Cradle Of Filth have given fans an update on when to expect the release of their long-awaited collaboration with Ed Sheeran.
The collaboration was first revealed in 2021, when the band’s frontman Dani Filth revealed that he had been in touch with the pop star and that Sheeran had invited him “up to his place”.
Work on the track was progressing in 2022 according to Filth, with work then halted due to Sheeran becoming a father. Filth was then pictured at the pub with Sheeran and producer Scott Atkins in late 2022, with a tentative release date of summer 2023 then set.
While the track didn’t arrive then, Filth has now spoken to Polish YouTube channel Pełna Kulturka about progress on the track.
“One of the surprises, obviously, but it’s not so much a surprise is that we’ve got a song that we have Ed Sheeran guesting on,” he said. “It’s gonna be on the album.”
He added that “people have heard it and loved it” and that the song is “what you imagine — it’s Cradle Of Filth and it’s Ed Sheeran. It sounds like Ed Sheeran, it sounds like Cradle Of Filth.
“There’s a blast beat in it. I think it’s gonna surprise a lot of people, the album. But it doesn’t necessarily mean the album is commercial. It’s a very heavy record. We just upped the game as a band. We moved one step further toward the future from our previous record.”
Filth added that the band “did the song with Ed over a year ago now,” which is “about two and a half years” since the idea came together.
“It’s probably gonna be three and a half years before anybody actually hears the song,” he added, pointing at an early 2025 release date. “But it is what it is. Obviously, he’s one of the biggest artists in the world, and we have to abide by his rules because… He’s a lovely guy — don’t get me wrong — but his management, obviously, have his vested interest at heart. And I think this year he’s taking a complete year off. 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.”
Elsewhere, Cradle Of Filth members Marek “Ashok” Šmerda (guitar) and Zoë M. Federoff (keyboard/vocals) announced that they will be getting married in a New Year’s post on Instagram.