UK-based black metal heathens Cradle Of Filth were forced to cancel the first four shows in the US due to a visa issue with the American Embassy. Originally slated to kick off on January 26th in Philadelphia, PA the tour got underway on January 31st in Charlotte, NC. Frontman Dani Filth has checked in with the following update:

"I can only apologise profusely once again, but there was an unforeseen delay in sending my visa out from the American Embassy here in London and absolutely nothing we could do about it.

And in answer to some of your questions...

Unfortunately, we cannot add the four cancelled shows in at the end of the tour, as our working visas only extend as far as March 9th. But we will endeavour to reach out and rectify this problem as soon as is inhumanly possible, we promise. Also, it doesn't matter how long a tour is planned for, for coming into the States you can only get an Embassy appointment once you have all the paperwork for all the shows fully booked, and submitted. Crazy, I know!

We're utterly, utterly sorry for the cancellations, but it has been something that has been totally out of the band's hands. We can only hope that the rest of the tour will be as amazing as planned. Thanks once again for your understanding and see you out on the road!"

Cradle Of Filth's tour schedule is now as follows:

February
1 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade - Heaven
2 - Orlando, FL - Venue 578
3 - St. Petersburg, FL - State Theater
9 - Memphis, TN - New Daisy Theater
10 - Dallas, TX - House Of Blues
11 - Houston, TX - House Of Blues
12 - San Antonio, TX - The Aztec Theater
14 - Eaglewood, CO - Gothic Theater
15 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
17 - Los Angeles, CA - Avalon
18 - San Diego, CA - House Of Blues
20 - Sacramento, CA - Ace Of Spades
21 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
23 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox
29 - Ringle, WI - Q and Z Expo Center

March
1 - Chicago, IL - House Of Blues
2 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart’s
3 - Cleveland, OH - House Of Blues
5 - Detroit, MI - St. Andrew’s Hall
6 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theater
7 - Montreal, QC - Corona Theater
8 - New York, NY - Webster Hall

Tour trailer:

Cradle Of Filth have released a music video for the track "Blackest Magick In Practice" (streaming below). The clip was directed by Sam Scott-Hunter and the song is taken from the groups latest tome of horror and romance, Hammer Of The Witches.

Comments the director: "There’s dark madness in this video. “Blackest Magick In Practice” is a deeply tragic tale of lost love. It’s the grief stricken insanity of trying to bring back that loved one from the dead; desperately trying to hold onto that person who’s gone, even if that leads down a dark and gruesome path. I don’t want to give it all away, but I will say that the hardest part of the production was getting hold of a human ear.

"I wanted to convey the power of the band too, in amongst the romance, madness and magick. Behind the imagery of the lyrics is a great and powerful metal band of amazing musicians, and I hope people can feel the intensity of the band when they watch this. It is intense viewing. There should be a bit of madness in the video, because there’s madness in this song."

Cradle Of Filth's latest album, Hammer Of The Witches, was brought to fruition in Britain's Witch County, in darkest rural Suffolk at the reputedly haunted Grindstone Studios. The album's title is named after the Malleus Maleficarum, a medieval document of guidelines regarding the persecution and torture of witches - but Cradle Of Filth’s title version is more retributory: It's the Hammer Of The Witches; the hammer is in the witches' hands and it's payback time.

Unquestionably one of the greatest and most influential British metal bands of all time, Cradle Of Filth have cast a commanding and macabre shadow across the metal scene for nearly a quarter of a century. Armed with their trademark, cross-pollinated assault that taps into myriad strands of sonic extremity and morbid opulence they have steadily conquered the entire world, unleashing a malevolent slew of classic albums along the way. From the raw and rambunctious savagery of their 1994 debut The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh to the wickedly monstrous, technicolor bombast of 2012's The Manticore & Other Horrors, the Cradle ethos and aesthetic has had a huge impact on the evolution of metal, the band's insatiable appetite for performing live and frontman Dani Filth's unerring charisma and sense of occasion ensuring that they have established a powerful and enduring connection with Hell-bound acolytes everywhere.