Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band from Suffolk. Formed in 1991, the group originally consisted of vocalist Dani Filth (real name Daniel Davey), guitarist Paul Ryan, bassist Jon Pritchard, keyboardist Benjamin Ryan (brother of Paul Ryan) and drummer Darren "Daz" Gardner. The band's current lineup includes Filth alongside drummer Martin "Marthus" Škaroupka (since 2006), bassist Daniel Firth (since 2012), and guitarist Donny Burbage (since 2022).
Cradle of Filth (COF) were formed in 1991 by Dani Filth with Paul Ryan, Jon Pritchard, Benjamin Ryan and Daz Gardner. [1] After recording their first demo Invoking the Unclean, released in January 1992, the group added second guitarist Robin Graves (real name Robin Eaglestone), who debuted on their second demo tape Orgiastic Pleasures Foul. [2] Shortly after its release, Kennedy left and Graves switched to the role of bassist, with Paul Allender brought in to take over on second guitar. [3] The new lineup released Total Fucking Darkness at the end of 1992, after which Gardner left the group. [1] He was replaced by William "Was" Sarginson. [4] During a tour alongside Emperor in 1993, Sarginson was replaced by Nick Barker. [5] Around the same time, the band added Andrea Meyer as their first female backup vocalist. [6]
During the tour with Emperor, COF signed with new label Cacophonous Records. [5] Later in 1993, they recorded their debut full-length album The Principle of Evil Made Flesh , which was released early the next year. [7] After touring throughout 1994, COF recorded their planned second album for Cacophonous in 1995, with Sarah Jezebel Deva (real name Sarah Ferridge) taking over from Meyer and bassist Jon Kennedy joining in place of Graves. [8] However, due to legal disputes the album was not released, and the band eventually parted ways with the label, during which time the Ryan brothers, Allender and Kennedy all left the band. [9] The collection was later released as Dusk and Her Embrace: The Original Sin in 2016. [10] During the autumn, guitarist Stuart Anstis, returning bassist Graves, and keyboardist Damien Gregori all joined the band. [8]
With their new lineup, COF released V Empire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein on Cacophonous and Dusk and Her Embrace on Music for Nations in 1996. [9] Gian Pyres (real name Gianpiero Piras) took over as second guitarist during the recording of Dusk and Her Embrace, but did not perform on the album. [8] In the summer of 1997, Gregori was dismissed from the group. [11] He was replaced by Les "Lecter" Smith, who debuted along with Pyres on 1998's Cruelty and the Beast . [12]
Nicholas Barker left in early 1999 to join Dimmu Borgir. He was initially replaced by Was Sarginson, then briefly by Dave Kunt (real name Dave Hirschheimer), and finally by Adrian Erlandsson that summer. [13] In July 1999, after the recording of EP From the Cradle to Enslave , Gian Pyres also left. [14] By October, Stuart Anstis and Les Smith had also parted ways with the group — the former reportedly sacked. [15] Shortly after their departures, a new lineup was announced including returning guitarists Paul Allender and Pyres. [16] After initially touring with Mark Newby-Robson on keyboards, [13] the band brought in Martin Powell as Smith's permanent replacement. [17]
After the band released Midian in 2000, Bitter Suites to Succubi in 2001 and Live Bait for the Dead in 2002, their next lineup change came in July 2001 when long-term bassist Robin Graves left for "personal reasons". [18] He was replaced by Dave Pybus, initially on a temporary basis but later permanently. [19] [20] Pyres left the group for a second time in August 2002. [21] After the recording of Damnation and a Day , he was replaced by James McIlroy. [22] Nymphetamine was released in 2004, before Pybus left for "personal reasons" in January 2005. [23] Powell followed in May, citing similar reasons for his departure. [24] McIlroy left in August, with Pybus returning on bass and his replacement Charles Hedger taking over the vacated guitar role. [25]
Thornography was recorded with former touring keyboardist Mark Newby-Robson, [26] while Rosie Smith handled keyboards on a touring basis. [27] Shortly after the album's October 2006 release, Erlandsson left to focus on his work in two side projects. [28] He was replaced by Martin "Marthus" Škaroupka. [29] The 2008 follow-up Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder was recorded by the core quartet of Filth, Allender, Pybus and Škaroupka (along with Deva), as Hedger had stepped back into a touring only role. [27] Shortly after its release, Deva left the band after a series of altercations with Filth. [30] By the summer of 2009, Hedger and Smith had been replaced by returning guitarist McIlroy and new keyboardist Ashley Ellyllon (who also handled Deva's vocals), respectively. [31] Ellyllon performed on 2010's Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa , before she was replaced by Caroline Campbell in early 2011. [32] By the time the band started recording The Manticore and Other Horrors in spring 2012, Campbell had left and Pybus had been replaced by Daniel Firth. [1] [33]
During the touring cycle for The Manticore and Other Horrors, COF added Lindsay Schoolcraft as their new keyboardist and second vocalist in early 2013. [34] She was made an official full-time member the following year. [35] During a co-headlining tour with Behemoth in February 2014, Allender and McIlroy were replaced by Richard Shaw and Marek "Ashok" Šmerda due to "hugely important family matters" and "serious neck surgery," respectively. [36] Upon returning from the tour, the group began working on a new record ahead of schedule, later announcing the departure of Allender in the summer. [37] McIlroy was ultimately unable to return due to ongoing problems with his neck injury, so both replacement guitarists remained in the group. [38] The new lineup released Hammer of the Witches in 2015 and Cryptoriana: The Seductiveness of Decay in 2017. [1]
In February 2020, Schoolcraft announced that she had left COF, writing in an online release that "it was the best thing to do for my well-being and mental health". [39] She was replaced by Anabelle Iratni, who performed on new album Existence Is Futile but was not unveiled until her live debut the following May. [40] In May 2022, the departures of Richard Shaw and Iratni were announced. [41] At the same time, Donny Burbage joined as the new guitarist with Zoe Marie Federoff as the new keyboard player. [42] Federoff announced her departure from Cradle of Filth on 24 August 2025. [43] The same day, the band played a show with crew member Kelsey Peters in her place. [44] A couple of days later, Federoff's husband Šmerda announced that he too would leave the band at the end of their Latin American tour in September. [45] He was fired from the band on the same day. [46]
Image | Name (real name) | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dani Filth (Daniel Davey) | 1991–present | lead vocals | all Cradle of Filth (COF) releases | |
Martin "Marthus" Škaroupka | 2006–present |
| all COF releases from Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder (2008) onwards (except Dusk and Her Embrace: The Original Sin ) | |
Daniel Firth | 2012–present | bass | all COF releases from The Manticore and Other Horrors (2012) onwards (except Dusk and Her Embrace: The Original Sin) | |
Donny Burbage | 2022–present | guitar | The Screaming of the Valkyries (2025) |
Image | Name (real name) | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Paul Ryan | 1991–1995 | guitar |
| |
Benjamin Ryan | keyboards | |||
Darren "Daz" Gardner | 1991–1992 | drums |
| |
Jon Pritchard | bass |
| ||
Robin Graves (Robin Eaglestone) |
|
|
| |
Paul Allender |
| guitar |
| |
William "Was" Sarginson |
| drums | From the Cradle to Enslave (1999) | |
Nick Barker | 1993–1999 |
| ||
Andrea Meyer | 1993–1994 (died 2021) | female vocals | The Principle of Evil Made Flesh (1994) | |
Sarah Jezebel Deva (Sarah Ferridge) | 1994–2008 |
| ||
Jon Kennedy | 1994–1995 (died 2023) | bass | Dusk and Her Embrace: The Original Sin (recorded 1995, released 2016) | |
Stuart Anstis | 1995–1999 (died 2022) | guitar | all COF releases from V Empire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein (1996) to From the Cradle to Enslave (1999) | |
Damien Gregori (Greg Moffitt) | 1995–1997 | keyboards |
| |
Gian Pyres (Gianpiero Piras) |
| guitar | all COF releases from Cruelty and the Beast (1998) to Live Bait for the Dead (2002) | |
Les "Lecter" Smith | 1997–1999 | keyboards |
| |
Adrian Erlandsson | 1999–2006 | drums | all COF releases from From the Cradle to Enslave (1999) to Thornography (2006) | |
Martin Powell | 2000–2005 |
| all COF releases from Midian (2000) to Nymphetamine (2004) | |
Dave Pybus |
|
| all COF releases from Damnation and a Day (2003) to Evermore Darkly (2011) | |
James McIlroy |
| guitar |
| |
Charles Hedger | 2005–2009 (touring only from 2006 onwards) |
| Thornography (2006) | |
Ashley Ellyllon (Ashley Jurgemeyer) | 2009–2011 |
| Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa (2010) | |
Caroline Campbell | 2011–2012 | Evermore Darkly (2011) | ||
Lindsay Schoolcraft | 2013–2020 |
| ||
Marek "Ashok" Šmerda | 2014–2025 | guitar | all COF releases from Hammer of the Witches (2015) to The Screaming of the Valkyries (2025) (except Dusk and Her Embrace: The Original Sin) | |
Richard Shaw | 2014–2022 | all COF releases from Hammer of the Witches (2015) to Trouble and Their Double Lives (2023) | ||
Anabelle Iratni | 2020–2022 |
| Existence Is Futile (2021) | |
Zoe Marie Federoff | 2022–2025 | The Screaming of the Valkyries (2025) |
Image | Name (real name) | Years active | Instruments | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
Danielle Cneajna Cottington | 1994–1998 (session) | female vocals | Cottington appeared as a featured backing vocalist on a string of studio recordings in the 1990s. [3] | |
Rishi Mehta | 1994 (touring) | guitar | Mehta, who was also the band's manager, briefly performed with Cradle of Filth in 1994. [47] | |
Bryan Hipp (as "Jared Demeter") | 1994–1995 (touring; died 2006) | Hipp and McGlone each performed on tour, portraying the character "Jared Demeter". [3] [48] | ||
Paul McGlone (as "Jared Demeter") | 1996 (touring) | |||
Dave Kunt (Dave Hirschheimer) | 1999 (session) | drums | Hirschheimer took over from Was Sarginson for a brief period, before Adrian Erlandsson joined. [3] | |
Darren Donnarumma (as "Jared Demeter") | 1999 (touring) | guitar | Donnarumma performed at several shows in 1999, after the departure of Gian Pyres. [3] | |
Mark Newby-Robson |
| keyboards | Newby-Robson took over briefly from Les Smith, [13] and later became a studio contributor. [26] | |
Rosie Smith | 2005–2009 (touring) |
| After Martin Powell's departure in 2005, Smith took over as COF's keyboardist for live shows. [27] She also doubled on female vocals after Sarah Jezebel Deva's departure. [49] | |
Kelsey Peters | 2025–present (touring) |
| After Federoff departed from the band in the middle of their Latin American tour in August 2025, Peters took over as Cradle of Filth's keyboardist for the remainder of the tour. [44] |
Period | Members | Releases |
---|---|---|
1991–early 1992 |
|
|
Early–mid 1992 |
|
|
Mid–late 1992 |
|
|
Late 1992–summer 1993 |
| none |
Summer 1993–late 1994 |
| |
Late 1994–summer 1995 |
|
|
Autumn–late 1995 |
| |
Late 1995–summer 1997 |
| none |
Summer 1997–early 1999 |
|
|
Early–spring 1999 |
|
|
Spring–summer 1999 |
| none |
June–July 1999 |
|
|
July–October 1999 |
| none |
November 1999–early 2000 |
| |
Early 2000–July 2001 |
|
|
July 2001–August 2002 |
| none |
August 2002–early 2003 |
|
|
Early 2003–January 2005 |
|
|
January–May 2005 |
| |
May–August 2005 |
| none |
August 2005–November 2006 |
|
|
November 2006–November 2008 |
| |
November 2008–spring 2009 |
| none |
Spring 2009–early 2011 |
|
|
Early 2011–early 2012 |
|
|
Spring 2012–spring 2013 |
|
|
Spring 2013–summer 2014 |
| none |
Summer 2014–February 2020 |
|
|
Early 2020–May 2022 |
|
|
May 2022–August 2025 |
| |
August 2025 |
| none |
August 2025–present |
| none to date |
Album | Lead vocals | Guitar 1 | Guitar 2 | Bass | Drums | Keyboards | Female vocals |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Invoking the Unclean | Dani Filth | Robin Graves | Paul Ryan | Jon Pritchard | Darren Garden | Benjamin Ryan | |
Orgiastic Pleasures Fool | Paul Ryan | ||||||
Total Fucking Darkness | Paul Allender | Robin Graves | |||||
The Principle of Evil Made Flesh | Nick Barker | Andrea Meyer | |||||
V Empire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein | Stuart Anstis | Damien Gregori | Sarah Jezebel Deva | ||||
Dusk and Her Embrace | |||||||
Cruelty and the Beast | Stuart Anstis | Gian Pyres | Lecter | ||||
From the Cradle to Enslave | Was Sarginson (3 tracks) Adrian Erlandsson (2 tracks) Nick Barker (1 track) | ||||||
Midian | Paul Allender | Adrian Erlandsson | Martin Powell | ||||
Bitter Suites to Succubi | Robin Eaglestone | ||||||
Damnation and a Day | Dave Pybus | ||||||
Nymphetamine | James McIlroy | Sarah Jezebel Deva/Liv Kristine Espenæs Krull | |||||
Thornography | Charles Hedger | Mark Newby-Robson/Christopher Jon | Sarah Jezebel Deva | ||||
Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder | Paul Allender | Martin "Marthus" Škaroupka | Mark Newby-Robson | Sarah Jezebel Deva/Carolyn Gretton | |||
Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa | Paul Allender | James McIlroy | Ashley Ellyllon | ||||
Evermore Darkly | Caroline Campbell | ||||||
Midnight in the Labyrinth | Mark Newby-Robson | Sarah Jezebel Deva | |||||
The Manticore and Other Horrors | Paul Allender | Daniel Firth | Martin "Marthus" Škaroupka | Martin "Marthus" Škaroupka | Lucy Atkins | ||
Hammer of the Witches | Richard Shaw | Marek 'Ashok' Šmerda | Lindsay Schoolcraft | ||||
Cryptoriana – The Seductiveness of Decay | |||||||
Existence Is Futile | Anabelle Iratni | ||||||
The Screaming of the Valkyries | Donny Burbage | Zoe Marie Federoff |