CRADLE OF FILTH vocalist Dani Filth has written "a tour diary of sorts" dated December 5th, an excerpt follows:

"Yesterday was fun, especially our self-contained Buck Rogers Iso-cubes way below the waterline in the hull of the love boat. Sleep was inevitable but we set our alarms for a one o'clock meeting at the bar to drink hideous aniseed shots and lager pints, then reconvene to the disco to watch some muppet play cover tunes for the old folk who throng the boat like harbingers of death. Back on the bus we listen to music over a few beers and chat, eventually conjuring forth a saviour out of a strange nozzled pan which becomes the figurehead of our warped sense of humour... The Red Helmet. Who is he, where does he come from? What powers does he possess in this dark corner of the world? Why, he could be anyone... And so he is. Anyone who dons his mask becomes the formidable Red Helmet. Protector of the innocent, wherever they may wander.

Some people think that life in a touring band is all hams and plaques. I can assure you it is not, especially when you start getting ill as I did today here in Tampere, Finland. A stomach bug isn't all that you say, well it bloody well is when you have to sing and you're dehydrated for all the using of the toilet and nauseous to boot. Still, the venue is sold-out, there is a sauna downstairs in the subterranean hive along with a wipe-clean fuck bed, we have an in-store signing to undertake and again, the food is really good once we return from our session at a local record store, though times are definitely a-changing as there are no freebies for our troubles. Looks like I'll have to order the new KISS album off t' Internet on my return...

The stage is a little odd as it seems to go round a corner so that James (McIlroy, guitarist) is actually pointing a different direction to the rest of us but the audience is great, even though we drop a couple of songs due to my erratic tummy problems. In fact everybody here is cool, from those who come out to the signing to those who serve us extra lashings of ice cream and sprinkly bits for our dinner. The day ends with the aforementioned sauna, all the band cramming in for a good long dousing, with the lads in towels and Caroline (Campbell, keyboardist) in what appears to be a '50s bathing suit. The bus doesn't leave until really early in the morning so the guys and Gaahl in GOD SEED wanna party but I slouch off to the bus, sign a few bits and bobs on the way and crawl into bed to watch a Hammer Horror movie before slipping into a haunted, restless sleep. I fucking hate being ill!"

To read Dani's blog in its entirety, click here.

Remaining dates on the Creatures From The Black Abyss Tour featuring: CRADLE OF FILTH, GOD SEED, ROTTING CHRIST, DARKEND and BLYND are as follows:

December

7 - Geiselwind, Germany - Musichall
8 - Bochum, Germany - Matrix
9 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z-7
11 - Prague, Czech Republic - Meet Factory
13 - Bratislava, Slovakia - Majestic Music Club
14 - Munich, Germany - Theaterfabrik
15 - Wels, Austria - Schlachthof
16 - Berlin, Germany - C-Club
19 - London, UK - Forum