Cradle of Filth – Eleven Burial Masses

Eleven Burial Masses is a 2007 release by Peaceville Records which combines the first disc of Live Bait for the Dead with the Heavy, Left-Handed and Candid DVD (minus the bonus features). The review you will find below this short introduction, about the cd, is the same as my review about Live Bait for the Dead. I will mention the DVD as well.

This album was recorded during the Midian Tour and the band was in top form during that tour, and it really shows. The track list won’t disappoint either with almost all of their best songs. I would have loved to see tracks like Beneath The Howling Stars and Born In A Burial Gown, but that’s the usual thing with live releases, you will always have a few songs that you would have loved to hear. Overall, the tracklist is very solid with killer tracks such as Cthulhu Dawn, Dusk and Her Embrace and The Principle of Evil Made Flesh ( !!!! ), just to name a few. However, the band decided to cut out the freakishly cool bass section in “The Principle of Evil Made Flesh”, which is a pity since that kicked ass on the studio version. They could / should have removed the Creatures That Kissed In Cold Mirrors + Satanic Mantra interludes of this album, but that’s not that big of a deal.

Another cool thing is Dani’s humour throughout this album. Dani’s side talk in between songs is very amusing and I found myself laughing more than once ( that comment about the band during the introduction of From the Cradle to Enslave is pure gold! ). Speaking of which, Dani is amazing on this album! Dani’s dark immortal screams were still intact during this tour and his grunts are as terrifying as ever. Dani will occasionally fuck up some words of the lyrics, but that can be forgiven, given the huge amounts of intricate lyrics that he has to sing.

And I didn’t even mention the fantastic production! The music sounds really clear as if you were right there at the show. And now for the dvd, the dvd is the same as the main concert feature from Heavy, Left-Handed and Candid. I will review that dvd later as well, but needless to say, this dvd rocks. The image is very clear and the band delivers a fine performance. Headbanging bandmembers everywhere and it’s very good amusing overall. Dani´s beheading during Summer Dying Fast is so corny that it´s retarded. It is pretty amusing nonetheless.

Conclusion – This is a very solid release and will amuse every fan. The first disc is obviously great. The dvd is great as well, it would have been even better if it was the full dvd, instead of just the concert though. It is a very nice package overall ( especially the cover ). Don´t buy it if you already have Live Bait for the Dead or Left-Handed and Candid though.

Rating – 89/100

Review by JustinMetal88

Related article – Live Bait for the Dead Review

~ by Justin on June 5, 2008.