CRADLE OF FILTH Fans Will Have To Wait Until 2025 To Hear Collaboration With ED SHEERAN

Vocalist Dani Filth of British extreme metal titans CRADLE OF FILTH spoke to Poland's Pełna Kulturka about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's next studio album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, strangely enough, I begin my vocals tomorrow. We started back in July, but we've been so busy. We've done loads of summer festivals and we had our annual break for holidays for everybody. Then we did a couple of weeks. So we've done all the music. Then I was away for 12 weeks on recording in L.A. CRADLE were playing in South America, and then we did a full American tour, co-headlining with DEVILDRIVER, the second part of that. Then I did a couple of more weeks in the studio, getting some ideas down, getting everything ready to sing. And then the producer had a baby. So we haven't actually been back since November. And then obviously we're only gonna be doing a couple of weeks 'cause then we go out on the road. So the album's gonna take a bit longer than usual because we're doing a lot of touring as well. But we're hoping to release it by the end of the year. It's gonna be a big record for us. [I'm] very excited about it. At the moment it's in development stage, so we're being very creative. I'm staying at home. I just got back from France last week where I was visiting with my girlfriend for New Year's. And now I'm just alone in my fortress of solitude at home getting all creative and getting all prepared for the album and the tour."

Asked about the musical direction of CRADLE OF FILTH's new material and whether there will be any "surprises" on the upcoming album, Dani said: "Well, one of the surprises, obviously, but it's not so much a surprise is that we've got a song that we have [pop superstar] Ed Sheeran guesting on. It's gonna be on the album. And people have heard it and loved it. But it is what you imagine — it's CRADLE OF FILTH and it's Ed Sheeran. It sounds like Ed Sheeran, it sounds like CRADLE OF FILTH. There's a blast beat in it. I think it's gonna surprise a lot of people, the album. But it doesn't necessarily mean the album is commercial. It's a very heavy record. We just upped the game as a band. We moved one step further toward the future from our previous record. We see everything as an evolution, everything as an evolutionary step, everything as a necessary link in the chain. And this album's gonna be an important record for us — our first for Napalm Records, if you discount, obviously, the live record. But, yeah, we're very much looking forward to this year. And there's no rush. We've got plenty of shows. But expect the first single probably about September, October time."

Asked if he heard Sheeran's collaboration with BRING ME THE HORIZON on a new version of the former's "Bad Habits" song, Dani said: "I did hear it, yeah. They decided to do that after we started working [with Ed]. 'Cause we actually did the song with Ed over a year ago now. And before then, the idea happened off the back of 'Bad Habits', the album. So, it's been about two and a half years, and it's probably gonna be three and a half years before anybody actually hears the song. But it is what it is. Obviously, he's one of the biggest artists in the world, and we have to kind of abide by his rules because… He's a lovely guy — don't get me wrong — but his management, obviously, have his vested interest at heart. And I think this year he's taking a complete year off. And obviously we want him in the video, so if that's gonna happen, we have to release that single with him on next year. But that's not gonna affect the rest of the album."

Filth originally broke the news about potentially working with the 32-year-old singer/songwriter, who is one of the most successful musicians on the planet, during an interview with Kerrang! Radio"Breakfast Show" at the 2021 Bloodstock Open Air festival in the U.K. At the time, Dani said: "I've actually been e-mailing with [Ed]… He actually touched base with me. I've been invited up to his place. Well, he said he could come down to mine, but I pointed out to him that I don't own my own bar or village, and it'd be better if I went there.

"He said he'd do anything," he added. "Quite literally. He said he's a massive fan. He seems like a genuinely very nice guy actually."

Filth went on to say the prospect of collaborating with someone like Sheeran is not as far fetched as one might think. "We've always been like that," he explained. 'If someone tells us not to do something, then we'll do it. That's been our prerogative the whole time. I did this rap song with this band called TWIZTID in America. It's actually turned out more like RAMMSTEIN and BEASTIE BOYS than full-on rap. So, in that respect, I think it the Ed Sheeran collaboration would be great fun. I think it'd be great if we did it for charity, because at least it would bring a bit of credibility to it. Because obviously to his public, it'd be, like, Oh my god, he's got this weird comical guy,' and to my public it'd be, like, 'Oh my god, this is a bit weird, isn't it? But I think that sort of thing nowadays works."

In July 2021, Sheeran floated the possibility of exploring a more extreme musical path while speaking to The Sun. He said: "I was really into death metal as a kid. I listened to CRADLE OF FILTH and SLIPKNOT and all that stuff. I'm not saying I could ever step into that world. I learnt all those riffs on guitar as a kid. That's something I've never thought about doing — but something I would not be opposed to creating."

Sheeran had previously dabbled in a variety of genres, including rock, dance, rap and reggae.

After The Sun published Sheeran's comments, Filth posted a screenshot of an article headlined "Ed Sheeran is open to recording a death metal album after spending his youth listening to CRADLE OF FILTH" and wrote in an accompanying caption, "I'll believe it when I see it. Fellow Suffolk lad could come good in the end. 'Dracula's Castle On The Hill' anyone?"

Last May, Dani was asked by BLABBERMOUTH.NET if he envisions the next CRADLE OF FILTH studio album staying in the same vein as "Cryptoriana" or "Existence Is Futile". He responded: "It's not going to be a million miles away from that. I've been working on some of the material today. We're putting the finishing touches on the songs we're going to record, whether all of them make the grade or not. It has a 'Dusk… And Her Embrace' vibe to them. Musically, it plays across 'Dusk' and 'Midian', but lyrically, and the vibe of it, it has a 'Dusk… And Her Embrace' feel to it. I don't know why. History repeats itself. Maybe it's because we wrote 'Dusk' around this particular time of year, but it has that vibe. It sounds great, but I would say that, wouldn't I?"

In April 2023, CRADLE OF FILTH released its first live album in over 20 years, "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 features 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".