Drawing back to the early days of Black Metal's rise to popularity, up rose a behemoth known as Cradle Of Filth. While taking many cues from their BM inspirations, the band (led by frontman Dani Filth) would evolve from lo-fi muddled messes of gothic black to an orchestrated, themed and well-designed monstrosity of their BM roots, modern metal fixes, NWOBHM-esque guitar melodies and ever-increasing gothic overtones. Along the way they've picked up and lost many a fan, but their sound has never strayed drastically from it's beginnings, always containing three basic elements to enjoy; Dani's variety of vocal acrobatics, some of the best riffs to be found in metal and lyrical themes that leave atmospheres you can quite easily get lost in. On Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder, everything that made them what they are is present, plus a fervent immediacy that has been lacking in their music for years.

Opener and grand theatric mood-setter "Of Grandeur And Frankincence Devilment Stirs" will be quite familiar to any COF fan who's heard more than a couple of their albums; this sort of opener is obligatory for the band. It sounds somewhat like "Once Upon Atrocity". Opening "song" "Shat Out Of Hell" is a fireball hurled at the listener, bursting forth with a galloping drive I for one thought the band had long since left behind. Dani's voice is still capable of hitting the lowest lows and highest highs, cementing his place as one of the most versatile extreme metal vocalists...ever."The Death of Love' is epic as hell and catchy to boot, quickly standing out as the best track over the album's first half and perhaps the most enjoyable of the bunch. Female guest vocals could be the girl who sung on their "Nymphetamine" track, but I can't confirm this.

Over the rest of the album, you'll get some 8-minute epics not quite on par with their older classics but certainly are worthwhile. The overall theme of the album regards a man named Gilles de Rais, infamous French nobleman who reportedly fought alongside Joan of Arc and, after obtaining vast wealth and fortune turned sadistic and into an apparent serial killer. The myths and legends surrounding the man are well plotted out over the album, as his journey twists from a man of honor and acclaim into a satanic nightmare. COF fans can also rejoice in the return of Hellraiser actor (he played the equally infamous Pinhead) Doug Bradley in the narrator's role, his eloquent and dark speaking voice lending even more credibility to the themes. On the whole, Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder is the best Cradle of Filth release since Midian. Inspired, passionate, equally catchy as it is devastating, an album worthy of the COF name and one that this fan has been waiting to hear for years. A strong canditate for my Album of the Year honors.