CRADLE OF FILTH frontman Dani Filth did a quick Q&A; with Cambridge-news.co.uk recemtly. Here are a few excerpts from the chat:

Cambridge-news.co.uk: There's always been a theatrical side to Cradle of Filth - where does the inspiration for that come from?

Filth: "The War of the Worlds musical is one of my favourite records and recently I was approached by Jeff Wayne to be in a new production. I couldn't do it in the end, mainly because we're so busy. That album is very influential to me and encapsulates a story and has a sense of drama and magnetism about it. It's something we've endeavored to replicate with albums like Cruelty And The Beast and Damnation And A Day which was based on Milton's Paradise Lost. That's what Cradle of Filth is all about."

Cambridge-news.co.uk: On stage, you're a scary looking bunch. How much of that is part of the act?

Filth: "People are often surprised by how well mannered and well spoken we are when they meet us but on the other hand we do sometimes get out of the proverbial grave on the wrong side and want to stamp our feet and swear a bit."

Cambridge-news.co.uk: You've been criticized by some religious types for the supposedly Satanic nature of your music - how do you feel about that?

Filth: "People call it Satanic but they call everything Satanic that they don't understand. Satan is just a scarecrow to stop people getting interested in truer, older religions. I think people would been more shocked to see me with short hair and a Victorian suit doing War Of The Worlds than breathing fire and slaughtering a goat as they all presume I do."

Cambridge-news.co.uk: What do you really think about religion?

Filth: "We're more fascinated by it than anything. I have a house of India which is somewhere to escape to. I'm quite into borrowing attributes of Hinduism and paganism other things like that. Borrowing bits from every religion makes sense to me. Every man and woman is unique in their own right so their belief systems should be as well, they shouldn't be told what to believe in. It obviously isn't as simple as Catholicism which is black and white and if you eat two more cookies than you should do then you go to hell. It's a ridiculous, childish system that millions of people bought into."