Midian (album)
Encyclopedia
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 Galician
.
"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.
Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band, formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic black metal, and other extreme metal styles, while their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily...
, released on Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
2000. The album marks the return of Paul Allender and Gian Pyres to the band and the introduction of Adrian Erlandsson (At the Gates
At the Gates
At the Gates is an extreme metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden, and a major progenitor of the Gothenburg death-metal sound. Their early albums lean towards a death metal sound, but later albums sound more like melodic death metal.Initially active from 1990 to 1996, the band reformed in 2007 for a...
and The Haunted
The Haunted
The Haunted is a Swedish metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1996.The original members were Anders & Jonas Björler, Peter Dolving, Adrian Erlandsson and Patrik Jensen...
) and Martin Powell (My Dying Bride
My Dying Bride
My Dying Bride are an English doom metal band formed in 1990. To date, My Dying Bride have released eleven full-length studio albums, three EPs, one demo, one box set, four compilation albums, one live album, and one live CD/DVD release. The band released their tenth studio album, For Lies I Sire,...
and Anathema
Anathema
Anathema originally meant something lifted up as an offering to the gods; it later evolved to mean:...
). 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
Clive Barker
Clive Barker is an English author, film director and visual artist best known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction. Barker came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories which established him as a leading young horror writer...
's novel Cabal and his subsequent film version Nightbreed
Nightbreed
Nightbreed is a 1990 American fantasy horror film written and directed by Clive Barker, based on his 1988 novella Cabal. The film features Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby and David Cronenberg. The story centers in a community of mutant outcasts that hides from humanity, known as the...
, and Doug Bradley
Doug Bradley
Douglas William "Doug" Bradley is an English actor best known for his roles in the Hellraiser film series.- Early life :Bradley was born in Liverpool, England...
— who had a small role in the film but is better known as Pinhead
Pinhead (Hellraiser)
Pinhead is a fictional character from the Hellraiser series. Created by Clive Barker and portrayed by Doug Bradley, Pinhead is a prominent figure in the series, mostly featured as the main antagonist....
from Barker's Hellraiser
Hellraiser
Hellraiser is a 1987 British and American horror film based upon the novella The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker, who also wrote the screenplay and directed the film. Hellraiser explores themes of sadomasochism and morality under duress and fear. The film spawned a series of sequels...
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
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, the Midianites are an Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
tribe descended from Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
, and Midian
Midian
Midian , Madyan , or Madiam is a geographical place and a people mentioned in the Bible and in the Qur'an. It is believed to be in northwest Saudi Arabia on the east shore of the Gulf of Aqaba and the northern Red Sea...
itself is where Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
spent his forty-year exile from Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. The Midianites take their name, in the Bible, from Midian, a son of Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
and one of his concubines. Today, the former territory of Midian is found through small portions of western Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, southern Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, southern Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the Sinai. The people of Midian are also mentioned extensively in the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
, 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
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
's Cthulhu Mythos
Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
.
The opening line of "Lord Abortion" ("Care for a little necrophilia?") is a quote from Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
's Brazil
Brazil (film)
Brazil is a 1985 British science fiction fantasy/black comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam. It was written by Gilliam, Charles McKeown, and Tom Stoppard and stars Jonathan Pryce. The film also features Robert De Niro, Kim Greist, Michael Palin, Katherine Helmond, Bob Hoskins, and Ian Holm...
(voiced by Kim Greist
Kim Greist
Kimberley Bret "Kim" Greist is an American actress.-Early acting career:Greist was born in Stamford, Connecticut, the daughter of Norma M. and E. Harold Greist...
in the film but delivered here by Toni King, Dani Filth
Dani Filth
Dani Filth is the lyricist, vocalist and founding member of the metal band Cradle of Filth.-Personal life:...
's wife).
The title of the song "Amor e Morte" means "Love and Death" in Galician
Galician language
Galician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...
.
"Her Ghost in the Fog" spawned both a video directed by Alex Chandon
Alex Chandon
Alexis Chandon is a film director, writer and digital artist.-Directing career:His early films, Drillbit and Bad Karma featured many musicians from the UK anarcho punk scene, notably Ben Bethell, Dan MacCintyre, William 'Bill' Corbett and Julian Portinari from, The Apostles and Pallor,...
(which received heavy rotation on MTV2
MTV2
MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...
and other rock channels), and a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
in Nymphetamine
Nymphetamine
Nymphetamine is the sixth album by English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth, released on September 28, 2004. Nymphetamine marks the first recorded appearance of guitarist James McIlroy on a Cradle of Filth album. He would later record guitar for the band's 2010 release Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa...
s "Swansong for a Raven". It was included in the action-adventure/real-time strategy game Brütal Legend
Brütal Legend
Brütal Legend is an action-adventure/real-time strategy game created by Double Fine Productions and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was released during October 2009 in North America and Europe...
in 2009.