This was a bit of a weird one. We actually recorded it as our second release, but we then had to take our label to court which meant that most of it was temporarily lost for legal reasons. The next thing I know the band had split into two-halves, and after releasing the V Empire EP my half was able to re-record and finally release the album. In a way it actually worked in our favour, because after nearly two years of legal battles and non-stop hassle I think the troubles of the times actually came through on the recording. We actually worked with Kit Woolven on that one, who most people knew from working with Thin Lizzy, so it had a very lush edge as well as this distinctive, dark vibe. To this day this is the album that a lot of our fans seem to be really drawn to. And it catapulted us into a whole new world.
Ryan Bird / Cradle of Filth interview, Kerrang! #1236, 2008
CRADLE OF FILTH released Dusk and Her Embrace, their second studio album, on this day in 1996.
The material was originally recorded in 1995 for Cacophonous but following contractual disputes, which eventually ended up in court, Dusk... was re-recorded, with a new lineup, in late 1995 for Music For Nations.
M.F.N. is much bigger than Cacophonous and Vinyl Solution and a few more tight fisted labels put together, I'm sure you'll agree, but there's a fundamental differrence... they run an honest business and supply a justifiable service to people who appreciate our music, size has nothing to do with our choosing of M.F.N., but I think I've established why they are more successful.
Robin Graves / Cradle of Filth interview, Ichot #2, 1997
The original recording was eventually recovered, remastered and released by Cacophonous in 2016 as Dusk and Her Embrace - The Original Sin.
This is the fouth time I've been in the studio and come away less than fully satisfied, but at the same time some things about "Dusk" turned out better than I had expected. I'm not too interested about going into too much detail about the composition as this occurred too long ago it's all water under the bridge, but as far as the actual recording of "Dusk" is concerned I wasn't coverly happy with the bass sound. To me it sounds a bit fat, I imagined something with more punch, so that it would have cut through the mix out being quite as loud. And I though some of the most characteristic keyboard ideas were burned beneath everything else when it was obvious to me that they were some of the main parts of our music, but there's so many parts to our music and so many people involved. This sort of thing is to be expected.
Robin Graves / Cradle of Filth interview, Ichot #2, 1997