Two members of the veteran metal band Cradle of Filth have suddenly exited during the group’s current tour, citing “unprofessional behavior” and what they described as a “foolish” collaboration with Ed Sheeran.
Singer and keyboardist Zoë M. Federoff announced earlier this week that she was leaving the band for “personal reasons.” Days later, Cradle of Filth confirmed they were “firing” guitarist Marek “Ashok” Šmerda, Federoff’s husband, who had been part of the lineup since 2014. Federoff joined the group in 2022.
Fans quickly speculated that trouble in the couple’s marriage might explain their simultaneous departures, but Federoff clarified the situation in a social media post. “Ashok isn’t cheating. While the turmoil of being in the band has taken its toll on us, we remain very much certain that we love each other. Please be kind to my husband. He is a good man. We were already planning to leave the band later this year. Certain events have sped that up for me.”
Frontman Dani Filth later stated on behalf of the band confirming Šmerda’s dismissal “effective immediately,” after the guitarist had initially told fans he would leave following the South American tour.
“We simply do not feel like Cradle can provide for our future, and in fact hinders it. Among other reasons, it is a lot of work for relatively low pay, the stress is quite high, and we haven’t felt for a while that this band actually prioritizes or cares about its members. It has been years of unprofessional behavior from people above us that led to our decision,” Šmerda wrote.
“I have also asked all compositions of mine removed from upcoming releases, including Ed Sheeran collab. This song feels like foolish clown antics for me at this point anyway. First, it was a charity single for kids, then a for-profit single, then on the next album, and now who knows, and I do not want to be involved anymore, no disrespect to Ed Sheeran.”
Talk of the Sheeran collaboration first surfaced in 2022 after the pop star admitted, “I was really into death metal as a kid. I listened to Cradle of Filth and Slipknot and all that stuff.” Dani Filth later confirmed earlier this year that the track had been recorded, although it did not appear on their most recent album, The Screaming of the Valkyries.
The departures occurred in the middle of Cradle of Filth’s South American tour, which carried on as planned on Tuesday in Montevideo, Uruguay. “Despite all attempts to illegally defame and derail the band, CRADLE OF FILTH WILL NOT cancel any of our South American shows, though fans will have to bear with us being a band with only one guitarist live, that is of course until Ashok’s temporary replacement is flown out to join the tour in a few days,” Dani Filth said in his statement. A replacement for Federoff has already been brought in for the band’s frequently shifting lineup.
