Cradle of Filth; Satyricon

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More About

• Cradle of Filth
• Gilles de Reis
• Murder and Homicide
• Crime

While both bands are nearing their second decade in action, now share a label, and mine the dark side of the human psyche with gusto, England's Cradle of Filth and Norway's Satyricon couldn't be more different. Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder, Filth's latest, memorializes 15th-century sadist and murderer Gilles de Reis with a whirl of growling, spoken interludes, swelling choruses, and frenetic tempos. The effect is frantic and a little silly—but it could play well onstage. Reportedly rather introverted live, Satyricon's duo of Frost and Satyr find endless ways to energize their deceptively simple music on their latest, The Age of Nero. Satyr's vocals may be classic Norse-metal gravel, but his enunciation is clear, and the riffs he unspools are downtuned, skeletal gems. Behind him, Frost pounds and pummels his kit with an understated musicality. It's early in the year, but it may be tough to top this one. All ages.
Mon., Jan. 26, 5 p.m., 2009