During a recent appearance on The Downbeat Podcast, hosted by Stray From The Path drummer Craig Reynolds, Cradle Of Filth vocalist Dani Filth spoke about his band's highly anticipated, and long-awaited, collaboration with British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. An excerpt has been transcribed as follows:

What's going on with the Ed Sheeran collaboration?

Dani Filth: " The Ed Sheeran one is done and dusted. We did it like two years ago. It was weird, because we were planning to do it for about a year and a half."

How did that come about?

Dani Filth: "I don't know. I think our managers got in touch with each other somehow. His manager, Stuart, used to listen to Coal Chamber when he was growing up. Ed did a single where he played a vampire, and I think one day he got asked questions somewhere where it was, like, 'Are you into heavy metal?' I don't know why? And he said, 'Yeah, I was really into Slipknot and Cradle Of Filth....' So apparently they talked, and the chat came around, we should do a collab, it'd be hilarious. And he was right up for it. So when he was eventually free and we were free, he just comes to the studio by himself. He didn't even ask, like, 'Are you gonna be there with your mums and everything?' So we were very respectful. It was just me, the producer and him in our little countryside studio, probably 15 miles away as a crow flies from where he lives. He turns up in his wife's secret Mini, the one he can get out of the house, on his own, Cradle hoodie, guitar on his back. That was it. We spent the afternoon recording. He was telling us loads of funny stories, really cool. And then when we finished, we were, like, 'Do you wanna go for a pint?' He said, 'Well, I'm bit peckish.' So we went to the local pub, at which point everybody in the pub, and it's like a very, very rustic old country pub, suddenly everybody, all these old dears and that, all knew his mum and they were all flocking over. And he'd be, like, 'I have no idea who that is.' But it was really cool. The song's great. We didn't wanna release it back then because we were busy with other things. Then he couldn't release it because he was doing a bunch of stuff. So it's just gonna come out when it does. We didn't wanna put it on the album."

Is it a Cradle Of Filth song featuring Ed Sheeran, or an Ed Sheeran song featuring Dani Filth?

Dani Filth: "It's a brand new Cradle Of Filth song featuring Ed Sheeran, and a lot of it sounds like Ed Sheeran. He's playing acoustic guitar, he's singing Ed Sheeran, but a lot of it sounds like us. There's a blast beat, scream. Ed really pushes himself in it as well. He does rock vocals."

What's the lyrics about?

Dani Filth: "It's called - no, I can't talk about it cause I'll get in trouble. It's about affirmation. It's a bit about self-affirmation. It works. It's a really good song. Only about a handful of people... my mum hasn't even heard it. That'll come out as and when."

In October 2024, Cradle Of Filth, delivered a brand-new, entrancing single. “Malignant Perfection” arrived just in time for the Halloween season, haunting with eerie keys, vampiric atmosphere, intricate riffs and revered frontman Dani Filth’s iconic soaring vocals. The track is accompanied by a deliciously dark new official music video, which promises to be only the first of several upcoming visual delights brought to you by Cradle Of Filth as they creep closer to the release of their 14th full-length album and Napalm Records studio debut.

Dani Filth divulged about the track and video: "Our new single and video, 'Malignant Perfection’, is our horrific homage to All Hallows Eve, as embodied by the female deification of evil. It is a perfect musical accompaniment to the spirit of the witching season; invoking dark, Autumnal splendour and celebrating the time when the thin line between life and death is at its most tenuous and the denizens of the otherworld seek to break the veil into ours.

The video, directed by the imitable Vicente Cordero and featuring the creative masterstrokes of one Missy Munster, is a playground of seductive darkness rife with malicious monsters and cryptid creations, all vying voraciously for the viewer’s eternal soul.

Stream/download “Malignant Perfection” here, and watch the official music video below: