The drama in the Cradle Of Filth camp hit a new high today, August 26th. To catch you up, over the weekend, keyboardist/vocalist Zoe Marie Federoff exited the band. Her decision to quit the gothic extreme metal band was abrupt, taking place just days into their Latin American tour. Issuing a statement this past Sunday, August 24th, Federoff explained her decision as follows:
“It is with deep regret I share that for personal reasons I am unable to continue this tour and continue in general with Cradle of Filth.
Please respect my privacy and my family’s privacy. I will answer no further questions. Be kind to my successor. I wish her and my now former bandmates well.
At least, like Roy Khan said over a decade ago, God was there after all.
Yours,
Zoe“
Shortly after she announced her exit, Cradle Of Filth vocalist Dani Filth posted this statement of his own, labeling Federoff‘s exit “a strange turn of events”, while further indicating that he and the band, “wish her all the best for the future and we as a band will continue onward and upward.”
Then, in a statement issued earlier today, Federoff‘s husband, Cradle Of Filth guitarist Marek “Ashok” Smerda, announced he too would be exiting the band. However, unlike his wife, he intends to finish out his obligations with their current Latin American tour. Ashok was a bit more forthcoming with the reasoning behind his exit. In his newly shared statement, Ashok in part stated of he and his wife’s decision to move on:
“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 like this band actually prioritizing/caring about members. It has been years of unprofessional behavior from people above us that led to our decision.
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 anyways- first it was charity single for kids, then for profit single, then on next album, and now who knows and I just do not want to be involved anymore, no disrespect to Ed Sheeran“
Ashok and Federoff‘s romantic relationship blossomed during their time in Cradle Of Filth, with the couple getting engaged last year and then married this past January.
In a new statement shared via her social media this afternoon, Federoff has followed up with a more detailed timeline of events which led her and her husband to quit. In it she claims that management have been manipulative about finances owed and that Dani Filth allegedly only advocates for himself and “hides” behind the band’s management.
She further alleged, “The atmosphere [Dani] creates is threatening and abusive and constantly exploits us for very low wages.” Her complete statement on the matter reads as follows:
“A further statement on the departure of myself and Ashok from Cradle of Filth and a warning to our successors- READ THE CONTRACT.
We planned this transition out of Cradle of Filth months ago. Management is dishonest, manipulative, and tries to take money that belongs to us with no contract between us session musicians and him. When I called them out on this attempted theft of album advance money from ‘Screaming of the Valkyries‘, they called me “cancer” and “dead horse” and threatened to fire me.
The frontman does nothing to stop them and hides behind them while they belittle and steal. We hold the frontman responsible for hiring this management and never advocating for his team, only himself. Other ex members try to tiptoe around this and only blame management— management works for the frontman.
He might not get his hands dirty, but in the end, he directs them. The atmosphere he creates is threatening and abusive and constantly exploits us for very low wages yet also demands exclusivity to Cradle‘s schedule. We do not make even the bare cost of living, yet we are told not to tour with other bands to supplement income. It is madness to keep people locked in poverty for the ego of one person.
We attach the contract they attempted to trap all session members in for a 25% raise (The first raise in 7 years.) Our lawyer called it the most psychopathic contract a session musician could ever be handed. We did not sign and made a decision to leave this year instead. So— we left because we were being used and paid less than the cost of living, the environment is toxic and threatening,
…and the toll this was all taking on our lives and our marriage grew too great. The health toll it took on us also led me to miscarry our first pregnancy on tour. We chose to leave to save ourselves and create a better future for our family. Now that we are out— the sun is shining, our family has hope, and we hope every session musician who thinks about joining Cradle reads this contract and talks to a lawyer.
Good luck to whoever tries to make it work next. And remember— we all know the guy who says “All” his exes are crazy— are you sure ALL of them? Or could the problem be you, 40+ people later?
Farewell to the fans and our fellow session members and crew. They were the only part of this that remain good memories.”
In addition to her statement, Federoff republished the contract she claims she and Ashok were presented with by the band. According to a further post by Federoff in the comments, that contract she shared (see below) was the one she and Ashok rejected to sign. She went on to add that under her current contract, “We make 150/day currently and 25K a year roughly in this band, to clarify the math.”
