UK-based black metallers Cradle Of Filth have checked in with the following update:

"Happy Lupercalia, Filthlings! Our gift to you is the announcement of the second leg of our Necromantic Fantasies tour this summer! Tickets go on sale Friday, February 16th at 10am CET."

Necromantic Fantasies Summer 2024:

June
20 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Copenhell
21 - Oslo, Norway - Parkteatret
23 - Leeuwarden, Netherlands - Neushoorn
24 - Hanover, Germany - Musikzentrum
25 - Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli Pandora
27 - Clisson, France - Hellfest
28 - Saarbrucken, Germany - Garage
29 - Spalene Porici, Czech Republic - Basinfire Festival

July
27 - Zagreb, Croatia - Boogaloo
28 - Belgrade, Serbia - KST Basta
30 - Cham, Germany - LA Cham

August
2 - Pori, Finland - Porisphere
3 - Wacken, Germa  - Wacken Open Air
7 - Graz; Austria - PPC
9 - Kortrijk, Belgium -  Alcatraz Festival
11 - Cercoux, France - Festival 666
13 - Bochum, Germany - Matrix
14 - Dresden, Germany - Schlachthof
16 - Dinkelsbühl, Germany - Summer Breeze Festival

While Cradle Of Filth were putting the finishing touches on their as yet untitled 14th studio album, which will serve as the follow-up to 2021's Existence Is Futile, vocalist Dani Filth was interviewed by Polish journalist Pełna Kulturka. An excerpt from their chat, which can be heard below in its entirety, has been transcribed as follows: 

Dani Filth: "Well, strangely enough, I begin my vocals tomorrow. We started back in July, but we've been so busy. We've done loads of summer festivals and we had our annual break for holidays for everybody. Then we did a couple of weeks. So we've done all the music. Then I was away for 12 weeks on recording in L.A. Cradle were playing in South America, and then we did a full American tour, co-headlining with DevilDriver, the second part of that. Then I did a couple of more weeks in the studio, getting some ideas down, getting everything ready to sing. And then the producer had a baby. So we haven't actually been back since November. And then obviously we're only gonna be doing a couple of weeks 'cause then we go out on the road. So the album's gonna take a bit longer than usual because we're doing a lot of touring as well. But we're hoping to release it by the end of the year. It's gonna be a big record for us; very excited about it. At the moment it's in development stage, so we're being very creative. I'm staying at home. I just got back from France last week where I was visiting with my girlfriend for New Year's. And now I'm just alone in my fortress of solitude at home getting all creative and getting all prepared for the album and the tour."

What can we expect in the way of sound? Classic Cradle Of Filth, or maybe there will be some surprises?

Dani Filth: "Well, one of the surprises, obviously, but it's not so much a surprise is that we've got a song that we have Ed Sheeran guesting on. It's gonna be on the album. And people have heard it and loved it. But it is what you imagine — it's Cradle Of Filth and it's Ed Sheeran. It sounds like Ed Sheeran, it sounds like Cradle Of Filth. There's a blast beat in it. I think it's gonna surprise a lot of people, the album. But it doesn't necessarily mean the album is commercial. It's a very heavy record. We just upped the game as a band. We moved one step further toward the future from our previous record. We see everything as an evolution, everything as an evolutionary step, everything as a necessary link in the chain. And this album's gonna be an important record for us — our first for Napalm Records, if you discount, obviously, the live record (Trouble And Their Double Lives). But, yeah, we're very much looking forward to this year. And there's no rush. We've got plenty of shows. But expect the first single probably about September, October time."

Talking about Ed Sheeran, he actually took a little step into the rock and metal scene by recording his "Bad Habits" with Bring Me The Horizon. Have you heard this rock version of "Bad Habits"?

Dani Filth: "I did hear it, yeah. They decided to do that after we started working. 'Cause we actually did the song with Ed over a year ago now. And before then, the idea happened off the back of Bad Habits, the album. So, it's been about two and a half years, and it's probably gonna be three and a half years before anybody actually hears the song. But it is what it is. Obviously, he's one of the biggest artists in the world, and we have to kind of abide by his rules because… He's a lovely guy — don't get me wrong — but his management, obviously, have his vested interest at heart. And I think this year he's taking a complete year off. And obviously we want him in the video, so if that's gonna happen, we have to release that single with him on next year. But that's not gonna affect the rest of the album."

Cradle Of Filth played their first show of 2024 on February 12th in Gdańsk, Poland. To view the band's complete live itinerary, visit this location.