Photography by Tam Schilling | @tamcamimages_
It’s been five years since Cradle of Filth last darkened our horizon. The band are now set to return for a headline tour in September with support from Infected Rain
As a Cradle Of Filth fan since I was 15 (that’s 25 years strong), I got my Cradle Of Filth tattoo along with Dani Filth’s signature tattooed to my leg, one he personally signed in Brisbane. So to get given the opportunity to do a video interview with my number one idol was like a dream come true.
I had this same opportunity back in 2021. However as I was sitting at my computer at midnight, I waited an hour and I though Dani had stood me up. I went to bed only to wake up in the morning to a missed zoom call. It appears we had been given the incorrect times. I was absolutely devastated. So, for this to happen this time around I was both excited and nervous of getting stood up again.
But that was not the case. This time around Dani and I sat and had a chat about so much including their upcoming Australian tour, a new line-up, the reason they love collaborating with eclectic artists and so much more.
You last toured to Australia in 2019 performing ‘Cruelty & The Beast’ in its entity. Cradle of Filth are set to return to our shores this September, what can we expect on this tour?
It’s not going to be a whole album this time, we are going to play a mix, a bit of everything. We have a great support act in the shape of Infected Rain who are on the same management roster as us managed by Dez and Anahstasia Fafar. Dez is obviously in Coal Chamber and Devil Driver and is one of my best friends. I am very much looking forward to playing with Infected Rain and I am looking forward to coming back to Australia because it has been five years since our last visit. The gigs over there are selling out and we always have such a good time in Australia. The weather is going to be better than it is in England, the weather here in England has been fucking terrible, so I can’t think of anything better!
Do you have a favourite city to visit when you come to Australia?
Well, that would be biased wouldn’t it? I love everyone, let’s put it that way. I’m looking forward to going to Fremantle because I like Perth and I have friends who live there. I always like to go and hang out by Bon Scotts statue and his grave. Brisbane is always great and Melbourne is almost sold out, so if you are sitting on the fence about attending in Melbourne, go and buy your tickets now before you regret it! All the cities we play in Australia are all good!
I’m actually from Brisbane and last time Cradle of Filth toured here I saw the Brisbane show then jumped on a plane the next morning and flew to Sydney for that show. I remember on the last tour you were actually quite sick in Brisbane and then in Sydney you powered through however I could tell that you were very unwell.
I think I was actually one of the first people who got covid. After leaving Australia we went to New Zealand and we had a few days off there as that is how the tour was planned. It was the end of the tour cycle. I really really fought this illness. I had people bring me medicines. I did all the sightseeing and I went out. On the plane on the way home it’s like the flood gates opened, I was so ill it was unbelievable. I was in Doha I think it was, I was in between flights just lying on this side just shivering and sweating, it was awful.
Then when covid hit and everyone was saying about the symptoms I was like “that was me, I had that back in September”. Also, something fresh, I have been a complete Teetotaler for a year and a half now. That kind of puts a different perspective on things as well. Before, coming to Australia everyone would always be like “what are you doing, you have to come to the pub”. I can come to the pub and I will come to the pub, although I won’t be drinking so that will be a different perspective for me as well. I hope Australians can forgive me for that small indiscretion.
Dani, it’s a personal choice and that is so hard, so good on you for doing that!
A bit of a random question here, I did hear that on your tour one of your requests on the band rider is Ribena. Is that true and what is the reason behind that?
I do drink it and it’s more because water dries out my throat believe it or not. My singing tutor actually recommended it. It’s one of those things I always request, it’s tricky getting it in America. They are like “Ribena, what is that?” so I end up actually shipping it over believe it or not.
You have two new band members Donny Burbage & Zoe Marie Federoff since your last tour to Australia, how is the band adapting to that change?
Great, we just recorded an album with them and we have done so many tours with them. Zoe and Ashok are getting married. I’d say Zoe is fully integrated into the band for sure. It’s great, it’s always a family. I know sometimes it looks like we have a revolving door kind of policy in the band, but that’s not true from the band side of things. People leave the band for a multitude of reasons, Family commitment, Delusions of grandeur thinking they can do it better. It’s great when we are all working together as a unit. It feels like family and there is a great line up at the moment. Love Donny and love Zoe. Donny is hilarious and Zoe is great. She was the last person to come into the studio and laid down her vocals and she did a tremendous job.
As you mentioned earlier, you are bringing Infected Rain with you on this tour, who decides which band you tour with?
We ask for some bands and either they aren’t available or we get told that is going to be way too expensive. You can’t possibly hope to bring this band or that band in. Majority of the time we do get to decide. The last tour we did of Europe which finished in March and that was with Wednesday 13 touring together.
You two have to tour Australia together, that would be amazing!
I know! We chose him because we have toured with them before and we got on very well with them. Me and Wednesday, we are like brothers. We share the same kind of inspiration and stupid addiction to toys. If you are going to share a bus with someone, you have to share a bus with someone you know you are going to have a good time with. They are not gonna be shit heads and they are not going to make a big mess. Wednesday 13 and the guys in the band are just great, all of them. Infected Rain is going to be amazing as well. Just really good bands.
As people are aware we don’t usually tour with bands that are completely the same as Cradle Of Filth, we like to be a bit more eclectic. When it comes to doing songs with other people, it’s always about looking for eclectic bands. It’s pointless me singing for a band that is just like Cradle for instance because it’s just like Cradle. The Ed Sheeran collab, Bring Me The Horizon, Motionless In White, 69 Eyes and Twisted collabs – I’m always looking for something that has a strange position. It’s not fun otherwise, you always want to challenge people, challenge yourself and keep people guessing. With the Ed Sheeran song collab, 50% of people were like I have to hear this, I’m so curious and the other people were already condemning it to how shit it’s going to be and how they can’t believe the band is going to sell out. It’s quite the opposite actually, I think it’s the least sell out thing we could do. We knew it would meet with apathy but that is the point. We are trying to push boundaries and trying to do something that is interesting, new, fresh and a bit wayward. It’s exactly what people would expect it to be. It sounds like Ed Sheeran and it sounds like Cradle of Filth in one song. When it eventually sees the light of day I think people will be pleasantly surprised.
That kind of leads into my next question. There has been lots of hype about your collaboration with Ed Sheeran. Can we expect to hear this song on the next album which is due out early 2025 and if so can we expect to hear any other collaborations at all?
There will be no collabs with anyone on the next album because the Ed Sheeran collab will not be on the next album. Ed has a bunch of stuff in the pipeline for next year and we didn’t want to delay our album any further. So, we are going to put the Ed Sheeran collab on a special edition with a bunch of other stuff. I just want to make it clear, the Ed Sheeran collab song will not be on our new album. The new album is amazing, it’s not missed on the new album. It is important for people to know that it is coming out, but it won’t be on the next Cradle Of Filth album. The song is recorded and done, a handful of people have heard it, they think its fucking amazing. You just have to be patient for the release of this one.
Today was the very last day at the studio for the new Cradle Of Filth album, although we will probably carry on for a couple more days because the producer will probably be tweaking things dogs can’t hear. After all these months this is the very last day for me on the mix of our new album. It is sounding great. I quickly had to squeeze in some interviews because obviously we are coming to Australia soon and tickets are really selling well, so there is no point in me doing interviews in 4 weeks time when most of the venues are already sold out. You can expect to hear the first single from the album around the time we are due in Australia.
In the dying world of physical music sales, how important is it to you as an artist to keep releasing physical music?
Very important. I am old school, I still buy CDs. I have a digital platform with amazon but it’s only because it came with part of prime. I don’t have a spotify account, I have like 3000 CDs. I am old school in that respect. Obviously I don’t know how long that will go before they start phasing CDs out. I love listening to CDs in cars, I love listening to CDs on stereos, it just sounds so much better. It’s about the support for the artist as well, I want to see their creativity, I want to see what they were thinking with the lyricism, the artwork, the package. I think metal is very good in that respect, the fans are very loyal. They will buy special editions, they will buy vinyl and even cassettes nowadays. I think if it wasn’t for the loyalty of our fans I think metal and extreme metal in general would suffer an untimely demise in this current climb of digital age and people thinking that music is free. And that anybody can just do it and anybody can just take their share of it.
I totally agree with you on your view of all of this. I have been following you for 25 years and I have literally bought every single bit of merchandise you have bought out.
You have bought out a lot and I actually think you have been on the mark with the merchandise all the time. I loved that during the pandemic you were bringing out different and unusual types of merchandise, especially the Cradle Of Filth Tea that you bought out, that was very smart!
Wow. Thank you. There will be plenty more of that stuff coming. Trinkets and baubles for all.
I know you have been doing interviews for the past two hours, I’m assuming I am the lucky last one so thank you very much for taking the time to chat to me today. Before we go, do you have any words for your Aussie Fans?
Yes, Don’t be cunts! *Dani & Tam laugh*.
Thank you ever so much for your continued support otherwise Cradle wouldn’t be coming back down to Australia. I mean, it’s been five years but two of those were obviously the pandemic and kind of ruffled a lot of feathers and put people back by a lot. I know some bands that just haven’t recovered from the pandemic coupled with the digital sales. They just haven’t been able to get back to their former glory. I am very grateful that we have the opportunity to still be able to travel the world. Australia is always a great place, I’ve got loads of great friends there. Just coming over even not to do gigs is just amazing. But to come over and get to do gigs is out of this world, well it’s not out of this world, its in Australia *laughs*. We have great support, playing some great venues, and got great promoters behind us. We are very much looking forward to it. We are going to give it our all. We have got a great eclectic set that is comprised of material from right throughout our back catalogue. So it won’t just be our last album, but obviously we will be playing stuff from ‘Existence is Futile’ as well. I’m very much looking forward to it. The shows are selling out, Melbourne is very close, I think it’s like 91% sold. Get your tickets whilst they are still available!
I’m gonna go and get myself to the studio now and finish this fucking record!
Cradle of Filth Australian Tour
September 25 – The Gov, Adelaide
September 27 – Northcote Theatre, Melbourne
Thanks to Nuclear Blast
