has a bright future ahead and I will watch out for them. I was able to talk to guitarist "Doc" Doyle right after Nile played. He mentioned to me that it has been a lot of fun to be able to tour as much as they have. Plus, he said that being a part of this bill and the Nevermore bill they have been learning a lot in playing live. God Forbid is definitely a quick learner.

Nile was up next and they were the main reason I wanted to go to this show. Their last release Black Seeds of Vengeance was one of my favorite releases of 2000 because of the creativity they bring into death metal. It was also the opportunity to see new vocalist and bassist Jon Vesano, formerly of Dark Moon, who replaced Chief Spires. Jon did an excellent job in both departments and hopefully it will work out with him and the band. However, bad sound haunted Nile throughout their set. The guitars were simply too weak and low in the mix and at times barely audible but despite this they put a very good show. The highlights of their show included "Black Seeds of Vengeance" and "Masturbating the War God". Despite the sound problems, Nile was still able to energize the crowd and put on a good show. In support of Nile I ended up buying a long sleeve "Black Seeds of Vengeance" T-shirt.

It took some time after Nile finished but finally the band that most everyone was ready to see , Cradle of Filth got on the stage. The stage was very well done with the back wall featuring the cover of their latest album Bitter Suites to Succubi, a couple of statues and a corner for a female singer to be in. At times during the show, a couple of dancers would come out and dance during some songs. There was also a woman who was dressed as a devil and stood on stilts and roamed around the stage acting menacingly. The lights used during the set also add to the imagery and stage presence of Cradle of Filth. During the beginning of the show there seemed to be problems with Dani’s microphone because frankly I couldn’t understand one word he was singing. The problem was eventually made better but I think it was something that bothered the sound during their whole show. I was really bummed out that they didn’t play anything from Bitter Suites to Succubi because I was really looking forward to hear "Born in a Burial Gown".

However, they did play songs from all their other albums including "Cthulu Dawn" "Lord Abortion" and "Her Ghost in the Fog" from Midian. If only they would have played "Saffron’s Curse" from that album as well. They also played "The Twisted Nails of Faith" and "Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids" from Cruelty and the Beast. "Malice Through the Looking Glass" and "Dusk and Her Embrace" from Dusk and Her Embraceand "Queen of Winter, Throned" from the Vempire EP. That was actually the last song of the encore and was an excellent set closer. Overall, it was a very good performance by Cradle of Filth.