Bitter Suites to Succubi

Content and recording

According to frontman Dani Filth, Bitter Suites to Succubi is a "transitional mini album; essentially an EP", bridging the gap between Midian and Damnation and a Day while the band negotiated their label change from Music for Nations to Sony Records. It features six new compositions (two of which are instrumentals), but is bolstered to album-length with three reworkings of songs from The Principle of Evil Made Flesh ("The Principle of Evil Made Flesh", "Summer Dying Fast" and "The Black Goddess Rises") and a cover of The Sisters of Mercy's "No Time to Cry". It was the band's first release on their own Abracadaver label.

"Dinner at Deviant's Palace" features a recording of Paul Allender's son reading The Lord's Prayer played backwards.

This would be the last studio release to feature guitarist Gian Pyres and long-term bassist Robin Eaglestone. Uniquely in the band's canon, it features exactly the same band members as the previous album.

Release

Bitter Suites to Succubi was released on 22 May 2001 on the band's own record label Abracadaver. It reached number 63 in the UK Albums Chart.

The Special Edition features a teaser for the video for "Born in a Burial Gown" as ROM content, along with a trailer for Cradle of Fear and a "Gallery of the Grotesque" (containing the sleeve art). The Special Edition's track listing misspells "Scorched Earth Erotica" as "Scorched Earth Erotics". Early copies of the CD subtitled "The Black Goddess Rises II" with "Ebon Nemesis".

Reception

AllMusic described it as "a somewhat illogically tossed salad of Cradle of Filth tracks" and "uneven at best".

Track listing

All lyrics written by Dani Filth; all music composed by Cradle of Filth (Filth, Gian Pyres, Paul Allender, Robin Eaglestone, Martin Powell, Adrian Erlandsson), except "No Time to Cry" written by Andrew Eldritch, Wayne Hussey, Craig Adams and Gary Marx.

Personnel