Cradle Of Filth Are Set For Their Australian Invasion

‘Greetings!’ Dani Filth, the iconic front man of one of metals most extreme, controversial and universally known bands Cradle Of Filth, welcomes me in true aristocratic fashion. A raven and spiders adorn the wall behind the man who is part theatre, part vaudeville. Today are we discussing the bands up-coming Australian tour, the past and the dark future which features – check notes – Ed Sheeran. Let’s get that out of the way early.

‘The Ed Sheeran song, obviously completely two opposites come together and it really works. Yeah, I mean he’s playing acoustic guitar and singing as Ed Sheeren would. There’s a blast beat in there. I scream, it has got a huge chorus. It’s very Cradle Of Filth, but it’s very Ed Sheeran.’

‘That’s going to be released next year. The reason for that being is that we have to follow certain protocols with his releases. So although the song was recorded a year and a half ago, we can’t release it until 2025. It’s just the way it is, so you just have to suck it up. It’s great. People are going to love it. I think it’s just weird sitting on a song for three years.’

Cradle Of Filth have always been a band that while musically and imagery suggests they are constricted to one box of perception, they have always played in other fields with equal confidence, be it collaborating with Sheeran, Bring Me The Horizon, name dropped in tv shows and movies or writing books. The juxtaposition of what you think not necessarily being accurate to what they do.

‘I’m glad you can use the word juxtaposition because people ask why we are not doing cover versions with Glenn Benton or someone of that ilk, and it’s like, well, I just enjoy the marriage of extremes. I think if you’re going to do something like a cover version, you can do something that’s a bit out of your comfort zone. Somethings got to be exciting to do. I think a marriage of working with the bands Bring Me The Horizon, Twiztid, 69 Eyes, Motionless In White, they’re so far removed from the field of play that we’re involved in that it just makes it very exciting and very different. Well, that sounds more interesting in than doing it with a grind core band where I’m just going to sound the same as you’d expect me to on it.’

Cradle Of Filth arrive back in Australia for the first time since 2019 and while the latest release may be the live album Trouble & Their Double Lives, the record that in essence is being toured is Existence Is Futile, is the live album being newer going to be the crux of the set list one wonders.

‘I guess we’re in support of it. I would actually say we haven’t toured ‘Existence Is Futile’ yet, although we have just currently just finished delivering a new album to the record company. So that’s going to be out early next year with the first single September 24, I believe, which is around the beginning of the Australian tour. So it’s a bit of everything I guess. So no real plan for supporting anything, we’re falling in some weird hinterland between albums and you’ve got the pandemic to thank for that really. So everybody’s kind of playing catch up on things. The set list will reflect that. It’ll be a mixture of olden goldies and fan favourites and etcetera, etcetera, music from across the plethora of our releases.’

Australian fans have snapped up tickets already with Melbourne sold out and at time of writing, Sydney and Brisbane soon to follow, Filth is aware of the importance of heeding their fans call.

‘Australia’s a standalone and it is worthwhile. Obviously, we haven’t been for a long while. The fans are as rabid as they are elsewhere. I wouldn’t say that they’re different. They’re just Australian and it’s always a pleasure to come over and play too. We’ve got a great strong fan base in Melbourne. I can’t remember the capacity at the place, 1500 or something. It’s been sold out for over a month. So yeah, there’s a call to come and we’ve answered it.’

No strangers to controversy themselves, the band behind THAT iconic t-shirt – arguably the most iconic one in metal – could come across as gimmicks, or marketing genius. Alas seems the truth, while eye opening, was more luck.

‘Well I guess if you think about it in past tense, yeah, maybe, but it wasn’t really thought about when we were kids sitting on a lawn of our record company back in ’93, 1893 that is! Yeah, it may be, it’s not marketing genius if you had no prior knowledge of it. It was a happy accident at the time we were kids and we thought it was hilarious, it was a kind of satanic slash anarchic statement of intent that obviously stuck in people’s craw otherwise it wouldn’t still be a popular design, what 30 plus years later?’

Even when relaxing, Filth is true performer. He lives and breathes his craft. Illuminating, wickedly humorous and not without that bit of stardust that lives long after the show. Much like Cradle Of Filth.

Interview By Iain McCallum

Catch Cradle Of Filth on the following dates, tickets from The Phoenix and Metropolis Touring…