As previously reported, CRADLE OF FILTH are currently on tour in Europe in support of their new album, Thornography. The latest in an ongoing series of tour updates can be found below:

December 8th - Progresje, Warsaw, Poland

"Today was a hectic, fucked up day to say the least.

Awoke as we arrived at the venue in Poland to the disparaging news that Gee is in hospital in Dresden, having come down with problematic gall bladder stones, thus rendering him indisposed for several days in Germany and the tour without a stage manager and drum tech.

Several hours later tragedy struck again when, having retired to my bunk for a hour or so (having not slept properly the night before due to the erratic nature of our journey over very bumpy Polish roads), I stumbled out to the news that Paul Collis had inadvertently fallen off the back of the lorry and hit his head so badly that he was flopping the car park for a few minutes like a beached fish.

Due to the severity of the fall it seemed wise to rush him to the hospital for a brain scan (yes, they eventually found one), though his absence and the fact that he might well have concussion prevented him from doing the band's sound this evening, that position going to the Deathstar's sound-man Dave, who, in all fairness did a brilliant job, under the horrible circumstances.

But I digress, eager to get out the juicy bits and keep you lot interested.

The day was a weird one to say the least, a trip to the nearby hotel being the highlight of a somewhat dismal afternoon. I decided to go due to the fact that the showers looked like something from a German prisoner-of-war camp and I kinda feared my privacy, what with a lot of big shaven-headed blokes hanging around inadvertently backstage, all looking intent on some kind of harm. This was to my regret as the hotel was actually worse, the room reminding me of a halfway house for prison reforms, but with less niceties. Still, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, so I got on with dying my hair, having a couple of showers in the interim and catching up with some work until my laptop ran out of battery life, thus leaving my attention at the mercy of the outside window.

On returning to the venue I discovered nothing exciting going on at all save for a few excited fans outside and a room full of food. The rest of the afternoon was spent idling about until Fay, the band's manager, turned up, bringing with her the next chapter of The Gospel Of Filth to peruse with Dani.

Then the aforementioned accident happened with Paul Collis and a panicked (and much belated) sound-check, with the local promoter shouting the local crew to get a move on, much to the band's annoyance considering they were two men down and an hour behind.

The show, despite being two hours late, went surprisingly well and, along with last night's gig, was close to being the best show of the tour. The sound had righted itself out perfectly by the time the band took the stage and the delivery was extremely voracious, the day's activities spurring the band onto a venous performance, full of grit and determination to overcome the encountered problems.

What really made the show though was the energy of the crowd, their feedback coaxing the band over and beyond the norm.

Afterwards everybody was in high spirits and most disappeared to the bar save for Dani and Paul who had a meeting with management in regards to the forthcoming US tour. Joining Dave and Charles at the bar with the support band we proceeded to get hammered on Polish vodka, Charles actually drinking eight doubles before making his way to the toilets practically crying. He then went back to the bus and kept everybody amused as he fell down the aisle and (along with Martin), undertook some priceless impressions of Sarah before petering out to just plain annoying as he repeated the same joke over the next two hours or so and hassled Rosie as to her validity for life. He is still awesome though.

Paul Collis eventually called the drunken one up on his activities (he retiring to the band bus for the evening to get some peace and quiet, for obvious reasons, we lugging our luggage out from one of the front bunks so that he could have a decent bed for the night...) as everybody else either slid into books or comas or Aliens 3 on the TV, though this didn't stop him from falling into my bunk twice and trying to have a piss in the aisle, calling all three girls dirty little slags (his comeuppance is soon due) and kissing Dave full on the lips.

Tomorrow will be a difficult day for that lad I suspect.

Me, I ate some grass along with Paul and Dan to avoid any problems going over the border and then sank into a haunted, restless sleep, numerous weird dreams flitting through my tired, though obviously relieved at the outcome of the day, mind."

December 10 - Hamburg, Germany, Markthalle

"Yesterday was yet another travel day although there wasn't much to report really save getting up well past sundown and heading straight into a hotel room, whereupon I bathed, watched a couple of films and went for a great buffet dinner of goose and sauerkraut. And that was it aside from some dirty martinis at the bar and an hour of shaving my bikini line.

Today was singularly the worst day of the tour for me.

The day started well enough what with an early start and a bath, a coffee at the bar and a cab ride to the Reeperbahn in Hamburg where I hoped to pick up some kinky presents for friends. However when i got there they had all the wrong sizes of flimsy underwear and high heel shoes and when i attempted to get a cab back to the venue the driver wouldn't accept my 50 euro note saying he didn't have any change, so in traditional me-style, I told him to eff off and sulkily walked the three and a half miles back across town. Hot and very flustered and wanting a shower where the door locked for once.

Nah!

On arrival I had to drag my case up four flights of steps before finding myself locked out by an internal gate, so it was back to the bus to put my phone on charge to then ring Steve to rescue me, just as some fans launched themselves onto me from the shadows.

I might be a star now thanks to my diary, but I'm not always a happy one. I admit I bit back a bit (and that was before I found out that the shower didn't lock!). Eventually I gained access to the venue and for what I can remember the band telling me, they played here way back when with Anathema and At The Gates in the smaller room, where an on-stage smoke machine button enabled every band's singer to fill the rest of the venue up with smoke. Which isn't hard as the dressing rooms are minute and possessed of lighting that can eat through your flesh if you stand beneath them for too long.

Other than that they've played here on several other occasions over the years, every time a pretty good show but awful catering. Well tonight was the other way around. Well, the gig wasn't awful by any means (and the food was exquisite) but it did possess a weird onstage sound, the 'Nymphetamic' broke at the beginning of the song in question and there were some issues with the click track by the time 'Tonight In Flames' began right after opener 'Dirge Inferno'. It was also bloody hot and the crowd situated at a very imposing height to the stage behind what seemed like a fug of lights and smoke, proved somewhat of a distraction to the show rather than a crutch.

Still it ended well despite the regular visits to monitor world and the crowd seemed to love it as the competition winners who came backstage afterwards to get stuff signed were testament to and those who apprehended us back at the bus still later confirmed. And if that wasn't comforting then the changed bed-linen in the bunks was.

The night ended with a few drinks and fewer laughs, Dani and Rosie heading up the stupid joke marathon. For example;

Q: What supermodel has a beauty spot in the middle of her forehead?

A: Bindy Crawford

And if that's not bad...

Q: What heavy metal singer has a set of really tiny wings?

A: Mozzy Osbourne

Stunning."

To read the previous tour updates go to this location.

Remaining dates on the tour are as follows:

December

14 - Karen in Gotheborg, Sweden
16 - Antwerp, Belgium at Hof Ter Lo
17 - Manchester, UK at Academy**
18 - Birmingham, UK at Academy**
19 - London, UK at Astoria**

** with SABBAT