Cradle Of Filth Unveil The Cover Artwork for Forthcoming Album Hammer Of The Witches
Photo by Natalia Kempin Photography
Cradle Of Filth ~ Dani Filth, vocals, Richard Shaw, guitar, Ashok, guitar, Daniel Firth, bass, Martin Skaroupka, drums, Lindsay Schoolcraft, keys & female vocals ~ the UK’s most visionary and hellish outfit, have unveiled the serene, alluring, yet somewhat disturbing and harrowing cover artwork for their upcoming 11th studio album and opus nocturne entitled Hammer Of The Witches.
Fiendish main man and vocalist Dani Filth explained the provocative artwork: “The artwork for Hammer Of The Witches was created by Latvian Artist Arthur Berzinsh and is a lavish walk-through of the lyricism, drawing on rich Renaissance themes and displaying them in beautiful yet unsettling scenarios. Half of the detailed pieces are totally original for the release, others are Berzinsh classics cunningly tailored to the themes of the album, which are themes rife with heady witchcraft, be it persecution, retribution or unfettered spiritual liberation. The female form is rampant throughout the artwork, unashamedly displayed in its classical rendition of beauty… and horror.”
Dani Filth, photo by Katerina Yakyamseva
Arthur Berzinsh is best known for his defiant neo-symbolism raster graphics and oil paintings, postmodern interpretations of classic myths and refined hooliganism in the playground of contemporary art. He has been proclaimed a “sacred monster of Latvian postmodernism,” and rightly so, as his visually expressive and mannerly works tend to trigger emotions which can make thoughts fidget and wriggle, unable to find a comfortable position among the powerful and evocative images. His creative work is characterized by a varied range of voluptuous erotica, intensified imagery, dream-like scenes and decorativeness weighed down by visual metaphors and contrasts teetering on the edge of symbolism.
Arthur Berzinsh elaborated upon his artwork and concepts with, “In terms of mood, I was looking for the inspiration of this set in the spirit of Faustian romanticism, the ambivalent art of Renaissance that reanimated motives of pagan mythology after the Middle Ages, and of course, the darkly beautiful and charming spirit of Goetia traditions that is filled with the atmosphere of hermetical rituals. My personal conceptual leitmotif that inspires me, is a conflict between the free-thinking and totalitarianism, where the raw power always gains the upper hand over individualism. The act of art is a theurgical act that creates existence in the Platonic reality – reality of ideas. So, at least in this Platonic dimension let’s give the suppressed ones a chance to get their revenge. For me the Goat of Mendes on the cover symbolizes the scapegoat, who’s tired of his humiliating role and wants a payback. This character is an archetypical symbol of libido and other primordial forces and instinctive aspects of a human being. And these forces always have been a menace for those who want to reign over the others, like it’s schematically represented in George Orwell’s 1984.”
Daniel Firth, photo by Lara Dean for FW
Cradle Of Filth have been concealed in creative purgatory for the last few weeks in Britain’s darkest rural Suffolk, busy finishing the recording of their album at the reputedly haunted Grindstone Studios. It has been three years since the release of their previous album ~ the longest gap in the band’s history. And the wait is almost over: Hammer Of The Witches the fruit of their diabolical endeavours, is due for global release this July via Nuclear Blast, and Dani summed things up for us: “The album is sounding absolutely brutal. Proper old Skool atmospheric Cradle necking a sleeker improved nightmare form. This is going to blow a fair few precocious detractors away for f**king sure! …We had a visit here from Metal Hammer Germany who were suitably face-melted by the tracks we played them as part of their studio report.”