English extreme metal band Cradle of Filth release their 14th studio album “The Screaming of the Valkyries” in March 2025. We spoke to frontman Dani Filth about some of the songs on the record, looking after his distinctive voice, and collaborating with Ed Sheeran (yes, you read that correctly).
Text: Anne-Marie Forker
Photography: Jakub Alexandrowicz
[Originally published in Norway Rock Magazine #1-2025]
Valkyrie, I believe is a figure in Norse mythology, what inspired the title of “The Screaming of the Valkyries”?
It seemed like a very apt title for the album, and also for civilisation today. Valkyries are Norse handmaidens who – it seems like the scenario is that a cataclysmic event is happening, and it is signalled by the defeat of the Valkyries and them being overrun and Åsgard taken, and that signals Ragnarök which is the end of everything. So, a cataclysmic event, and it’s hypothetical. It’s not supposed to be Nordic mythology it just seems like a very apt title that, if we live in two minutes to midnight or 25 seconds to midnight, it says, on the Doomsday Clock, these are the sounds they would make when the end came, when the final cataclysm emerged, it would be the sound, heavenward, of angels screaming or these shield maidens screaming in defeat, screaming for mercy. It’ll be a horrible situation that hopefully we would never find ourselves in, that very final moment of our existence. So, the title was governed by the music, it was governed by the artwork, it was governed by my observations on everyday life, you know the war between Russia and Ukraine, the war in Gaza.
Why did you choose “To Live Deliciously” as a single?
Well, some of the other songs are too long for singles and it’s not going to get played on the radio – and it’s also very expensive to do videos for a nine minute song! And the first track was pretty sing-along. They’re all very sing-along but this was a bit harder than the first one and a bit harder than the third one that will come in its wake. So yeah, it was chosen for length, catchiness, heaviness, all kinds of things.
“You Are My Nautilus” – what is a nautilus, in the context of the song?
A nautilus is a sort of steampunk icon, it’s a submarine that belonged to Captain Nemo in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea [by Jules Verne], it was his pioneering vehicle that he illegally traverses the globe in.
Have you always liked Captain Nemo?
Well, I’ve always been a fan of steampunk and Victoriana and that’s where I found it. Again, it’s about reliable protection, I’m using it as a metaphor that – you are my vehicle into the darkness because as an explorer, it’s a protector, it’s a destroyer, and it’s venerated as a sea monster at the same time as well by the people that don’t understand it. So it’s a terrifying, but a beautiful creation. And it’s likening a partner to the attributes of said monstrous machine.
The album closer “When Misery Was A Stranger” is a theatrical epic. What inspired the song?
Again, looking back it’s like a final warning, really. It’s the last song on the album, and it’s almost saying, we’re not quite there yet, but if we are, everybody’s gonna consider the time before this as being idyllic, as like a golden age. It’s like during the pandemic, for example, people who are very bored with their jobs suddenly were itching to get back to them and realising it wasn’t quite as bad as all that, and even the bad things like being on the road in shit times and whatever, were like mythical highs to pursue once it’s been taken away from you. So yeah, it’s basically a sort of looking back, during desperate times to say, look, you know, this is a golden age. A little bit, you could liken it I suppose to Iron Maiden, who have got “Wasted Years”, you know? It’s sort of retrospective as well. Tell it like when it was better, when we didn’t know of misery, we didn’t know of heartbreak, and turmoil, and warfare and destruction.
“Non Omnis Moriar” is very slow building. It’s possibly the most melancholic Cradle of Filth song I’ve heard, but it fits perfectly in the order of the album.
We always managed to bring one of those out at some point or other! It’s like the oldest poetical testament. It basically says that I won’t solely disappear from this plane of existence. I’ll be with you, in spirit. It’s a call to a lover, or a friend, or someone else who you’re leaving behind, saying, remember me as I was or still will be.
Did you spend a lot of time choosing the order of each track for this album?
Well, that kind of dictated itself because of the track lengths. Obviously attention to detail is important and that is something that addressed us. I don’t think it took ages – it’s only nine songs. We knew how it was going to start and how it was going to end. When it came down to choosing it for vinyl, I think we’ve managed to get it so it’s like a matter of seconds difference, five, and one side, four on the other.
Do you do anything in particular to look after your distinctive voice?
Don’t overdo it! Yeah, I have lots of little tricks that help me sing. And also it’s a lot of warming up. And yeah, it’s personal stuff. People ask me and I said, well, it probably won’t work for you because I’ve tried to explain my start-up to other people and they can’t get it at all. I see a throat doctor as well, who massages my voice and so it’s never sitting anywhere where it’s going to be knotting up or anything, which is the biggest danger I think for singers. You just know after doing it for a while, you just know what to do and what not to do. I see a different person from who I originally started seeing because it’s a very bespoke occupation. So you have like a diagnosis and a remapping as it were, like having an engine to make it more effective.
Did the lyrics all come easily to you? Was there one that you found hard to complete?
Sometimes it’s hard, sometimes it just comes easy. It’s as and when, really. Some songs suggest their subject matter, others are a little more tricky to work out where it’s going. I always do the music first. Sometimes it’s tricky, I mean, you guide the music so it then becomes suitable to put vocals on. But sometimes it’s tricky, trying to put stuff to a song – if it’s if it is quite a laborious, multi-faceted song that moves all over the place, it can be quite tricky.
The producer was Scott Atkins at Grindstone Studios, why him?
He’s been with us for the last six, seven albums, and he’s brilliant! And we just experiment with new ways of achieving an album, trying out new gear, trying out new techniques. He’s a friend of the band, almost a seventh member. So he could be critical where others can’t. We also have a great relationship with him so he brings out the best in us. And he’s got a vested interest in the band, you know? So he’s there from the inception of the songs right through to the culmination, and because he’s respected, he can suggest changes and see things that we can’t.
I’ve got to ask you about the Ed Sheeran collaboration, that was a massive surprise. How did that come about?
Well it came about because he lives close to me, like a local, you know, he’s from Suffolk as well. And management were talking, I think Ed was interviewed, and he mentioned about being a fan of Cradle around the amphetamine period and actually coming to the studio, well, he was due to come to the studio to work on an album during his work experience. But we were never doing an album at this studio. They kind of just lied about it when he found out he decided not to do that. But anyway they got chatting and then I guess the joke came that maybe it would be cool to do something and he just said, yeah. And we were in contact for a couple of years before, he said “Right, are you going to be free next week?” “Yeah, cool!” Because it’s a matter of getting together, you know, he was very busy, we were very busy. It’s a couple of years ago, the song sounds great. But we’ll release it in our time. It’s dictated by several things that I can’t really talk about. And also it’s the thing of it overshadowing a perfectly decent album.
Is there anyone else that you would like to collaborate with in a dream scenario?
Sure, loads of people, but I don’t want to jinx it!
Ha! What are your plans for touring this record? Will you be in Norway or Scandinavia at some point?
Maybe. We did Europe quite a bit last year. So this year is mainly, aside from some festivals and a few interim dates that link them, it’s mainly the Americas. Maybe at the back end of the year, we may be doing something European. For the most part it’s South America, but first off, there’s this co-headline with Dying Foetus on the Chaos and Carnage tour. Last year was mostly in Europe, so if we tour, it’ll be the back end, but our year’s slowly filling up as we speak.