Cradle Of Filth backing vocalist/keyboardist Lindsay Schoolcraft and Ne Obliviscaris frontman Xen recently launched a new project dubbed Antiqva. They have checked in with the following update: 

"Almost half of the line up met up in Montreal, Canada this past weekend to discuss the future of this project. This week we are back in the studio continuing to compose. More updates to follow on a debut release from us."

From left to right: Justine Ethier (Karkaos, Blackguard), Lindsay Schoolocraft (Cradle Of Filth), Xen (Ne Obliviscaris)

Following is an excerpt from the exclusive BraveWords feature announcing Antiqva's launch.

Antiqva is an idea spawned at the end of 2015 by Ne Obliviscaris vocalist Xenoyr and Cradle Of Filth keyboardist / backing vocalist Lindsay Schoolcraft. Of mutual minds, they craved more from extreme music, and so wanting to combine the darker elements of classical music, church organ, Gregorian chant, and the potency of black metal guitars, they set out envisioning a way to bring this creative endeavour to life. Their mission is to pay homage to an old, live and organic feel, and so fuelled by a drive to bring forth honest music from their niche genres they have attracted a confident team of experienced musicians who also believe in their vision. Together, they hope to captivate and move their audiences bringing that black, burning spirit back to life.

BraveWords: What was it that drew you the two of you together and made you decide that putting a band together would be a worthwhile venture?

Xen: "It's a bit of a long story, however in short, the idea was brought up in Rome when Cradle and NeO were touring together in 2015. We both craved another musical avenue to express what we couldn't do so in our respective bands. I'd been planning for years to attempt something more black metal orientated, as I knew NeO would never go down that path, and needed an avenue to pursue my darker tastes. I love what we do in NeO, but black metal is not something that NeO is… NeO is a vast array of influences, various shades of light and dark, and many colours. Antiqva is something else altogether."

Lindsay: "This is something that I really wanted to do because when you meet someone and you have the same creative energy, it's stupid not to make it happen. Me and Xen spent a lot of time together on that first tour in Europe. We'd get coffee together almost every day and then go out sightseeing because the rest of the guys would sleep in. It's rare that they would go out. I was up early every day and so was Xen. We got to talking, and we're certainly not unhappy in our bands, but Xen wanted to do something in a more black metal outfit and I wanted to do something more classically driven. I presented small bits and pieces of this material to the guys in Cradle a few years ago, and they thought it was cool but it didn't fit with the sound that defines the band. In the past Cradle had more of that classical vibe and they've been moving in a different direction.

"With the new Cradle Of Filth album, as long as those guys are happy, I'm happy, and I'm there to do what's best for the band. But, a lot of the stuff I had was being left at the wayside and I told Xen about it. He loves classical music as well, so I sent him some demos which were just atrocious (laughs). But, it was something we wanted to do because we seem to share a brain; I tell people Xen is my evil twin and we were separated at birth because we're so much alike. We decided to go forward and make this happen in our free time. Obviously we feel some pressure because NeO is becoming more and more popular, and Cradle Of Filth is a big band to a lot of people, but Antiqva is something fun for us and I think we need that outlet."

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