Cradle of Filth / Rock City / Nottingham

A trip into town on a Sunday night to worship at the gothic extreme metal altar of Cradle of Filth on their “By Order of the Dragon” tour. And what a line up we have to look forward to. We saw heavy/groove metal special guests Butcher Babies about a year ago when they supported Fear Factory, but tonight we’re excited to see the gothic death pop musings of High Parasite, and NY’s own Dark Satellite with their unique brand of industrial metal. These are my favourite nights, each band, quite different from the others, offering a different sonic experience. When it works, it can be stunning. Lets see !

First up on stage are Black Satellite from New York City, built around vocalist Larissa Vale and guitarist Kyle Hawken. They released their debut single Valkyrie in 2017. Their sound has a strong industrial metal base but with their own unique take on the genre, led by the edgy and dark vocal tones from singer Larissa. With short spikey blonde hair and white facepaint with black graphic patterns, Larissa is a striking figure as she prowls round the stage.

They kick off the set with Dead Eye which demonstrates their creative and fresh approach to industrial metal to the max. Rounding off the live set up are Rom Gov on drums, Tyler Halverson on Guitar, and Mark Alexander on Bass.

The tracks are heavy and infectious and packed to the brim with energy, such as their latest release Broken showing off the unique vocal range to perfection. The includes an unreleased track in Here It Ends which hits hard, very hard, with drums and bass powering through the mix, supplementing the powerful riffs and unleashing the full ferocity of Larissa’s vocals.

To round off the set, we got that iconic countdown “Eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, sieben, acht, neun, aus…..” and boom ! they dive into a fantastic cover of Rammstein’s classic Sonne from “Mutter”. And they owned it !

The crowd were singing along, metal horns in the air, a great end to a thoroughly enjoyabe set. I love a bit of industrial metal, and Black Satellite, for me, are a band to watch….. its heavy, but clean and dark. Top top stuff.

Setlist

Dead Eye

Broken

Far Away

Here it Ends

Void

Don’t Remind Me

Decay

Sonne

Next up are High Parasite, the name being an acknowledgement of mankind as parasite-in-chief) led by singer Aaron Stainthorpe, the longstanding frontman with doom metal maestros, My Dying Bride… This is no side project, High Parasite are new touring and recording band in their own right and with the release of their debut album “Forever We Burn” in 2024, they’re showing their love for all things gothic and grand.

Taking to the stage, High Parasite make a striking visual impression, mainly with Aaron dressed immaculately in a white suit and tie. It reminded me of something like Alexander Wesselsky singer of the German band Eisbrecher. The set was built around their debut album “Forever We Burn” and they open with the track Parasite. Aaron’s vocals shine through mix, almost as smoothly as the suit does. I’m strangely drawn to the suit wondering what state it will be in by the end lol.

Tracks like Let It Fail and Forever We Burn are brimming with intensity and power, with Let It Fail having a decidedly thrash edge to it. Perhaps my favourite of the set was Hate Springs Eternal which is ferocious. Their sound is sharp and well balanced and led by the iconic figure of Aaron their energy levels never seem to dip. The suit…. Remained spotless throughout !

A stunning short set, and significantly different from Black Satellite. Its shaping up to be a good night, and the crowd seem to agree.

Setlist

Parasite

Concentric Nightmares

Grave Intentions

Wasn’t Human

Hate Springs Eternal

Let it Fail

Forever We Burn

You know there’s one thing you’ll get with the Butcher Babies, and that’s energy ! Formed in Los Angeles back in 2010 by vocalists Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey, they released their debut EP in 2011, and their debut album, “Goliath” was released in 2013, via Century Media Records. With Carla leaving the band a year ago, Heidi has taken on the mantle of figurehead, and she’s doing an outstanding job, delivering an incredible set when we saw them a year ago, here, with Fear Factory.

Kicking off with Backstreets Of Tennessee Heidi bounces out into the spotlight and delivers a powerful and strong performance that demonstrates her incredible range and her ability to switch in an instant from crisp clean vocals to harsh guttural growls. Also immediately the crowd are on it, shouting back the lyrics. Heidi addresses the crowd and recalls playing here a year ago, and how glad they are to be back, which gets rousing cheers.

With guitarist Henry on stunning form along with some powerful and technically impressive drums and bass Devin and Ricky the whole performance is a whirlwind. Monsters Ball sees Heidi down on the barrier running along and interacting with the fans who eagerly lap up every moment of the interaction with some brutally fierce guitar riffs driving the track along.

Their latest single release Sincerity gets an airing and shows another side to Heidi’s vocals, packed with simple raw emotion. But the energy soon returns with It’s Killing Time Baby and Henry is high kicking and Heidi jumps up and off the risers.

Things slow down briefly for Last December a brief moment of calm aided by some delightful soft low vocals from Heidi. A stunning moment of beauty.

They close out the set with Magnolia Boulevard taken form their debut album “Goliath” released in 2013, perhaps their most iconic track that sums up Butcher Babies so perfectly. Its energy unlashed, a wall of sound, all the elements working in harmony, over which Heidi’s vocals soar gracefully and effortlessly. This is great no nonsense power metal at it’s best.

Setlist

Backstreets of Tennessee

Red Thunder

Monsters Ball

King Pin

Sleeping with the Enemy

Sincerity

It’s Killing Time Baby

Beaver Cage

Spittin’ Teef

Last December

Magnola Boulevard

A longer break now, in order to build the set for headliners Cradle of Filth. Formed in Suffolk in 1991, Cradle of Filth are an extreme metal band. Their style has evolved over time from it’s original black metal roots, to a more blended style including gothic and symphonic metal elements.

The lights go out, and the crowd scream as one by one the band members step out one by one, Marek Šmerda looking incredible in his ‘pinhead’ style makeup, before the arrival of a hooded Dani Filth

What sets Cradle of Filth apart is the vocals. Dabi’s voice is quite unique, delivering deep gravelly tones and extreme high screams, and he has an uncanny ability to switch it up with ease. With Zoe Marie Federoff on keyboards adding vocals to the mix too, they cut through and perfectly compliment Dani’s completing the vocal sound perfectly.

Marek is an imposing character on stage, austere and solemn creating a sense of unease which is just magical in the dark gloomy green lighting.

Dani is full of energy, almost unable to stand still, bouncing up and down throughout the set, the high pitch screams drawing roars of approval form the audience as they clap and sing along.

One of the highlights of the set had to be the performance of recent single Malignant Perfection. It’s a dark one to be sure, as Dani explains it’s a “ horrific homage to All Hallows Eve, as embodied by the female deification of evil. It is a perfect musical accompaniment to the spirit of the witching season; invoking dark, Autumnal splendour and celebrating the time when the thin line between life and death is at its most tenuous and the denizens of the otherworld seek to break the veil into ours”.

And with lyrics like “On All Hallows Eve, Free the demons from my soul untethered, Prize wide the rifts All Hallows Eve, Be the conduit of dreams forever” it’s the perfect storm of emotions for Dani’s vocals. Its more defined and melodic than old school Cradle of Filth tracks, and the verse sections are dare I say it ‘sing along to’ while the drumming is intense and unrelenting. Dani’s deep growling giving way to peaks of intense screams, belying a sense of vulnerability in the track. It’s one of my favourite Cradle of Filth tracks

Of course no Cradle of Filth show would be complete without fan favourite Nymphetamine (Fix) and of course the already over stimulated crowd go even more wild. The intensity of the track is unreal, both in terms of the music but in the vocals too. There’s an energy in the room bouncing back and forth from band to crowd, and a togetherness.

Coming back for a three song encore, of course the set could only end with one song really ? As the iconic keyboard chords stab the late night air, the unmistakable intro to

Her Ghost in the Fog kicks in and the crowd go one more level of crazy. This is the song that introduced me to Cradle of Filth, and it has an iconic, haunting feel to it. It has a bit for everyone, there’s crushingly powerful riffs, unrelenting drums and orchestral keys delivering a sonic soundscape crafting a stunning background for the vocals to sit on, with both Dani and Zoe excelling.

The whole track is crushing in its power and delivery and leaves us all begging for more.

Cradle of Filth were simply sensational tonight. Indeed the whole night has been incredible. Four VERY different bands from industrial, through heavy metal, to death pop and intense gothic extreme metal, each unique in its own right, but blended together…. A stunning night and demonstration of why metal is the most versatile genre around.

Setlist

The Fate of the World

Existential Terror

Saffron’s Curse

The Forest Whispers My Name

She is a Fire

Summer Dying Fast

Malignant Perfection

Heartbreak and Séance

Nymphetamine

Born in a Burial Gown

Malice Through the Looking Glass