Cradle of Filth
Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily influenced by Gothic literature, poetry, mythology and horror films. The band consists of its founding member, vocalist Dani Filth, drummer Martin 'Marthus' Škaroupka, bassist Daniel Firth, guitarists Marek 'Ashok' Šmerda and Donny Burbage, and keyboardist Zoe Marie Federoff.
Cradle of Filth
Suffolk, England
1991–present
- Cacophonous
- Music for Nations
- Fierce
- Mayhem
- Metal Blade
- Abracadaver
- Sony
- Roadrunner
- Peaceville
- Nuclear Blast
- Napalm Records
- Dani Filth
- Martin 'Marthus' Škaroupka
- Daniel Firth
- Marek 'Ashok' Šmerda
- Donny Burbage
- Zoe Marie Federoff
The band has broken free from its original niche by courting mainstream publicity. This increased accessibility has brought coverage from the likes of Kerrang! and MTV, along with frequent main stage appearances at major festivals such as Ozzfest, Download and even the mainstream Sziget Festival. They have sometimes been perceived as Satanic by casual observers,[1] even though their outright lyrical references to Satanism are few and far between; their use of Satanic imagery has arguably always been more for shock value than any seriously held beliefs.[2]
Musical style and influences[edit]
Though generally classified as an extreme metal band,[77] Cradle of Filth's musical style has been described as symphonic metal,[77][78][79][80] symphonic black metal,[81][82][83][84] gothic metal,[77][80][85][86][87] symphonic death metal,[70] gothic black metal,[88] dark metal,[89] and symphonic gothic metal.[84][90] Though the band emerged with a style that leaned heavily toward black metal,[77] they have since distanced themselves from the genre.[91] Additionally, some tracks in their first album are considered to be akin to death metal and thrash metal.[84]
Despite these classifications, Cradle of Filth's particular genre has provoked a great deal of discussion,[92] and their status as a black metal band or otherwise has been in debate since near the time that the group rose to fame.[93] The band have cited acts that were heavily influential to black metal such as Bathory, Celtic Frost and Mercyful Fate among their influences, but Dani Filth, in a 1998 interview for BBC Radio 5 for example, said "I use the term 'heavy metal', rather than 'black metal', because I think that's a bit of a fad now. Call it what you like: death metal, black metal, any kind of metal...".[94] Gavin Baddeley's 2006 Terrorizer interview states that "few folk, the band included, call Cradle black metal these days."[95] In a 2006 interview with Terrorizer, then-guitarist Paul Allender said, "We were never a black metal band. The only thing that catered to that was the make-up. Even when The Principle of Evil Made Flesh came out—you look at Emperor and Burzum and all that stuff—we didn't sound anything like that. The way that I see it is that we were, and still are now, an extreme metal band."[26]
However, the band's evolving sound has allowed them to continue resisting definitive categorisation. They have collaborated on projects such as Christian Death's Born Again Anti-Christian album (on the track "Peek-a-Boo") and have even experimented outside of metal music with dance remixes – such as "Twisting Further Nails", "Pervert's Church" and "Forgive Me Father (I'm in a Trance)".
Appearing on the BBC music quiz Never Mind the Buzzcocks on 9 April 2001, Filth jokingly described Cradle's sound as "heavy funk", and in an October 2006 interview stated, "we'd rather be known as solely 'Cradle of Filth', I think, than be hampered by stupid genre barriers."[96]