DANI FILTH Says ED SHEERAN 'Really Pushes Himself' In Collaborative Song With CRADLE OF FILTH

During an appearance on "The Downbeat Podcast", the podcast hosted by STRAY FROM THE PATH drummer Craig Reynolds, vocalist Dani Filth of British extreme metal titans CRADLE OF FILTH spoke about the band's long-awaited collaboration with British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. Dani said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): " The Ed Sheeran [collaborative song] is done and dusted. We did it like two years ago. It was weird, because we were planning to do it for about a year and a half."

Asked how the collaboration came about, Dani said: "I don't know. I think our managers got in touch with each other somehow. His manager, Stuart [Camp], used to listen to COAL CHAMBER [the band featuring CRADLE OF FILTH manager Dez Fafara] when he was growing up. Ed [played a vampire in the music video for his single 'Bad Habits'], and I think one day he got asked questions somewhere where it was, like, 'Are you into heavy metal?' I don't know why. And he said, 'Yeah, I was really into SLIPKNOT and CRADLE OF FILTH.' … So apparently [our managers] talked, and the chat came around, we should do a collab, it'd be hilarious. And he was right up for it."

Regarding the recording process for the song, Dani said: "When [Ed] was eventually free and we were free, he just comes to the studio by himself. He didn't even ask, like, 'Are you gonna be there with your mums and everything?' So we were very respectful. It was just me, the producer and him in our little countryside studio, probably 15 miles away as a crow flies from where he lives. he turns up in his wife's secret mini, the one he can get out of the house, on his own, [wearing a] CRADLE hoodie, guitar on his back. That was it. We spent the afternoon recording. He was telling us loads of funny stories, really cool. And then when we finished, we were, like, 'Do you wanna go for a pint?' He said, 'Well, I'm bit peckish.' So we went to local pub, at which point everybody in the pub, and it's like a very, very rustic old country pub, suddenly everybody, all these old dears and that, all knew his mum and they were flocking over. And he'd be, like, 'I have no idea who that is.' But it was really cool."

Dani went on to say that the song came out "great". He added: "We didn't wanna release it back then because we were busy with other things. Then he couldn't release it because he was doing a bunch of stuff. So it's just gonna come out when it does. We didn't wanna put it on the album."

Asked if it's a CRADLE OF FILTH song featuring Ed Sheeran or if it's an Ed Sheeran song featuring Dani Filth, Dani clarified: "It's a brand new CRADLE OF FILTH song featuring Ed Sheeran, and a lot of it sounds like Ed Sheeran. He's playing acoustic guitar, he's singing Ed Sheeran, but a lot of it sounds like us. There's a blast beat, scream. Ed really pushes himself in it as well. He does rock vocals. It's about affirmation. It's a bit about self-affirmation. It's a really good song. Only about a handful of people [have heard it]. My mum hasn't even heard it."

Last May, Dani was asked by Australia's Metal Roos if he thinks Ed Sheeran fans are going to be "a little bit in for a shock" when they hear the song. Dani said: "I think so. I think they're gonna be in for a shock because it's still an extreme song. There's still a blast beat on it. But it does sound like Ed Sheeran; it really does. It sounds like Ed Sheeran singing with us. And he's got some breakdowns in it. He plays acoustic guitar. It's very catchy, but it's very heavy at the same time."

Filth originally broke the news about potentially working with the 33-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 October, CRADLE OF FILTH released a new single, "Malignant Perfection". The track is taken from the band's upcoming album, which is tentatively due this spring via Napalm Records.