''Bitter Suites to Succubi'' is an EP by English

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

band

Cradle of Filth Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their ly ...

. It was released on 22 May 2001, through the band's own Abracadaver label.

Content and recording

According to frontman

Dani Filth Daniel Lloyd Davey (born 25 July 1973), known professionally as Dani Filth, is a British singer who is the vocalist, lyricist and founding member of the extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. He has a five-octave vocal range. Personal life Danie ...

, ''Bitter Suites to Succubi'' is a "transitional mini album; essentially an EP", bridging the gap between ''

Midian Midian (; he, מִדְיָן ''Mīḏyān'' ; ar, مَدْيَن, Madyan; grc-gre, Μαδιάμ, ''Madiam'') is a geographical place mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and Quran. William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was in the "northwest Ar ...

'' and ''

Damnation and a Day ''Damnation and a Day'' (subtitled ''From Genesis to Nemesis...'') is the fifth studio album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. It was released on 10 March 2003 and is Cradle of Filth's only album on a major label, Sony Records, afte ...

'' while the band negotiated their label change from

Music for Nations Music For Nations (MFN) is a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. It was a subsidiary of the larger label distributor Zomba Records, which was a division of BMG and later Sony Music Entertainment. Launched in 1 ...

Sony Records Sony Records was a record label founded by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1963. It was not affiliated with Sony Group Corporation. Ike Turner produced singles by members of the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes on Sony Records. Records on the label ...

. It features six new compositions (two of which are instrumentals), but is bolstered to album-length with three reworkings of songs from '' The Principle of Evil Made Flesh'' ("The Principle of Evil Made Flesh", "Summer Dying Fast" and "The Black Goddess Rises") and a cover of

The Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasin ...

's "No Time to Cry". It was the band's first release on their own Abracadaver label. "Dinner at Deviant's Palace" features a recording of

Paul Allender Paul Allender (born 17 November 1970) is a lead guitarist best known for his work with the British extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. He was a longtime member with stints in the band from 1992–1995 and then again from 1999–2014. Cradle of ...

's son reading ''

The Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

'' played backwards. This would be the last studio release to feature guitarist

Gian Pyres Gian Pyres (born Gianpiero Piras, 20 October 1973) is an English guitarist, best known for his work with extreme metal band Cradle of Filth for which he recorded guitars for '' Cruelty and the Beast'' (1998), ''Midian'' (2000), ''Bitter Suites t ...

and long-term bassist

Robin Eaglestone Robin Mark Eaglestone (born 1976) is a British musician. Biography He was the bassist for the Heavy metal music, metal band Cradle of Filth. Also known as Robin Graves, he joined Cradle of Filth in 1992 as 2nd guitarist for the recording of the ...

Release

''Bitter Suites to Succubi'' was released on 22 May 2001 on the band's own record label Abracadaver. It reached number 63 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. The Special Edition features a

teaser Teaser may refer to: * One who teases * Teaser (animal), a male livestock animal (typically a bull) whose penis has been amputated, "''gomer''" Film exhibition, broadcasting, advertising * Teaser (trailer), a short film used to advertise an ...

for the video for "Born in a Burial Gown" as

ROM Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * R ...

content, along with a trailer for ''

Cradle of Fear ''Cradle of Fear'' is a 2001 British horror film, directed by Alex Chandon. It was released direct-to-video on 4 July 2001. Taking inspiration from the anthology films produced by Amicus Productions in the 1970s, it features three separate ha ...

'' and a "Gallery of the Grotesque" (containing the sleeve art). The Special Edition's track listing misspells "Scorched Earth Erotica" as "Scorched Earth Erotics". Early copies of the CD subtitled "The Black Goddess Rises II" with "Ebon Nemesis". In October 2011 it was awarded a gold certification from the

Independent Music Companies Association The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA), originally the Independent Music Publishers and Labels Association, is a non-profit trade association established in 2000 to help European independent record labels represent their agenda a ...

which indicated sales of at least 75,000 copies throughout Europe.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described it as "a somewhat illogically tossed salad of Cradle of Filth tracks" and "uneven at best".

Track listing

Personnel

; Cradle of Filth *

– vocals *

– lead guitar *

– rhythm guitar *

– bass *

Martin Powell Martin Powell is an English musician. In 1991, Powell auditioned for the position of bass player in the band My Dying Bride, but was turned down as the band had just filled the position. Upon informing the band he was also a violin and keyboard ...

– keyboards *

Adrian Erlandsson Adrian Erlandsson (born 27 October 1970) is a Swedish heavy metal drummer who is a member of At the Gates (1990–1996, 2007–2008, 2010–), the Haunted (1996–1999, 2013–), and Nemhain (2006–). He has also been a member of H.E.A.L. ...

– drums *

Sarah Jezebel Deva Sarah Jane (born 25 February 1977), better known by her stage name Sarah Jezebel Deva, is an English singer. She was the female soprano vocalist for Cradle of Filth for 14 years and the frontwoman of the band Angtoria for 10 years. In 2009, D ...

– female vocals ; Guest/session musicians * Kian Rulten-Allender – voice * Libitina Grimm – cello ; Technical *Doug Cook – producer, engineer, mixing *Ray Staff – mastering

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cradle of Filth albums 2001 EPs Spitfire Records albums