It may be difficult to understand through the shrill hawk screams, but the lyrics penned by Dani Filth for Cradle of Filth's songs are gloriously poetic.
A sarcophagus stands beside a buffet topped with a stacked stereo system and display of birthday cards. Five framed insect taxidermy hang on the wall above. Centred on the couch in front is Daniel Lloyd Davey, better known as Dani Filth, lead singer of Suffolk symphonic metal band, Cradle of Filth. He’s about to head off to the studio on what is potentially his last day laying down the mixing on album number fourteen.
“This is at the end of about four months of being in the studio but it’s all been split up because we’ve pot-marked it with going on tour unfortunately so we’ve been in and out,” he explains.
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The album in question follows on from the 2021 Existence Is Futile and has been widely discussed over the course of the last twelve months. To be creating such hype thirty years after their debut and 20 years after the acclaimed Nymphetamine signals that the band are staying relevant. It also might have something to do with the fact that an unexpected collaboration between the face-painted metalheads and the fresh-faced Ed Sheeran has been teased for the better part of those twelve months.
“It’s very much what people would expect but not. Everyone’s very curious about it. It’s worth the wait. It’s not a comedy song, he has done a sterling job on it – he plays acoustic guitar on it naturally and he really pushes himself. There’s a blast beat on it and I scream on it – it’s Cradle of Filth and Ed Sheeran,” Filth confirms.
Unfortunately the curious cats will have to hold on for a little while longer to hear the Sheeran/Filth fusion with release logistics coming into play.
“Actually the Ed Sheeran collaboration will probably go on the special edition because we’re dictated by his movements. He’s having a blackout year this year which I presume means no new music, no press as such and so we have to wait for his new album to drop so we can drop the new single so they don’t affect each other,” he says.
“Our new album we didn’t want to leave until the back end of 2025, so the album will probably drop February/March next year and the special edition which will feature that song will probably drop six months later.”
After thirty years, it’s just one way the band are trying to keep their signature sound of symphonic opera meets gothic metal at the forefront.
“Now what I’m going to do in future is employ an AI bot. “Can you write an album like Cradle of Filth please and can I have it by tomorrow?” That would save a lot of heartache,” he jokes.
In all seriousness Filth says, “Inspiration comes from all walks of life. I lead quite a colourful life and if I don’t I try to make it that way. I must admit the more albums we do and the more bands that pop up that do what we do, the harder it is but life is not short of inspiration so it does get a little harder as you get older to try and come up with something original and keep it fresh. I think we’ve done it on this record.”
That inspiration is also taken from his own compilation of poetry. Known for his poetic lyricism drawn from gothic literature, poetry, mythology and horror films, Filth finds freedom in writing.
“I’ve been working on a poetry book for about ten years but never got around to publishing it. I write a stack of poetry and end up raiding it for lyric ideas and never really get around to finishing it which I’m going to endeavour to do. I also have an autobiography coming out at some point which I did two years ago so by the time I come around to proofreading it I’m probably going to have to write another chapter,” he says.
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Written with Joel McIver, author of the celebrated biographies The Complete History of Black Sabbath, and Justice For All: The Truth About Metallica, the Dani Filth biography dives into his colourful career as a leading frontman of the metal world as coaxed from staying in a haunted coach house in Long Melford.
“At one point I was thinking this is going to be a really shitty, boring autobiography because I wasn’t sexually abused as a child, I didn’t go on some weird march, I haven’t taken Ayahuasca or beaten up a girlfriends or been in prison or anything that would made the Motley Crue book exciting. It was like I got enough to say but apparently I did and some of it is quite interesting I hear.”
There’s nothing boring about Dani Filth and the Cradle of Filth empire. You just need to hear an album or head to one of their live shows to know that. Australians will be able to this September as Cradle of Filth returns for a run of shows.
Tickets for their upcoming Northcote Theatre show on Friday 27 September are on sale here.
