What Keeps CRADLE OF FILTH’s DANI FILTH Going After All These Years? ‘The Huge Bucketloads Of Money’, He Jokes

In a new interview with FaceCulture, CRADLE OF FILTH frontman Dani Filth was asked if the band’s recent lineup changes affected the songwriting and recording process for CRADLE OF FILTH’s upcoming fourteenth studio album, “The Screaming Of The Valkyries”. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Maybe a tiny little bit, because we had to get the two new people up to speed, which was Zoe [Marie Federoff, keyboardist] and Donny [Burbage, guitarist]. And they came about being in the band, it’s ’cause when Richard [Shaw, former CRADLE OF FILTH guitarist] left to pursue a family life, and our other keyboardists hadn’t really settled in with the band over the course of the little time she’d been in it… We were in the process of about to [play gigs as] special guests to DANZIG in the States, and we didn’t have time to get other visas for other people, so we had to find some Americans. And originally I didn’t realize quite how much work had gone into finding the right people for the job. It extended far further down than just the ability to play. They were really a very good fit. And so at the end of that DANZIG tour, and then we carried on and did some headline shows as well, we were, like, ‘Welcome to the band.’ And things obviously got very good in the band, relationship-wise, since then, because Zoe has now married to Ashok [Marek Šmerda, CRADLE OF FILTH guitarist] at the beginning of the year in Arizona. And, yeah, we’ve written this album, and you ask if it changed a little bit. I’d say only in the fact that obviously people had to be integrated into what we were doing, and we were being really prolific in the fact that we were touring a lot — a lot — and [that’s] probably why there was a bit of a delay with this record, four years as opposed to the usual two and a half. But then we did do [the 2023 live album] ‘Trouble And Their Double Lives’ as well with two new tracks, so we can be excused somewhat. But yeah, doing lots of shows. So the thing I would say would have changed was that we were writing quite a bit on the road — not diligently, but on the odd off day where we’d be in the middle of nowhere, Boise, Idaho or something, when it’s just a Walmart, across the motorway and that’s it, then we would get together, set up the recording equipment and jam some ideas. So I’d say we did more of that.”Asked what keeps him going with CRADLE OF FILTH, being the sole remaining original member of the band, Dani said: “Well, I’ve always said that being in a band, being a touring musician, that suddenly you live dog years. Every year is like seven years, ’cause it just seems to go on forever. So, the fact that [Zoe and Donny have] been in the band three years does seem like I’ve known them as long as I’ve lived, because we get up to so much together. I often joke that I sleep next to Donny more than I do my girlfriend ’cause we’re always on the bus together or on a fucking plane together or next door in a hotel together. It’s kind of weird, if you think about it. But, yeah, it is annoying, but, again, it is what it is. You just have to keep rolling with the punches, as Rocky says. And the great people. We’ve got a great lineup at the moment. We’ve got great people around us, full stop — from management through to the people in the periphery, like our lawyer, our accountant, our merch company guys — they’re all really solid people and it feels like family. So, yeah, I’m very pleased that both Donny and Zoe have integrated, and Zoe a bit more than others. [Laughs] Yeah, it’s all good. And what keeps us going? The huge bucketloads of money. The two yachts parked in the Bahamas. And the enormous castle, the supercars. That’s what keeps me going. [Laughs]””The Screaming Of The Valkyries” is due on March 21, 2025 via Napalm Records.CRADLE OF FILTH reigns supreme as one of the most revered, formative and notorious names in music — from the depths of the extreme metal underground to the peaks of mainstream pop culture itself — and is responsible for breaking ground for many of today’s top metal artists with their trademark mixture of blackened heaviness, macabre theatricality and scintillating gothic style.On “The Screaming Of The Valkyries”, Dani’s recognizable scream and equally identifiable growl stand mightily alongside twin guitar attacks, symphonic flourishes and explosive rhythm section, implemented by drummer Martin “Marthus” Skaroupka, bassist Daniel Firth, guitarists Marek “Ashok” Smerda and Donny Burbage and keyboardist/vocalist Zoe Federoff.Produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered by Scott Atkins at Grindstone Studios in Suffolk, England, “The Screaming Of The Valkyries” beckons the brave into a new era of CRADLE OF FILTH misadventure, celebrating massive melancholic melody, blackened thrash, and apocalyptic existential dread with a grinning smattering of unbridled revelry. “The Screaming Of The Valkyries” is a bloody dark love letter to the longtime legion of CRADLE OF FILTH faithful and a stunning entryway for fresh lambs to the sonic slaughter.In a recent interview with U.K.’s Metal Hammer magazine, Dani stated about “The Screaming Of The Valkyries”: “It’s got elements of everything we’ve done, really. It has a few head nods to works like ‘Midian’ and ‘Dusk[… And Her Embrace]’, especially in the atmosphere and the subject matter. It’s also got a very brilliant production, courtesy of Scott Atkins.”Asked if there is any overarching theme to it, Dani said: “No, I wouldn’t say so. They’re tricky things, concept records. You have to have tunnel vision and you can’t veer from that path. So this is just an album. It’s not an album with filly bits attached, like intros and outros. No guest appearances. Just nine songs. It’s still quite a lengthy running time, obviously. We can’t write a short song to save our fucking lives.”In 2023, CRADLE OF FILTH released its first live album in over 20 years, the aforementioned “Trouble And Their Double Lives”, via Napalm Records. The LP was recorded between 2014 and 2019 at different performances in the USA, Europe, Australia and beyond during the band’s “Cryptoriana” world tour and dates following. Produced, mixed and mastered by Scott Atkins at Grindstone Studios, with recording captured by Danny B, the effort not only featured a slew of fan favorites encompassing the band’s discography but also two bonus tracks and two entirely brand new songs, “She Is A Fire” and “Demon Prince Regent”.CRADLE OF FILTH will co-headline the 2025 edition of the North American “Chaos & Carnage” tour, featuring fellow co-headliners DYING FETUS, as well as FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, NE OBLIVISCARIS, UNDEATH, VOMIT FORTH and CORPSE PILE.CRADLE OF FILTH is:Dani Filth – VocalsMarek “Ashok” Smerda – GuitarsMartin “Marthus” Skaroupka – DrumsDaniel Firth – BassDonny Burbage – GuitarsZoe Federoff – Vocals, KeysDani Filth press photo courtesy of Napalm Records[embedded content]