"Horror is a major influence on Cradle of Filth."
Dani Filth: Hello?
Wikimetal (Nando Machado): Hi, Dani Filth, please?
DF: Yes, speaking. Hello.
W (NM): Hi, this is Nando and Daniel from Wikimetal. We apologize for being a little late. We have an interview with you now. Can we begin?
DF: Yes, that's fine. Yes, of course.
W (NM): Thank you very much.
W (Daniel Dystyler): Excellent, Dani. This is Daniel from Wikimetal. You released a great album at the end of last year, how has the fan reaction been to "The Manticore and Other Horrors"?
DF: It's been really good, actually. Surprisingly good. The moment we started promoting it in Europe, suddenly there were a lot of journalists, and a lot of attention focused on the album, and that was a surprise, actually, because obviously we hadn't done press promotion for a few years, and it quickly became a big deal, and overwhelming. Obviously, we went on tour in Europe, with God Seed and Rotting Christ supporting us before Christmas. And it was crazy everywhere, it was a great reaction, I really enjoyed it.
W (NM): That's great. You're coming to Brazil again, and you'll be playing in São Paulo on April 20th. What can Brazilian fans expect from this show, in terms of the setlist?
DF: In terms of the setlist, we're going to… Obviously, because we don't go to Brazil often, we're going to play a long set, and it's going to be composed of tracks from practically all of our albums, so there won't be much emphasis on one era or another, there are a lot of older tracks… Things from “Dusk…”, “V Empire” and “Cruelty”, there will be tracks from “Midian”, “Damnation”, so yes, it's going to be very balanced. Obviously, we're going to play some tracks from… Two or three songs from our current Cradle of Filth album, “The Manticore and Other Horrors”, but as I said, you know, it's going to be very visual, cinematic, a big night. And we're going to play as much material as possible from our past.
W (DD): That's great, Dani. We're really excited for this show too. What was the metal scene like in England when you formed the band in the early 90s, and how do you see the metal scene in England today?
DF: The metal scene in England was surprisingly good in the early 90s. Actually, I'm writing an article about it, I'm terrified right now… A thousand words, or something like that, about that period in history. Yes, it was a very good scene – not so much in relation to black metal bands, we were really one of the few at that time. And there were many incredible bands at the time, like Anathema, Paradise Lost, Carcass – even, you know, Carcass is going to release a new album, which is going to be amazing. So I think many of these great bands that were playing in the early 90s were forming, and doing very modern and current things at that moment, and I think you can make a comparison between the two periods.
W (NM): Back when you started your music career, what were your main influences?
DF: I think at the time it was kind of a hybrid of the bands we grew up listening to, like Venom and Bathory, and bands like Paradise Lost that were releasing phenomenal albums, like “Gothic”. We were big fans of soundtracks, which we still are. People like Mercyful Fate, Autopsy, you know, because Death Metal was very big at that time, and there were many bands that we liked from all phases of life, so we were inspired by different things. You know, Maiden too… And we joined forces with a kind of chimera of a band, called Cradle of Filth.
The core of the band has remained consistent through the highs and lows and 20 years of Metal madness.”
W (DD): Very good. Dani, do you agree that Metal is going through a very fruitful period right now, worldwide, with many bands from many countries achieving commercial success? Why do you think this is happening now? Do you think the internet plays an important role in this happening?
DF: I think it's two things at the same time: it's bad for Metal right now, and it's also very good. What I mean is, there are many bands, and yes, they can promote themselves all over the world through the internet; people can access the music very easily. In the past, everything was done through tape trading, so you could become known worldwide, but it was a much slower process, comparatively. But yes, that's good in one way. What's bad on the other is that there are so many bands, and people want everything immediately, that obviously the bands are suffering because there isn't as much money in the music industry, many record labels are closing. So it's good in one way and bad in another, bad because you have many bands that are very similar, too. But yes, they are two sides of the same coin, I think.
W (DD): Very good. We're going to listen to a song now, so we asked all the guests we had: imagine you're listening to your iPod on shuffle, or you're listening to a rock station on the radio, and suddenly a song starts playing that makes you lose your mind, you can't contain yourself, you can't stop headbanging, you feel like you need to headbang wherever you are. What song is that, so we can listen to it on our show?
DF: Right now… I would say “For Those About to Rock, We Salute You” by AC/DC.
W (DD): It's one of the best, man... The part at the end, when the music starts to speed up, I get goosebumps every time I listen to it, it's a great song, man.
W (NM): Tell me, Dani, do you believe that your shocking merchandise helped promote the band? And was that intentional? Were you aware that these actions could help the band become more popular, or were they also two sides of the same coin?
DF: Yes, again, it's two sides of the same coin. Some things helped, others didn't. But yes, we knew what we were doing, we knew we wanted to make t-shirts that people would want to buy, but that wasn't the only card up our sleeve – I think that's the term I would use to describe it. We had other things we pursued as well, so it wasn't just our t-shirts, but the way our art was presented, the videos, the stage performances, you know, the sound quality, the studios we used… Our stage look, our look in photos… And above all, in our approach, obviously, the music was the most important factor. But we tried to focus on everything to bring Cradle of Filth to a wider audience, and when that audience was reached, there was already enough so that people didn't see us as a two-dimensional thing, but something with depth, and discovered more things, so all facets of the band were important to us, as was the merchandising. And it still is.
W (DD): Dani, what was it like working with the Film Orchestra and Choir when you were recording “Damnation and a Day” in 2002?
DF: It was an incredible experience. We were with Sony at the time, for that album, and we did amazing things, even if it was for a short time, like most metal bands in that position. But during that period, we headlined stage B at American AllFest for ten weeks, with people like Killswitch, Shadows Fall, and Chimera supporting us… Yes, and obviously we made the album “Damnation and a Day” and we got to work with incredible people, including the Budapest Film and Radio Orchestra, which was… It’s an 80-member orchestra plus 21… That’s about 101 people… It was epic. And that was something we’d wanted to do for a long time. And since we did it, a lot of people have followed us, but we’re happy we were able to do it at that specific point in our career.
We've always had a lot of support from the record label. It feels like all our hard work has paid off.”
W (NM): Dani, why do you think Cradle of Filth has had such different lineups over the last 20 years?
DF: Well, I suppose it's a bit like working at a radio station, isn't it? It's like you want the best for the radio station, and people come and go, people choose different paths, some people think they can do more than you, so they form their own bands… Sometimes people think it's too much work, you know, too much travel, too many hours without socializing working as a musician… Sometimes you have to let people go because they're not working hard enough… Essentially, the key members of Cradle of Filth have always been there, so the flame has always stayed. The core of the band has carried it through the highs and lows and 20 years of Metal madness.
W (DD): And speaking of that, around that same time, you signed with many record labels, from Sony Music to independent labels, and also Roadrunner and now Nuclear Blast. What were the best and worst experiences you remember working with a record label?
DF: Off the top of my head, I'd say the worst experience probably had to be with Cacophonous Records, way back between “Dusk… And Her Embrace” and “The Principle of Evil Made Flesh.” We even recorded “V Empire” as a way to get out of our contract with the label, and we handed over “V Empire” as a sort of farewell gesture, etc., etc. We had taken Cacophonous Records to court at that time, so we were in a sort of limbo. So it was pretty bad, because that was right after the release, and it had a really good press reception, and the next thing that happened was half the band left, and it was just me, Nicholas Barker, and Robin Graves keeping the flame alive at the time, so that was a low point. I would say that the high points were every time we released an album on a label; we always had a lot of support from the label, videos and promotions… It’s a feeling that all our hard work, and all the time in the studio writing, paid off, and turned into a physical product that we promoted, so yeah… I would say that’s it.
W (NM): Could you choose a song from Cradle of Filth now, so we can listen to it on our program?
DF: Well, I'd better choose something from our last album, so I'd probably choose – and there's a reason for that too – a track called "For Your Vulgar Delectation," I think it's the second track on our new album, and the reason I chose that one is because we just shot a video for it, which is kind of a mini horror movie. Lots of zombies in it, people catching fire, getting shot, being eaten… It's a really, really cool horror movie, a very modern video, which will be released, interestingly, just in time for the South American tour, in a few weeks.
W (DF): Right on time. And since you brought it up, how important are film, theater, and visual arts to Cradle of Filth's performances? Is that also a major influence on your music and composition?
DF: Movies? Yes, of course… I’m a huge fan of horror movies. Inspiration comes from everywhere, from literature, from the environment around us, you know, from artifacts, from what’s happening at the time… But yes, horror movies, and everything related to them, are big influences, and that can be read in “The Gospel of Filth,” which is the book we released a few years ago, because there are chapters there about horror movies and their influences, and interviews with stars, and more. And obviously, we’ve had people like Ingrid Pitt and Doug Bradley as guests on their albums. And also, we made the horror movie “Cradle of Fear” a while ago, so we have a great fondness for the horror genre. Yes, I would definitely say that horror is a big influence on Cradle of Filth.
We were the complete opposite of what was happening at the time, which was pop and grunge.”
W (NM): Yes, I was going to ask about your experience working as an actor on Cradle of Fear. Is that something you would like to do again?
DF: Yes, it was a lot of fun. Not so much the acting part, it was the involvement in the whole process. And it's something we'd like to do again. We researched it, but it's such a big project, and it requires a lot of funding. At the time, we were lucky to know a lot of people who were working on other films, and they came to work on our film between other projects, which basically meant that if the film made a profit, they would be paid, which it did. But you only get that kind of thing once, and if we were to do it again, we would have to raise a lot of money, and it's almost absurd to think about how much money is invested in films. I think we made that one for about 80,000, 100,000 dollars. You're talking about two or three million just for a cheap film these days.
W (DD): Yes, it's a lot of money. Dani, you started your career in the early 90s, a period when most metal bands weren't very popular. Why do you think Cradle of Filth had so much success and popularity, probably during the worst period for metal in terms of popularity?
DF: I think it's because we were the complete opposite of what was happening at the time, which was, effectively, pop music and grunge. When grunge appeared, it practically killed metal, in terms of popularity; it survived strongly in the underground. But there wasn't much metal doing much. And I think we were different and, as you said, we're very cinematic, theatrical, visual, and the music supports that, so I think… I think we captured people's attention at a time when everything was a bit neutral.
W (NM): For me, Dani, there are many bands playing the same type of music that you helped create in the early 90s. Why do you think this genre is becoming so popular nowadays? Are you proud to be a big influence on all these bands?
DF: Yes, of course. But as you said before, the scene is saturated with all kinds of bands. There are bands like Tribune, which are more American bands – lots of tattoos and long hair and all that, that became popular four or five years ago, and suddenly everyone was doing it. And it was the same thing when Nu Metal happened. You know, there was Korn, and there was Mushroomhead and Slipknot, and suddenly everyone was doing it, and it's the same thing. But yes, there are some gems out there, genuinely good music. It's just that there's so much stuff, you really have to search hard to find the good stuff.
W (DD): Great, Dani. Thank you so much for your time, your patience, and thank you for participating in Wikimetal. Could you leave a message for all your Brazilian fans and invite all the headbangers in São Paulo to the Cradle of Filth show on April 20th?
DF: Yes, I'd like to tell everyone to go to the show, it's going to be incredible, it's going to be chaotic, fun, loud and packed. In the meantime, thank you so much to everyone who supports the band in Brazil, I really appreciate it. Obviously, you're on the other side of the world for us, so it's great to know that we have support even there. So thank you very much for that, and we'll see you when we come to Brazil in a few weeks.
W (NM): Perfect, Dani, thank you so much for participating in Wikimetal, and we'll see you on April 20th with Cradle of Filth in São Paulo!
DF: Great, thank you. Thank you very much for your time.
W (DD): Cheers, mate. Bye, bye.
DF: Bye. Cheerio.
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