What can be said about the latest Cradle of Filth offering?

 Not a whole lot, honestly.

It was never meant to be more than a filler between albums. Released in Oct 2011 through Peaceville Records,  Evermore Darkly serves as a sort of companion piece to 2010 release Darkly Darkly Venus Aversa. The EP is served up in two halves,  a CD portion containing a pair of new tracks as well as some reworkings of some Venus Aversa tracks & a DVD portion featuring a promo video clip for Lilith Immaculate & a good deal of live action gems such as performances filmed over June 2011 & a slice of life on the road with Dani Filth serving as a tour guide in corpsepaint.

There's a little older material as well such as an orchestral version of  'Summer Dying Fast', a track originally heard on 1994's The Principle of Evil Made Flesh. A nice, strong finish for the CD portion to remind listeners of what Cradle are capable of.

Two significant letdowns mar the CD half. The 1^st being spoken-word opener 'Transmission From Hell', voiced by longterm Cradle contributor Doug 'Pinhead' Bradley. It simply added nothing of value to the album & being one of only two new tracks on offer, the listener is left feeling perhaps a little disappointed.

For those of you who might've been hoping for shades of Mortiis in the techno/rave/trace version of 'Forgive Me Father', sorry to say you'll be left wanting. This track is the definite stinker of the album. Whilst it is natural, & even necessary, for a band to flex its collective crative musicle, one can't help but wonder if Cradle should have left well enough alone on this one. The gap is much too wide between this track & the usual darkly lush soundscape we've all come to expect from a CoF release. Add to that the fact that Dani's vocals weren't at their best, let's say. 

The saving grace here came from the DVD half of Evermore Darkly in the form of behind-the-scenes documentary “You Can't Polish a Turd... But You Can Roll It In Glitter”. The on-the-road antics are finished off by live footage from this year's Graspop. It's enough to keep fans of the band amused between albums & feeling like they got value for money somewhat.

Overall there's not a whole lot on offer here. Whilst I'd recommend it for those diehard completists out there, one wouldn't miss much by giving this one a pass.

I'll rate this one only a 4.5 out of 10.