Twinmusix got to interview Zoe and Ashok from Cradle Of Filth about their upcoming tour and more.
TM - I am here with Zoe and Ashok from Cradle of Filth My first question is how the F*** are you.
ZA - We are F****** great, it is sunny here. I don't know about Australia, so it is Arizona, so it's all good.
TM - What can fans expect from your Australian tour?
ZA - A great portion of 70s punk rock. No, I am just joking, a great mix of the old songs and some of the new songs as well.
TM - What can fans expect from your setlist?
ZA - All of the stuff you love and all of our songs you were expecting to hear. It's a bunch of songs from our last record because we know Australian fans haven't heard it live yet.
TM - No we haven't and we are all excited do you have a favourite song to play live?
ZA - Are you speaking in general or the records we have been part of?
TM - On this tour of the setlist or a general song that you love to play live?
A - I have a favourite song but I can't tell you because then I would reveal the secret.
Z -There is a track of midian that I love to play on this tour.
A - There is a bonus track from a live album which is my favourite one.
TM - Hey, you heard it here first and twinmusix sneak peek exclusive, don't tell anyone.
TM - You have been to Australia in the past you have done quite a few tours here and they go off every single time. Outside of playing the venues, what's something that you haven't seen that you would like to see?
Z - It is going to be my first time and I want to see the poisonous snakes and poisonous spiders. I love that stuff and I loved seeing them.
A - I'm not looking forward to seeing those.
TM - Well, the poisonous spiders are everywhere, all you have to do is go in your garden and they are everywhere. The best place to see poisonous snakes is in the zoo funnily enough.
Z - We got a good recommendation for a zoo that has them in Sydney. I am a big fan of reptiles, I am from Arizona which is a bit like Australia I am told.
TM - I think the main difference about that you have the dry heat and we have the humidity.
Z - Yeah but apparently the spiders and these snakes are pretty similar. There is something fascinating about those animals.
A - Yeah, I am not sharing as much enthusiasm but it is Australia.
TM - I think that's all you need to say it is Australia. If you want recommendations I would recommend the Australian Reptile Park in NSW and if you're heading up north from Brisbane there is Australia Zoo home of The Late Great Steve Irwin.
Z - Oh, I'm excited we have to try and make that happen now too. Thank You, that is awesome.
TM - I would like to say from all of us in Australia congratulations on the engagement.
ZA - Thank you.
TM - Are you working on any new music?
Z - We have a new album coming out at the beginning of next year. If you are paying attention to Danny Filth's Instagram you would see that last week we did a Final Cut of the new music video that is coming out soon. We have already started writing the next album, so we have one ready for after this upcoming one so it is an ongoing stream of work.
TM - Do you ever rest?
Z - Not enough, but it is ok, we have coffee.
TM - If you could have any band play one of your songs, what band would it be, what song would it be and would it be in your style or their style?
Z - I would love to hear an electronic take off things, so I would love Black Radio cover Cradle of Filth.
A - Speaking of Australia, I would love to hear any song by Dead Can Dance.
TM - That would be cool, I haven't heard these answers before but they are brilliant answers.
A - I am a big fan, I have all their CDs.
TM - Who was the first band you saw live and can you tell us a story?
Z- The first band that I saw live was Rush my dad took me. I was in middle school and that's pretty difficult to beat. I saw Rush with my Dad three times in total. I also saw Iron Maiden with my dad, the thing that makes the gigs special is I got to see it with my dad.
A - My first international band was Metallica in 1993 for the black album. It was here in my city Bruno in a large Stadium that holds 50,000 people, but since then the stadium has been demolished.
TM - Did that inspire you to play music?
Z - How could it not, you are there and watching people deliver a piece of their soul to an audience which is really what a live performance is. If you know what it's like to have that piece of soul coming at you and if you are musically inclined, you want these chances to do that as well.
A - Have I ever thought that I would play the same size audience in my 30's, it definitely inspired me.
TM - How do you warm up for a show, it is unique for everyone?
Z - I think all musicians are superstitious about their pre-show routine like athletes. I won't dive into the superstitious part of ours but of course, I have a vocal warm up. I do and make sure my fingers are nice and warm but I therefore different rings on my hands and I kiss each one of those rings before a show because it represents my life and my family.
A - For me it is a guitar warm-up if I have a chance but sometimes you don't and sometimes I do a meditation.
TM - What's your favourite memory with your fans?
Z - We have met so many great fans everywhere every country, brings their own unique fan culture. I would say my favourite fan interaction is when people bring their families because that reminds me of going to shows with my Dad back in the day.
TM - Tattoos and metalheads go together like peanut butter and chocolate, so if a fan wanted to get a Cradle of Filth tattoo what would you recommend they get?
Z - Tramp stamp of our logo.
A - I have seen some crazy Cradle of Filth tattoos. I have seen our band logos two our signatures and our one of our fans in Chile got our symbol tattooed on his neck which is pretty cool.
Z - One of our fans called Kevin in the Netherlands got a tattoo on his back and all our signatures around it it was very flattering.
TM - That is awesome and is there anything else you want to say to your fans?
Z - We cannot wait to see you guys and we cannot wait to see all your poisonous stuff there too. It will be great and we are so excited to see you all.
A - Minus the poisonous stuff, we cannot wait to see you or it has been a long time since we saw you we are going to release hell.
TM - Thank you so much for this interview today, we appreciate it.
Ticket link: https://metropolistouring.com/cradle-of-filth-2024/
YouTube Links for online:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRNfeMaUBbo