In addition to the Miltonic arc, the album also features stand-alone tracks such as the Nile tribute[1] "Doberman Pharaoh" and the Aleister Crowley-influenced "Babalon A.D. (So Glad for the Madness)".

This is the first Cradle of Filth release since V Empire to feature only one full-time guitar player (Paul Allender), as former guitarist Gian Pyres quit the band shortly before the writing and recording process.

The former was directed by Wiz (who had previously worked with Marilyn Manson), and was modelled on Pier Paolo Pasolini's film Salò; an adaptation of the Marquis de Sade's The 120 Days of Sodom.

"[2] Influential extreme metal website Chronicles of Chaos wrote, "The songs are lengthy without exception, exploring multiple motifs, but the quality has been stretched out to breaking point.

What will sadden most CoF devotees is the reality that the insidious atmosphere that suffused The Principle of Evil Made Flesh through to Dusk... and Her Embrace has all but disappeared".