Recommendations of the Editorial team
Two members of the Metal band Cradle of Filth have left the group abruptly in the middle of the current tour. As reasons, they cited “unprofessional behavior” and a “ridiculous” collaboration with Ed Sheeran.
Marriage rumors, Dementi and personal clarification
Singer and keyboardist Zoë M. Federoff announced her exit at the beginning of the week for “personal reasons”. A few days later, Cradle of Filth announced that guitarist Marek “Ashok” Šmerda, Federoff’s husband and member of the band, had been released “with immediate effect” since 2014. Federoff joined Cradle in 2022.
Fans initially suspected marriage problems behind the double exit. Federoff, however, made it clear via social media: “Ashok does not stranger. Even if the chaos in the band has burdened us, we are sure that we love each other. Please be kind to my husband. He is a good person. We had planned to leave the band later.
Cradle front man Dani Filth confirmed Šmerda’s release in a statement. Previously, the guitarist had announced that they only wanted to get out after the South America tour.
Criticism of payment and ED sheeran song
“We do not believe that Cradle can secure our future – on the contrary, it stands in the way. The work is much for little money, the stress enormous, and we have not felt that the band really appreciates their members for years of unprofessional behavior from above,” wrote Šmerda.
He also called for his compositions to remove his compositions from all upcoming publications-also from the cooperation with Ed Sheeran: “This song is only a ridiculous clowning for me. First it should be a charity single for children, then a commercial single, then an albumtrack, and now nobody knows anything more.
Tour continues despite the crisis
The rumors about the sheeran collaboration have been circulating since 2022 when the pop star said he was a fan of Cradle of Filth and Slipknot as a child. Dani Filth confirmed at the beginning of the year that a shared track existed, but did not appear on the current album “The Screaming of the Valkyries”.
Despite the double separation, Cradle of Filth continued her South America tour in Montevideo, Uruguay on Tuesday. “Despite all the attempts to slander and sabotage the band illegally, Cradle of Filth will not cancel shows. Fans have to temporarily satisfy themselves with just one live guitarist until Ashok’s replacement has flown in,” explained Dani Filth. The band had already found a successor for Federoff.