Metal Underground.com

Despite many a metal head’s online comments that Cradle of Filth died long ago (either in ’96 after “Dusk...and Her Embrace” or in '06 after “Thornography,” depending on who you ask), the not-so-little band that could keeps on pumping out the full-lengths with reliable regularity. At this point, it’s pretty clear who is and isn’t going to love this album, and anyone whose opinion was already cemented previously isn’t going to have it changed this time around. “The Manticore and Other Horrors” is quintessential Cradle: it’s atmospheric, it’s Gothic, it’s filled with high-pitched screams, and it’s a bit predictable.

There are definitely still symphonic elements all throughout the disc, and the ending track is entirely instrumental, but it seems like the band has worked a lot of the overbearing orchestral stuff out of its system. After the heavily-orchestral “Evermore Darkly” and “Midnight in the Labyrinth” releases, Cradle of Filth has now removed the more grandiose elements of the music and produced a more focused sound. In an interesting change, that focus is tuned more towards just “metal” this time around, instead of specifically Gothic or black metal, especially in the guitar riffing.

That focus aside, Cradle of Filth’s music is getting pretty predictable after 10 full-length albums. It’s to the point where a listener can probably guess ahead of time when a track will open with Dani Filth’s drawn-out and high-pitched scream, when a girl will start moaning in the background, when a female vocalist will tell a story segment, etc. The only real twist comes from “Huge Onyx Wings Behind Despair,” which doesn’t bother waiting for the inevitable remix EP to bring out the electronic/industrial sounds.

It’s a good bet that any Cradle of Filth fans who liked “Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa” or “Godspeed on the Devil’s Thunder” will thoroughly dig the sound presented here. The less black metal-oriented guitar work and the removal of the overtly cheesy elements also gives the album a potentially wider appeal, but overall, this is just Cradle being Cradle, with a few of the window dressings changed.