Midian

Cradle Of Filth: Dani Filth (vocals); Gian Piras, Paul Allender (guitar); Martin Powell (keyboards); Robin Eaglestone (bass); Adrian Erlandsson (drums).
Additional personnel includes: Doug Bradley (spoken vocals).
As satanic as anything need be, Cradle of Filth are a black metal ensemble from Suffolk, England, who've managed to keep it extreme, while being wildly popular internationally. They may be the most popular black metal band in the world because they've managed to break away from the genre's relatively small cult following and successfully infect all sorts of disaffected teenagers, especially in Europe. They never veer drastically from the usual black metal staples: movie monster-type vocals, lots of high-pitched screams, indecipherable lyrics, and relentless, punishing riffs. But Midian has its fair share of melody too. (Most of the finest metal does have some element of melody.) The album begins with a chorus of what sounds like some evil monks chanting and is at its very best when the ominous, classical-style keyboards kick in. ~ Adam Bregman