Cradle of Filth bring the Cryptoriana World Tour to The Paramount in Huntington, NY

Cryptoriana World Tour: The Second Coming of Vice

Writer: Diane Woodcheke | Photographer: Brian Berson

Cradle of Filth’s Cryptoriana World Tour: The Second Coming of Vice gave fans in the United States an experience to remember and we had the opportunity to be part of it earlier this month. It seemed like any average night; that was until you made your way down Main Street in Huntington, NY.

The scene was anything but average as fans were lined up waiting to get into The Paramount, dressed in black and some were donned in gothic face paint. As the venues doors opened they flooded in to get that covenant spot right up on the fence to get a full night of thrills.

Starting the night off was the American goth metal band Raven Black. Fairly new to the scene, for the last several years they have been gathering fans to join them in their dark metal carnival world.

They released their first EP, Midnight Dreary, in 2014, and then their second in 2016, Seven Sins.

Before, during and after those releases they toured extensively and last year they released the album, 13.

It is not unusual for the opening act to have limited space on the stage, but Raven (vocals), The Doctor (guitar/vocals), Stitches (bass) and Muppet (drums/vocals) had not issue with taking full advantage of the space.

They had and utilized it with all of their props to help tell the stories of their songs. They played a full half hour set with their original songs, “Spider,” “13,” “Stick N Stones,” “Dollhouse,” “Twinkle Twinkle Little Scars,” “Break the Box,” “The Nobodies” and “Carnival.”

Between the visuals and the music, it was impossible not to have a good time as you were drawn right into their show.

As the intermission time faded away, there were more metal fans joined together on the general admission floor.

Obvious, by the energy in the air, they were very familiar with the next act, Wednesday 13.

Joseph Michael Poole, also known as Wednesday 13, who has been on the scene since 1992, leads the band.

Musician and horror aficionado, Poole has been part of many projects and his previous bands include Maniac Spider Trash, Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13 and Murderdolls.

However, since 2004, he is now better known as Wednesday 13 and has had eight releases since then, including their latest in 2017, Condolences.

Fans, now pushing a little closer to the stage, greeted Wednesday 13 (vocals), Roman Surman (guitar), Jack Tankersley (guitar), Troy Doebbler (bass) and Kyle Castronovo (drums) with a wave of cheers.

Right from the start they had the crowd captivated. Wednesday 13 presented himself in several forms with the use of masks, costume changes and his Day-Glo body paint.

At one point he was even two faced, so to speak. He wore a mask backwards on his head and spent time singing with his back to the audience, but yet still appearing to look at them anyway.

The songs they chose to play were captivating as well with “Hail Ming,” “Come Out and Plague,” “Astro Psycho – Galactic Blood-Drive,” “Serpent Society,” “Prey for Me,” “Get Your Grave On,” “Zodiac,” “What the Night Brings” and “Keep Watching The Skies.” The time they were on stage flew by so fast but yet it was a completely satisfying experience.

This intermission gave time for the fans to catch their breath but as they returned there were even more of them. Soon to come was the time to really be taken to the next level and they were more than ready for the climax of the evening with Cradle of Filth.

The extreme metal band hails from the United Kingdom and released their first album, The Principle of Evil Made Flesh, in 1994. The depth the cradle holds is very deep as they have released a total of twelve studio albums, their latest being 2017’s Cryptoriana – The Seductiveness of Decay.

The fans were really ready to go as “Ave Satani” played over the PA system. It was when Dani Filth (vocals), Richard Shaw (guitar), Marek ‘Ashok’ Smerda (guitar), Daniel Firth (bass), Martin Skaroupka (drums) and Lindsay Schoolcraft (keyboards/narrative vocals) came out on stage that you really knew just how excited they were. With arms in the air and screaming for the band, the fans got hit with “Gilded Cunt,” “Nemesis,” “Right Wing of the Garden Triptych” and “Heartbreak and Séance.

”After playing the compilation of “Bathory Aria: Benighted Like Usher” / “A Murder of Ravens in Fugue” / “Eyes That Witnessed Madness,” they kept the crowd pumped with “Wester Vespertine,” “Dusk and Her Embrace” and “You Will Know the Lion by His Claw.”

Taking a short break the band left the audience with the song “A Bruise Upon the Silent Moon” playing for them over the PA system. But upon their quick return the fans were right with them for “The Promise of Fever,” “Saffron’s Curse,” “Nymphetamine (Fix)” and “Honey and Sulphur.”

Playing one last song for them “Her Ghost in the Fog” the crowd was completely engaged. They left the audience with “Blooding the Hounds of Hell” playing over the sound system as the band ended the jam-packed night. The band was really tight and Filth’s vocals were completely on point. The energy on stage was intense and the crowd was completely one with the band and often singing along to the songs.

Overall the evening was undeniably exhilarating with three captivating acts, each presenting their own unique presence. The creativity and stellar musicianship of each of them was amazing. They took an average Tuesday night and made it something special, a show no fan would ever want to miss. The tour of North America ended in the middle of the month, but Cradle of Filth has ventured over to Europe to continue the tour well into the summer months.