Dani Filth has announced the title and release date of Cradle Of Filth‘s new album and confirmed that their Ed Sheeran collab will not be on it.
In an exclusive interview with Metal Hammer, the frontman of the extreme metal band shared that the group’s new album ‘The Screaming of the Valkyries’ is set to be released sometime in April. He also opened up about what fans can expect from the album sonically, promising callbacks to their previous LP’s ‘Dusk… And Her Embrace’ and ‘Midian’.
“It’s got elements of everything we’ve done, really,” It has a few head nods to works like Midian and Dusk…, especially in the atmosphere and the subject matter. It’s also got a very brilliant production, courtesy of Scott Atkins,” Filth said.
However, the musician made it clear that the band’s LP will not be a concept album, explaining that the issue with a concept album is that “they are tricky things”.
“You have to have tunnel vision and you can’t veer from that path. So this is just an album. It’s not an album with filly bits attached, like intros and outros. No guest appearances. Just nine songs,” he said.
The statement of “no guest appearances” comes as a surprise as Filth has been talking up a Cradle Of Filth and Ed Sheeran collaboration that he recently confirmed was “done and dusted”.
Speaking to the outlet, Filth explained why the Sheeran collab will not be on the album and said: “No, because we don’t want it to overshadow the record. But we are going to bring it out. Originally, everybody wanted us to bring it out to glorious fanfare but Ed’s management weren’t keen on that.
“We’re not absolutely sure how it will emerge, but it’s been done, mixed and it’s sitting on the shelf somewhere… you know, virtually. And it’s fucking fantastic. But only a handful of people have actually heard it. My mum hasn’t even heard it.”
News of the extreme metal band’s unlikely team-up with Sheeran was first shared in 2021. Filth revealed at the time that he had been in touch with the pop star, and that Sheeran had invited him “up to his place”.
“We did it like two years ago,” he explained while appearing as a guest on The Downbeat Podcast (via Metal Sucks). “It was weird because we were planning to do it for about a year and a half.”
The following year, the metal singer shared that the ‘Shape Of You’ hitmaker had “expressed a desire to be part of a song, and we’re currently looking at some options, and that’s about as far as it’s got”.
Later in 2022, Filth told fans that Sheeran had “done some of” the joint track. However, progress was held up due to the birth of the latter’s second child.
Over the Christmas period that year, Filth shared a new photo of himself, Sheeran and producer Scott Atkins in a pub together. Filth subsequently set a tentative release date of summer 2023, but the collab failed to materialise.
The singer gave another update last January, hinting that the tune could arrive in early 2025. “But it is what it is,” he added. “Obviously, he’s one of the biggest artists in the world, and we have to abide by his rules […] 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.”
In other news, Cradle Of Filth are set to return to the UK this summer for a slot at Download Festival 2025.
Elsewhere, Filth revealed that he is against artificial intelligence, calling it “shit” and “a bit of a problem”.
The post Dani Filth reveals title and release date for new Cradle Of Filth album – without long-awaited Ed Sheeran collab appeared first on NME.