Album review: Lindsay Schoolcraft “Martyr”
Cradle of Filth’s Lindsay Schoolcraft goes solo with a splendid and beautiful debut album in collaboration with former Evanescence man Rocky Gray. Just wow!
Canadian musician Lindsay Schoolcraft is best known as a member of British extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. On her new solo album, we get to hear and experience a somewhat different side to this terrific artist. Sure, there are a few hints of Cradle here and there, but musically this is quite different. Evanescence comes to mind more than once (just listen to the track “Dangerous Game”), which is not exactly a surprise as Schoolcraft’s album has been co-written by former Evanescence drummer Rocky Gray who also plays multiple instruments on the album. In Cradle of Filth, Schoolcraft plays the keyboards and provides background vocals. But on this album, she’s at the centre as a lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. She gets to shine like never before. There are some faster and louder tracks, there are ballads and much more. The music is beautiful and, yes, there is that gothic, haunting and eerie feeling on much of it which keeps it interesting. The piano ballad “Blood from a Stone” is sheer beauty and an obvious highlight on a top-quality album. Another immediate favourite is the hard-hitting yet dreamy “See the Light” (with a guest appearance by Ne Obliviscaris vocalist Xenoyr). The album’s opening song, “Saviour”, is my top choice on the album though. It has everything I want: riffy metal guitars, piano, strings, Schoolcraft’s fantastic voice, a great melody, chanting and plenty of variation. The song material is exquisite and so is the production. It is a modern soundscape that manages to bring in medieval touches (Orthodox and Gregorian chants and harp!) and hints of classical music. This is an album that refuses to fit into a specific music category. The result is very Schoolcraft and it is brilliant. Schoolcraft has a busy schedule with Cradle of Filth, but I hope she gets the opportunity to perform her solo material live with a proper tour. This music is too good to just be a side project. As much as I enjoy Cradle of Filth, I like the solo artist Lindsay Schoolcraft more.
Lindsay Schoolcraft’s solo album “Martyr” will be released on 7th October.
