| Midian | ||||
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| Studio album by Cradle of Filth | ||||
| Released | October 31, 2000 | |||
| Recorded | 2000 | |||
| Genre | Extreme metal | |||
| Length | 58:58 | |||
| Label | Music For Nations (EU) Koch Records (U.S.) |
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| Producer | John Fryer | |||
| Cradle of Filth chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
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Variant leather packaging
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| Exclaim! | (Favorable) [2] |
| NME | [3] |
Midian is the fourth studio album by Cradle of Filth, released on Halloween 2000. The album marks the return of Paul Allender and Gian Pyres to the band and the introduction of Adrian Erlandsson (At the Gates and The Haunted) and Martin Powell (My Dying Bride and Anathema). At the time it was considered their most commercial and accessible album to date and sees a shift toward a more thrash and death metal sound with the guitars. It is inspired by Clive Barker's novel Cabal and his subsequent film version Nightbreed, and Doug Bradley — who had a small role in the film but is better known as Pinhead from Barker's Hellraiser and its sequels — provides narration on some tracks. While keyboards remain prominent, Midian is more guitar-oriented than its predecessors. The cover art was created by JK Potter.
In the Bible, the Midianites are an Arab tribe descended from Abraham, and Midian itself is where Moses spent his forty-year exile from Egypt. The Midianites take their name, in the Bible, from Midian, a son of Abraham and one of his concubines. Today, the former territory of Midian is found through small portions of western Saudi Arabia, southern Jordan, southern Israel and the Sinai. The people of Midian are also mentioned extensively in the Qur'an, where the name appears in Arabic as Madyan. The Midian of Cabal and Nightbreed is a hidden city offering shelter for monsters away from humanity.
The song "Cthulhu Dawn" invokes the character from horror writer H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.
The opening line of "Lord Abortion" ("Care for a little necrophilia?") is a quote from Terry Gilliam's Brazil (voiced by Kim Greist in the film but delivered here by Toni King, Dani Filth's wife).
The title of the song "Amor e Morte" means "Love and Death" in Latin, Italian, and Portuguese.
"Her Ghost in the Fog" spawned both a video directed by Alex Chandon (which received heavy rotation on MTV2 and other rock channels), and a sequel in Nymphetamine's "Swansong for a Raven". It was included in the action-adventure/real-time strategy game Brütal Legend in 2009.
All lyrics written by Dani Filth, except for "For Those Who Died", all music composed by Cradle of Filth.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "At the Gates of Midian" (Instrumental) | 2:21 |
| 2. | "Cthulhu Dawn" | 4:17 |
| 3. | "Saffron's Curse" | 6:32 |
| 4. | "Death Magick For Adepts" | 5:53 |
| 5. | "Lord Abortion" | 6:51 |
| 6. | "Amor e Morte" | 6:44 |
| 7. | "Creatures That Kissed in Cold Mirrors" (Instrumental) | 3:00 |
| 8. | "Her Ghost in the Fog" | 6:24 |
| 9. | "Satanic Mantra" | 0:51 |
| 10. | "Tearing the Veil from Grace" | 8:13 |
| 11. | "Tortured Soul Asylum" | 7:46 |
| 12. | "For Those Who Died" (bonus Sabbat cover on Japanese and leatherbound release only, feat. Martin Walkyier) | 6:16 |
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Total length:
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65:07 | |
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