Description

Live Bait for the Dead is another in a string of high-quality (and sort of cynical) cash-ins for Cradle of Filth: odds 'n' sods compilation Bitter Suites to Succubi, best-of collection Lovecraft & Witch Hearts, and live DVD Heavy, Left-Handed and Candid all saw the light of day during the three years between studio albums Midian and Damnation and a Day. In fact, those in possession of the aforementioned video will recognize disc one of Live Bait as the exact same live set — recorded April 11, 2001, at Rock City in Nottingham, England — which is the centerpiece of the DVD. Sure, it's a high-quality recording, and the performance and set list are impeccable, but it's ultimately redundant, and strictly for fans only. Disc two consists of mainly filler: three remixes of varying degrees of uselessness, two soundcheck recordings, a demo, a curious, tossed-off instrumental track ("Deleted Scenes of a Snuff Princess"), and an entertaining cover of Twisted Sister's "The Fire Still Burns" (originally found on the tribute album Twisted Forever). On the plus side, the CD packaging of Live Bait is gorgeous and intricately designed — an apparent enticement for Cradle completists and collectors to track down this far-from-essential rehash. Track listing: 1. The Ceremony Opens (Intro) 2. Lord Abortion 3. Ebony Dressed for Sunset 4. The Forest Whispers My Name 5. Cthulhu Dawn 6. Dusk and Her Embrace 7. The Principle of Evil Made Flesh 8. Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids 9. Her Ghost in the Fog 10. Summer Dying Fast 11. Creatures that Kissed in Cold Mirrors (Interlude) 12. From the Cradle to Enslave 13. Queen of Winter, Throned Disc 2 1. Born in a Burial Gown (The Polished Coffin mix) 2. No Time to Cry (Sisters of No Mercy mix) 3. Funeral in Carpathia (soundcheck recording) 4. Deleted Scenes of a Snuff Princess 5. Scorched Earth Erotica (original demo version) 6. Nocturnal Supremacy (soundcheck recording) 7. From the Cradle to Enslave (Under Martian Rule mix) 8. The Fire Still Burns