INTERVIEW WITH DANI FILTH

As fans anxiously await the studio follow-up to Cradle of Filth’s highly acclaimed 2021 full-length album, Existence Is Futile, the extreme metal legends, led by iconic frontman Dani Filth, have unleashed a thirst-quencher of epic proportions - their first live album to be released in over 20 years, Trouble And Their Double Lives, set for release on April 28, 2023, via Napalm Records.

So far 2023 has been a busy year for Cradle of Filth. “I’d like to say it’s been pretty good actually. I’ve been busy writing,” explains frontman Dani Filth. “On top of that, we just came back actually a week and a half ago from three weeks in America, co-headlining with DevilDriver on the Double Trouble Live tour.” He adds: “It was only a short tour, but absolutely amazing, great audiences and a really good experience.” On the subject of a new Cradle of Filth album, he says: “I am excited genuinely about writing, but there’s not much to discuss.”

Cradle of Filth’s upcoming live album has been a long time coming, but is it something that the frontman had a burning desire to do? “The opportunity arose,” he says. “Our last album Existence Is Futile, was put back an entire year and subsequently our move from Nuclear Blast to Napalm Records also suffered a year gap. So, we found ourselves a bit of spare time. We did a lineup change as well, which affected things because we had two new songs which were towards a new album, but we decided to press reset on it with new people - naturally. So, we thought we would find them a home on the live album.”

Fortunately for the band, their sound engineer had been capturing their live shows each evening for the last four years whilst they were touring the world. “Those recordings were then passed to our studio engineer who trawled through them to assess what gigs sounded good and what he could translate. Then it was up to us to pick an eclectic mix of songs that incorporated all epochs of the band and fan favourites.”

In terms of live albums themselves, Dani has a few favourites of his own. “Live After Death was one of my first introductions to the world of metal. So, I love that. And a lot of things like Decades of Aggression. And a bunch of bootlegs. I am a big fan of Bad Religion, and I’ve got some great Bad Religion and Misfits live stuff. But as a rule, I don’t tend to actually listen to live albums.”

Cradle of Filth’s new live album features two new tracks. “They derive from the genesis of a new album, so you’re always looking for a theme or something,” he says. “I just literally met my girlfriend during the pandemic. And so, I guess She Is A Fire was a bit of a tribute to her,” he says.

“Demon Prince Regent was I suppose going through the feeling of not a fall from grace and such, but a kind of separation from everything that was going on, which I suppose it’s a pandemic thing, isn’t it? The ghost of the pandemic written through the eyes of a sort of Faustian Lucifer or a Milton’s Lucifer,” confirms Dani. “There wasn’t a decided pattern to the album at that present. And we were very lucky to say fortuitous that we decided on a live album, and we have these tracks that, quite frankly, probably wouldn’t have found a home anywhere otherwise. It’s just that we wanted to have a new album, but with a few songs that were from a different lineup would be very strange.”

Cradle of Filth are getting ready to record their new studio record. “We are due to start recording when we come back from Las Vegas in May. So, I think on May 15th, we begin recording the new album. So, we’re just tying up loose ends at the moment, and it’s got a very Dusk And Her Embrace vibe to it, but not necessarily totally musically. Some parts are, it’s more modern than that,” he says.

The band are about to embark on a collaboration with pop superstar Ed Sheeran. But how did the project come to fruition? “It came about because I was going to say his last album, but I think he’s actually moved on from that in his discography. But it was the one where he was basically a vampire for a video, and he was asked sort of relative questions and one came out about heavy metal or whatever. And he said that he grew up listening to Slipknot and Cradle of Filth,” explains Dani.

A story emerged from an interview with Ed. “He was going to come and work in our studio. We were never going to work in the studio, it was always our base to write ideas. It was very local. And our engineer at the time told everybody Yes, I’ve got Cradle of Filth in doing a whole new album here and Ed subsequently managed to land what’s called work experience at the studio,” proclaims Dani.

“So that fell through and so he didn’t bother coming. And he told a funny story about it. He said, actually, you’re probably the reason why I am where I am now is because I went to work for Ipswich Borough Council instead. And he f*cking hated it. Like literally, it was the worst thing he ever did. And despite the fact he was torn away from a recording studio, I think he probably would have given up music if he had come to our recording studio anyway. But yeah, vice versa happened he went to work for Ipswich Borough Council and discovered it was not for him and turned to music instead.”

Following a conversation with management, the project got the green light.

“We chatted for probably the best part of a year and a half before because obviously, he’s a busy man. And I’m quite a busy man as well, and never the twain would meet until just before Christmas and he came to our studio. And when I say come to the studio as well, no bystanders, no security just turned up in his wife’s Mini. A Guitar slung on his back and a Cradle of Filth hoodie; we had an amazing afternoon. It was really good fun and we ended up in the local country pub,” he says. “Everything’s done, bar my contribution to it, and that’s because we’ve been away. And I’m starting that this Friday. It’s going to be a charity single, we’ve both got separate charities we think are worthwhile. I think people will take it a bit more seriously if it’s for charity.”

But when can the Cradle of Filth fans expect the band’s new studio album? “I reckon the beginning of April next year. I think that’s the talk of the town. And I believe we’ll be touring before and the rest of the year after it.”

Trouble And Their Double Lives, the new live album from Cradle of Filth is set for release on April 28, 2023, via Napalm Records.

When it comes to guitar legends, it doesn’t get much better than Phil Campbell. The Motorhead axe man was on the road earlier this year, as part of perhaps one of the best touring packages to cross the UK so far in 2023.

Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons hit the road with touring counterparts, Michael Monroe and Black Star Riders. An unbeatable bill bringing together these iconic artists. Speaking about the tour, Phil said: “The lineup is great. Everyone’s just a little bit different. And we’re all having so much fun. Michael [Monroe] is a total star on stage. Everyone’s looking out for everyone else and the music’s fantastic,” he says. “A lot of people don’t want the tour to end.”

Joining Black Star Riders on their current run is talismanic guitarist Scott Gorham. Of course, the Thin Lizzy guitar slinger took a break from Black Star Riders, but couldn’t resist the opportunity to share the stage with the band during their latest UK tour. Thin Lizzy was an important band for Phil Campbell. “I’m a huge fan. I’ve got all of their albums. It was Whiskey in the Jar first, of course. And then all the way through. You’ve got to be into Lizzy if you are into rock music,” he says.

Throughout the tour, Phil sat in with Black Star Riders as a special guest for one track each night. “It’s a great buzz for me being up there, especially with Scott playing Don’t Believe A Word with him.”

Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons recently unveiled their new live album titled Live In The North. The concert album was recorded during an intimate show in Sunderland. Recollecting that night, Phil said: “It was an intense small clubs show and we kind of brutalized it. We had a lot of fun doing it. And we listened back to the recordings, and we thought this is cool, so we will whack this one out. Then we’ve got a studio album coming out this year. It’s all finished and mixed.”

Speaking about the band’s upcoming studio release, Phil shared a few insights. “We’ve been working on it for about a year, the songwriting. Todd comes in with a lot of songs. We all contribute, and I come up with song ideas, and Todd comes in with three or four complete songs. So, we all muck in. Todd is one of the main guys. Todd produced it as well. And Soren Anderson, who is Glenn

Hughes’ guitar player. He’s mixed We Are The Bastards and he’s mixing this one. This is really heavy.”

In January 2022, the band announced that Joel Peters had been made a permanent member of the band. But how has the vocalist been settling in so far?

“Great, he’s been with us for about a year now. In between Neil and Joel, we had Andrew Hunt. He helped us out one summer for some shows. Andrew did a fantastic job. But Joel got interested and we did some stuff. He’s been fantastic. He’s just like another family member. He’s a good guy,” confirms Phil.

Of course, Motorhead was regarded as one of the loudest bands on the planet. Recollecting auditioning for the band, Phil said: “When Lemm plugged in his bass it was the loudest thing. It was in a small rehearsal room in Sinclair Road.” But did Phil want to take the ethos of being the loudest band into the Bastard Sons? “We’ve always played quite loud. My band before Motorhead I always had a Marshall stack. I prefer it a little bit quieter now on stage. They tell me it’s loud out front. But on stage in Motorhead it used to be just as loud as it was out front. That’s partly because of my deafness now, which comes with a job,” he says. “It’s a bit more toned down with the Bastard Sons on stage. It still pumps it out.”

Now with his own band going full steam ahead, does Phil still enjoy performing Motorhead tracks live? “People want it, don’t they? And I don’t mind playing the occasional song or two. I’m not going to be in any Motorhead tribute band. Even though we do occasional festivals, with Motorhead sets, and we did the one special tour. Just because people requested it. But no, I like this band to stand on his own two feet. There’s no harm in doing some cool Motorhead songs.”

The group is presently celebrating the fifth anniversary of their debut fulllength album The Age of Absurdity. “We were together as a fun band for two years before Motorhead stopped. I think we were Phil Campbell’s All-Star Band. It had the same members in it and my kids and Neil. And when sadly, Motorhead we decided to call it a day and Lemm passed away. I took it a bit more seriously then and changed the name to the Bastard Sons. We did some of that album in Rockfield. We did the drums and things in Rockfield for three days, it was the first time I’d recorded there so it was good,” he says. “We had debut album of the year for one of the magazines. And we had Album of the Year for another website for the second one. So, it would be nice to get something for the third one.”

As we hurtle towards the festival season, Phil enjoys performing, but travelling can be challenging. “Last summer, we were so busy. I remember there were threehour queues outside Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam before you even got in, and things like that. It’s just flying. I can’t stand the airports. And then you’ve got to get in a van to get to the festivals. In Europe and the UK, we get the luxury of a bus. Sometimes we might be in Holland one day, and Portugal the next day. So, we can’t bus it everywhere. It’s all good, fun festivals.”

Moving forward, the band’s plans for the year are still developing. “We might try and jump on somebody else’s tour if anything is going out. But if not, we will do the rounds again. So, we’re still looking into it the offers and things at the moment. We are pretty busy up to the end of summer.”

Live Up North by Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons is out now. The group will perform at HRH 16 in Great Yarmouth between the 2nd and 5th of November, 2023. For ticket information and further details, please visit https://hardrockhell. com/. Words