Vocalist Dani has called this new Cradle Of Filth collection a "gateway release" in the sense that it's the bridge between their move from independent status to a major label. It compiles rarities, re-recordings and some new material to close the first chapter of the COF story.
The orchestrated instrumental 'Sin Deep My Wicked Angel' leads into the majestic 'All Hope In Eclipse' with its churning guitars and alternating vocals. The "voluptuous swell", as Byron might have described the mid-section, leads into a breakneck closing passage complete with Filth uttering a chilling scream.
New track 'Born In A Burial Gown' is a powerful thrash with its harshly-repeated chorus while 'Summer Dying Fast', one of three re-recordings of tracks from their debut album 'The Principles Of Evil Made Flesh', displays its age in terms of its hell-for-leather speed but otherwise doesn't sound out of place.
Their cover of the Sisters Of Mercy's 'No Time To Cry' has the atmospherics of the original but adds a further layer of menace with its mournful violin and Filth's twisted vocals. Elsewhere, 'Dinner At Deviant's Palace' uses theatrics - rising orchestration, storm noises and vocals being played backwards to set the nerves on end.
In essence, this album is a neat summation of the progress Cradle Of Filth has made over the past decade to reach the heights of a major label contract. 'Bitter Suites' demonstrates once again that the future is theirs for the taking.
