February 24, 2016 - Well the night didn't start out too great as I arrived when the doors opened to a massive lineup and couldn't end up getting inside for an hour and only caught the tail end of Ne Obliviscaris., which is unfortunate really - they're a bunch of talented prog-death metal guys from Melbourne, Australia.
Anyhoo, Butcher Babies were second up for the night and were a lot of fun. The band comes from Los Angeles, California and stars frontwomen Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey, guitarist Henry Flury, bassist Jason Klein and drummer Chris Warner. Known in their earlier days for their infamous "nipple-tape", an homage to the late Wendy O. Williams (Plasmatics) and have since evolved their look as they become larger in the metal scene.
The show itself was furious and full of energy - between the headbangers and the oggling men at the front stage (unfortunately in abundance at front-women in the metal scene), the crowd was loving it. Shepherd and Harvey were jumping all over the stage, despite their leather-clad outfits, hair whipping back and forth. Their set ended with Shepherd joining in the mosh for their performance of Axe Wound.
And finally the headliners, Cradle of Filth, took the stage. The band has existed for an amazing 25 years as of 2016. The band, hailing from Suffolk, England, originally started as a black metal band but has evolved to include various other styles of extreme metal subgenres to create their own unique sound. Dani Filth, the vocalist, is the sole founding member with the rest of the band having joined in the last 5 years or less.
Shock value is often associated with the band, as guitarists Marek Smerda and Richard Shaw, keys/vocalist Lindsay Schoolcraft and of course, frontman Dani Filth all came out in their own face paint and head-dresses to much applause from the crowd. All-in-all, an awesome performance.
Setlists
Butcher Babies
- National Bloody Anthem
- Blonde Girls All Look the Same
- The Butcher
- Gravemaker
- Igniter
- Jesus Needs More Babies For His War Machine
- Monster's Ball
- Magnolia Blvd.
- The Deathsurround / Goliath / I Smell a Massacre
- Axe Wound
Cradle of Filth
- Humana Inspired to Nightmare (Intro)
- Heaven Torn Asunder
- Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids
- Blackest Magick in Practice
- Lord Abortion
- Right Wing of the Garden Triptych
- Malice Through the Looking Glass
- Deflowering the Maidenhead, Displeasuring the Goddess
- Honey & Sulphur
- Gilded Cunt
Encore
- Walpurgis Eve (Intro)
- Yours Immortally...
- Nymphetamine (Fix)
- For Your Vulgar Delectation
- Her Ghost in the Fog
- From the Cradle to Enslave
- The Principle of Evil Made Flesh
- Born in a Burial Gown
- Blooding the Hounds of Hell (Outro)