Lyric discussion by samwalton 

Cover art for A Crescendo Of Passion Bleeding lyrics by Cradle of Filth

"Well this isnt a goth band, its Black Metal (or at least was at this point),"

They were mostly black metal then, but they still had a goth element to them with the female vocals and lyrical content and everything. Black metal (especially back when Principle was released) was for the most part, just anti-Christian and Satanic, while Cradle had the vampire thing going.