Cradle of Filth; The biggest ‘black’ metal in the world. (I won’t be starting that old discussion again). From the depths of the English underground, more than ten years ago, they’ve climbed to the biggest stages all over the world, which can be seen as quite an achievement.
When I say Cradle Of Filth I actualy mean Dani Filth, the illustrious little frontman who is almost the only remaining founding member and changes band members more often than his spandex shirts.

In all those years the musical direction has shifted a bit, although always staying true to the decadent overdramatic theatrical imagery that always has surrounded the band and a whole new generation of fans found in C.O.F. the perfect band the guide them to puberty.
Recent years have seen a growing numbers of live-releases, compilation cd’s and stuff like that and this release is ofcourse meant to keep the fans happy until the new album is released later this year. Still, C.O.F. made sure that the packaging and contents were op to the high standards the band has always had.

The main part of “Peace Trough Superior Firepower” is 90 minute registration of a concert of the Nymphetamine Tour on the 2nd of April 2005 in Paris. The venue is nicely packed with an enthusiastic crowd. The stage is not scattered with decor because the visual firework (literally) comes from the dancers who perform as angels and demons on numerous occasions.

This gig was professionally filmed with multiple cameras and has a suspiciously good sound. It’s common knowledge that most concert registration are edited afterwards in the studio but few are so heavily dubbed as this one.
I’ve seen them perform many times and never have they had such a great sound and the time that Dani sang so powerful is way behind us.

The setlist leans heavy towards the latest album “Nymphetamine” but fans of the old days can relish still great classics as “The Black Goddess Rises”, “The Forest Whispers My Name” albeit that they are played in a more modern C.O.F. way. A thing I can understand because the Cradle Of Filth of today is far away of the Cradle that raped Europe in 1996 but because of that sentiment all later albums and gigs seem somewhat tame compared to that.

The extra’s include a behind the scenes ‘shockumentary’, a registration of a instore signing session and the unavoidable photo-gallery, all only interesting for the die hard fans. The extra that is actually worth mentioning is the Video section that features six videos shot for various songs which gives a nice overview of the depraved visual nightmares of Cradle Of Filth