The ongoing Cradle of Filth saga continues to unfold with continued developments escalating more after the next. Shortly after guitarist Marek “Ashok” Šmerda revealed his plans to leave the band following the conclusion of their current Latin American tour, Cradle of Filth vocalist Dani Filth announced he has been fired, effective immediately, from the group.
Earlier today (26), frontman Dani Filth issued the following statement:
“It is with a grave heart that Cradle Of Filth officially announce the firing of guitarist Marek ‘Ashok’ Smerda from the band, effective immediately.
Despite all attempts to
illegally defame and derail the band, Cradle Of Filth WILL NOT cancel any of our South American shows, though fans will have to bear with us being a band with only one guitarist live, that is of course until Ashok’s temporary replacement is flown out to join the tour in a few days time.
Thankyou for your understanding in this horrible matter, we are all in a state of shock over proceedings and will share our side to these unfortunate events in due course. Please, respect our decision to part with Ashok now rather than at the end of the tour and avoid speculation as more clarity on the situation will be provided.
The rest of the band are cool, even if taken aback, and accusations toward management, who work very closely with me and the band are completely unjust and unfounded.
Patience is a virtue and the truth will always out.
Thank you once again fellow Filthlings and we look forward to the rest of ‘The Screaming Of The Américas’ tour here in Uruguay and beyond.
Your fiend, Dani”
The latest move comes on the heels of Zoë Federoff’s sudden exit from the band on Sunday (24th). Since then, she has continued to share posts online, including what she claims are contract excerpts, along with accusations of harsh working conditions she and her husband faced during their time with the band.
Federoff and Ashok’s personal relationship developed within Cradle of Filth, with the couple getting engaged in 2024 and married this past January. In a new statement shared and updated after Ashok being fired, Federoff expanded on the timeline of events leading up to their decisions to leave. She alleged financial manipulation by management and accused Dani Filth of advocating only for himself while “hiding” behind the band’s management.
“A further statement on the departure of myself and Ashok from Cradle of Filth and a warning to our successors- READ THE CONTRACT.
We planned this transition out of Cradle of Filth months ago. Management is dishonest, manipulative, and tries to take money that belongs to us with no contract between us session musicians and him. When I called them out on this attempted theft of album advance money from ‘Screaming of the Valkyries ‘, they called me “cancer” and “dead horse” and threatened to fire me.
The frontman does nothing to stop them and hides behind them while they belittle and steal. We hold the frontman responsible for hiring this management and never advocating for his team, only himself. Other ex members try to tiptoe around this and only blame management— management works for the frontman.
He might not get his hands dirty, but in the end, he directs them. The atmosphere he creates is threatening and abusive and constantly exploits us for very low wages yet also demands exclusivity to Cradle’s schedule. We do not make even the bare cost of living, yet we are told not to tour with other bands to supplement income. It is madness to keep people locked in poverty for the ego of one person.
We attach the contract they attempted to trap all session members in for a 25% raise (The first raise in 7 years.) Our lawyer called it the most psychopathic contract a session musician could ever be handed. We did not sign and made a decision to leave this year instead. So— we left because we were being used and paid less than the cost of living, the environment is toxic and threatening,
…and the toll this was all taking on our lives and our marriage grew too great. The health toll it took on us also led me to miscarry our first pregnancy on tour. We chose to leave to save ourselves and create a better future for our family. Now that we are out— the sun is shining, our family has hope, and we hope every session musician who thinks about joining Cradle reads this contract and talks to a lawyer.
Good luck to whoever tries to make it work next. And remember— we all know the guy who says “All” his exes are crazy— are you sure ALL of them? Or could the problem be you, 40+ people later?
Farewell to the fans and our fellow session members and crew. They were the only part of this that remain good memories.”
As of now, Cradle of Filth have not provided further comment beyond Dani Filth’s initial statement, leaving the situation still unfolding publicly.
