Headbanger's Lifestyle recently caught up with Cradle Of Fith keyboardist / backing vocalist Lindsay Schoolcraft and discussed her sense of fashion, her music with COF and as a solo artist, and her vegan lifestyle. An excerpt from the interview is available below.

Q: Who or what inspires you the most when it comes to beauty, fashion and lifestyle?

Schoolcraft: "Many darkly places and creatures on this planet and in fairy tales. I take a lot of my inspiration from nature and my First Nation roots, but I'm also obsessed with and fascinated by mermaids and witches. Disney is where I got my start, but I was always a fan of the dark villainess. Until the releases Mulan and Frozen I felt the princesses were often helpless and needed the aid of a prince. I enjoyed the concept of the dark villainess, such as Ursula the sea witch or Maleficent, because they were strong, independent and knew what they wanted. Maybe it was a foreshadow into my future self, who knows. And my favourite real world style icons would have to be Amy Lee and Björk.’"

Q: What does it mean for you to be part of such a great band as Cradle Of Filth and how much impact has it on your life in general so far?

Schoolcraft: "It's everything. It's my daily life, my career and my greatest passion. It's been all consuming and I've never been more grateful to have such an opportunity to perform, create music and help people like I have been able to do so with Cradle. It was probably the last band I ever thought I'd join, but I couldn't picture my life now any other way."

Q: You are also working as a solo artist, how different is your own music from Cradle Of Filth and what inspires you?

Schoolcraft: "For me Cradle is more of a traditional heavy metal outlet where I get to utilize more of my classical training in performance and composing. Schoolcraft is my own personal solo project where I take a lot more influence from my love of main stream melodies and structures and where I can also use a lot of my love of musical theatre."

Go to this location for the complete interview.

You can still catch Cradle Of Filth live with Ne Obliviscaris and Butcher Babies as support at the dates posted below:

February
26 - Edmonton, AB - Starlite Room 
28 - Minneapolis, MN - The Cabooze 
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:

Check out fan-filmed video of the band's complete Orlando show on February 2nd below.

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.

Photo by Melissa Matheson Photography