Interview mit Dani Filth von Cradle Of Filth

Hello, Danny. Nice to see you!
Hello hello! Pleasure is all mine.

Danny, ice-breaking question firstly. Have you seen Robert Eggers‘ Nosferatu yet?
I have indeed.

And what do you think about it?
I liked it. I thought it was very well done. I thought the color palette looked great. I think all the historical nods to both history and the vampire movie in general were really good. I could spot loads of Easter eggs or Easter Eggers all over the place. The only gripe I had with it. I mean – I loved all the impressionism and everything like that. I just found all that just wasn’t scary enough.

Really?
Yeah. I just thought that the trepidation of Orloks arriving and everything like that, it was great. But he just needed to be a bit scarier. That’s the only fault I could find with it. I loved the ending. It really reminded me of Metamorphosis of the Vampire by the poet Baudelaire. The way the daylight reveals. So, yeah, it was great. It’s a delight.

Maybe this could be another concept idea for CRADLE OF FILTH in the future?
It’s kind of been done now, isn’t it?

Maybe you´re right. Let’s start with the serious stuff. First of all, congratulations. Your new album, The Screaming of the Valkyries, will be released in under a month. I’ve heard it and it’s amazing. It’s one of your best albums to date. I would like to dive in with the lyrics. As I remember, Cradle has always explored themes of mythology, religion and history and all of that. How was that with The Screaming of the Valkyries? I mean, in my opinion, you saw the society as the monster this time…
Not necessarily. The album has a very mixed repertoire. To Live Deliciously, Non Omnis Moriar, You Are My Nautilus, Malignant Perfection, When Misery was a Stranger, Demagoguery, they’re all songs being influenced by current events. And I would say everything else is pure escapism, really. It’s not a concept record as such. And The Scream of the Valkyries represents a cataclysmic event as if it was an actual thing. Like the sighting of a mushroom cloud going up or a tidal wave rising over you. It’s a disaster. So to hear The Scream of the Valkyries of things invading Asgard, destroying the gatekeepers, the handmaidens of the gods. It was Ragnarok, the end of everything. But to hear it, you would know this is the impossible cataclysm.

And also, it doubles up as a really good heavy metal album title.

So in a way, the lyrics are also a statement about the global situation these days?
On a few songs, maybe. The rest is very celebratory. Sex and death, vampirism. All the good stuff that you’ve come to love from CRADLE OF FILTH. Religious iconography, pornography. Dark romanticism. But I would say „When Misery was a Stranger“ ends the album on a rather dark note. Because the lyrics are dark. But within them, the cataclysm has occurred. The inevitable has happened. And the title itself was actually inspired by the fact that we are now like 22 seconds away from midnight.

That in itself was kind of the theme behind „When Misery was a Stranger“. These events happened and we should have appreciated things or dealt with them when we had the chance. But the hope in the song is that you’re reading it as if it has already happened. But in truth, it hasn’t. So, it’s very Dickensian, as in the Christmas Carol – the three ghosts have come and warned you and now you’ve got the opportunity to actually do something about it.

What message would you like to convey in these times?
Well, this album is about escapism and enjoying the art and the music if it does carry a little message. But to be honest, if people don’t know about these things already, then it’s like preaching to the converted. Never going to take it in. I mean, these things are fundamental, you know, everyday occurrences that people should know about. Someone the other day mentioned about the Russian conflict at the moment. They had no idea of the last year’s worth of development. Not one bit. And I was amazed. I was like, this is crazy. How could you don’t know?

And he said: „Well, I don’t trust the news.“ Well, trust maybe 20 different news outlets and make your own opinion, but not doing anything about it. You know, just carrying on. But with that in mind, each to their own.

And I think mainly the message here with our album is it’s a reflection of when I got into music, heavy metal in particular. I was taken all back and completely bewitched and spellbound by the concepts and the ideology of the album covering and the just pure escapism of heavy metal. I loved it. It’s big and bold and brash and colorful as could be. Think early Wasp. Spider, Venom, dressed up in all their armor. It was all that. I loved it. I absolutely loved it. And that’s kind of what I want to convey to people now. I want people to obviously have an eye on and be aware of things. I’m not going to preach.

We’re not. I’ve got viewpoints, but they’re not to be shared with anybody. I’m not going to preach. We’re not a and that’s something that is so profoundly that moves me so profoundly that I feel like I have to preach about. You know, I want our albums to be a place where people gather to escape and enjoy and be creative.

Pure escapism in the things you love so to speak?
Yeah. I mean, one of the modus operandi about the album was we just wanted to deliver what we write, not expected to deliver special edition tracks or bonus material for Timbuktu. We just wanted to deliver. This is it. People moan if it’s too long anyway. So what’s the point of special edition tracks? And of course they buy them, you know, they’ve got extended artwork and everything. But just give them the people, the album. That’s what they have. That’s what music was like in the old days. So we still deliver a lengthy record. We wanted to write an album that, despite being a marriage of extremes, was also very, very catchy and memorable.

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I know that you’re an extraordinary writer when there´s a good idea for writing a full album concept. What is your favorite? Conceptual writing or non-conceptual writing?
Well, I prefer to do another concept record, but it’s just very, very difficult. It changes how the music sounds. I honestly believe, with Cradle, we write better when we’re not confined. I never approach people and say: „Here’s the lyrics, write a song around this“. I give a theme or a direction to the band, but generally I wait and help shape that song. Sometimes it gets to a living, and I say, no, I need that song, that riff to be longer.

Or this is the pre-chorus, so this needs to move, as does our producer, Scott Atkins. He is a shaper of things. Then I will write lyrics to something that’s been shaped. But yes, concept records, if you’ve got a great original concept, and I’m just totally in love with it like a mad professor, and can take nothing more than that, fulfilling my duty of bringing that to life, like I did with Crawl’s example, then yes. If not, then it’s, as we did with this record, just an album of just good songs.

Compared to Existence is Futile, you’ve largely omitted orchestration on your new album. This makes The Scream of the Valkyries more akin, in my opinion, to Anemphetamine, or to The Manticore and other horrors, than to Damnation in a Day or Darkly Darkly. Would you agree with that?
I guess so. The keyboards on this record are exploratory. We tried to do a bit more of what we were doing maybe on „Principle of evil made Flesh“ or „From the cradle to enslave“. Strange, unique horror sounds, vibes, unusual sounds. There are choirs, there are other instruments. There’s violins, cello, etc. But it’s all done in a strange, different setting.

So, if you begin to write an album…
We’re doing that right now.

Oh really? Do You have a bit more information about it?
Well, I wouldn’t get too excited. I mean, we haven’t even released this one yet, but we’re trying to get ahead of the curve while we’re feeling very excited. It’s good.I mean, obviously we still got echoes of this album ringing in our ears. It’s just it’s enabled us just to take a step in another direction.

And how is the way? Do you write together or is it on remote? What is the way from a first thought of a new Cradle album to the final result?
Riftbanks. Everybody just contributes lots of things and then we start building it from there. Plenty of opportunities to meet up with everybody. We’re on tour for most of the year and pre-show rehearsals and sound checks and hotel rooms when we’re stuck in the middle of nowhere with us.

So, that’s how we wrote the majority of the Screaming of the Valkyries. Honed, I would say, because we had a lot of the material and then we honed it and experimented with it in hotel rooms. Not all, but considerably more than we’ve done in the past.

By the way: You had a lineup change, right? Donny Burbage on the guitar and Zoe Marie Federoff on vocals and keyboards. Can you tell me something about how they joined the band and how it feels to work with them?
Well, they joined the band because our previous guitarist decided to leave at a rather awkward moment, because it was about a month, six weeks maybe, at press before we were due to go and support Danzig in America on a big tour. Subsequently, it didn’t leave us enough time to get visas, so we had to find people in America. Our guitarist left for personal reasons and took with him, not by his choice, but the keyboardist who had only just really joined the band, didn’t really find a place in the band. And to use that opportunity as a reason to step away. And originally we obviously had to forage for replacement people in America, because that’s where we were touring, to avoid the visa issue. But subsequently, there was a lot of work behind the scenes to secure these people, and obviously a checklist that was made.

And both Donny and Zoe were like the cream of the crop. Just amazing musicians, perfectly suited, morally and socially astute, compatible and just really nice people and fans of the band. So it worked out. And instead of saying thank you for your services, we’re going to go back to Europe and find someone there. And it’s going so well that Zoe and Ashok are now married. I attended with my partner their wedding in Arizona at the beginning of the year. It was amazing. That alone proves that things are quite stable within the band.

This year, you´ll embark a great tour in front with your new album in hand. And you are for five stops in Germany, as I read. What do you appreciate about the German audiences?
Well, they’ve always been very supportive of CRADLE OF FILTH. I think it was our first tour was it was in Germany. Yeah. When we were supporting Napalm Death and At The Gates in 1994. So we did Essen, which is strange enough, it’s not a lot. We haven’t done Essen for so long. We used to do it all the time.

Germany was one of the first countries that got turned on to CRADLE OF FILTH. And it’s just been a very good and big market for us ever since. And we’ve got plenty of German bands. This is our second German label we’ve been on. I drive a German sports car. What more do you want?

I was always a big fan since getting into metal, because I really got into thrash and music of that ilk in a big way very quickly. Britain was brilliant at stuff, but thrash metal, we weren’t that great at. We had a few bands, Sabbat, Onslaught, you know, et cetera, et cetera. Mainly it was America, the Bay Area, Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, Zest, Exodus, you know, Overkill. And then there was a German scene, Destruction, Sodom, Creator, Violent Force and Deathrow.

I was a big fan of Assassin. So it was cool when we started getting noticed in Germany as well. It’s always great playing Germany. And we always appreciate the fact that 30 years into our career, we’re still making strides in „Deutschland“.

Speaking of touring: A very difficult topic is selling merch as a primary source of income for bands. How has this developed for you as a fan and from a professional standpoint? Where do you see room for changes – for bands and fans?
I could go on all day about that. It’s just the way the world is. It’s ironic, really, that the merchandise is the primary income stream rather than the albums, you know, the music. I don’t know, you just have to be very clever with it nowadays. We’ve just done collaborations with both Black Craft, which is coming, an apparel company in America and also Vetements, which is a big high-end fashion brand. They’re very both – especially the Vetements things – are very experimental and cool as well. And we’ve done something with Drop Dead in the past, which is Bring Me The Horizons label. I just think you have to be clever.

I don’t think bands should be held to account by fans for wanting to make money. I mean, it’s okay for fans to have careers. I see plenty of people driving Porsches and Audis, you know, when they come to see us. And I presume, metal fans aren’t stupid. So I know that for sure that I’ve met plenty of fans who have highly paid jobs. So it’s cool for them.

But the trouble is, if bands don’t get paid, then that ceases to be bands anymore. I think it’s just a case of government’s legislation protecting bands a little bit more when it comes to privacy, AI, online content that gets used by other people, information that’s that’s spread around. And above all else, locking in good percentages on digital streaming platforms.

Red flag Spotify so to speak?
Well, whoever it is, I mean, I’ve mentioned that before. But to be fair, it’s the companies are doing good for the bands. It’s just I think, obviously, it’s getting the bands out there people finding you that may not know you because they’re using a playlist. And I found plenty of bands via my girlfriend, because she uses Spotify all the time. We found bands together on that. And what I generally do, if I find a band, I’ll go and buy the album if I’m into it. Also, just because I prefer the format. I like putting CDs into the car. Like on a stereo, it just sounds better. I think I was blown out of proportion what I said.

I wasn’t aiming my criticism at digital platforms, like it’s their fault. I think that governments and other people have, the band has to be clever in order to utilize that new sort of facility that’s come on the scene. It’s been there for a few years now, but we really embrace it. But also government legislation needs to be in place to protect and maybe look at different royalty rates and what have you. But that’s it. That’s by the by. It is more difficult, but again, it’s mutate and survive. That’s what we’ve always done as a band. And that’s what the scene’s always done.

Dani, we’re nearly at the end. I want to ask you conclusively – Outside of music, touring and rock and roll, what do you wish for the world? Can the Screaming of the Valkyries still be silenced?
I don’t know. I mean, it’s with the inauguration of Trump and some of the things that have been going on there for good or for bad. Who knows? It’s a very interesting, chaotic time.

Maybe we can pull ourselves back from the brink. I hope so. I hope people see common sense. I mean, it is ridiculous that in the year 2025, we’ve got two major wars. Well, one’s having a fire at present, but the atrocities that have happened on both sides there is just seems unprecedented and out of control and unbelievable, really, for this day and age.

I mean, we’re supposed to be living in an age of enlightenment. And the one thing that these wars have done is kind of put back the whole climate change. I mean, the oil fields being set alight, submarines, warships, dozens of dozens of warheads being fired a day.

Neron misses a nuclear reactor sites and whole cities being leveled. It’s just crazy. It doesn’t matter how many times you say electric cars are the thing of the future and we should try and streamline this and offshore wind farms: Pitifully small in comparison. But I’m sure, I’m sure it will continue somehow.

Dani, it was a pleasure to speak with you. Thank you for taking the time. Are you interestet in our Metal1 Brainstorming at last?
Okay, sure.

Alcohol before the show? Never. I don’t drink anymore.
Must have gadget on tour? Sunglasses, dark sunglasses.
Book or music? Music.
Devilment? Hiatus.
CRADLE OF FILTH in five years? 2030. You know, fortunately, I’m not a card reader or crystal ball gazer. I am a happy medium though. I don’t know. Hopefully, in the right place.

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Publiziert am 19. März 2025 von Philipp Sorger