UK metal legends Cradle of Filth recently released their 12th studio album “Cryptoriana – – The Seductiveness Of Decay”. We caught up with guitarist Marek ‘Ashok’ Smerda to chat all about it.
Robbie: You’ve released your album Cryptoriana recently, how has the reaction been to that so far?
Ashok: The reactions both from fans and journalists have been highly positive placing the album on an even higher level as its predecessor – Hammer of the Witches, which is called a fan favourite record from Cradle of Filth!
Robbie: What were the creative and musical influences behind the recording and music in Cryptoriana?
Ashok: As with previous record, Hammer of the Witches, the whole band cooperated together so we have had more different sources and influences which made the Cryptoriana record very colourful. I personally prefer this kind of collaboration rather than one person taking over most of the writing process. The most important point is this kind of process works for Cradle of Filth at the moment.
Robbie: So you’ve been on the world tour for a bit now, how has the experience been playing in so many different places so far?
Ashok: This tour is very intensive and includes a lot of places the band have not played in a long time and even includes markets that Cradle of Filth are visiting for the first time! The experiences are very positive so far and the tour is not even at its end yet!
Robbie: It’s been five years since your band has been in Australia, how does it feel coming back down under?
Ashok: I was not part of Cradle of Filth when the band toured Australia last time but by being in contact with Aussie fans I heard those shows were awesome and really memorable. We will definitely do our best to top those shows and we will be bringing back a lot of yummy stuff!
Robbie: Cradle of Filth been together for a long time, how has the experience of being in the band, going on tours and the black metal scene changed since the start?
Ashok: Speaking for myself it is definitely the peak of my music career and being a fan of the band since 1998. I certainly have a lot of knowledge regarding the transformation of the musical scene (not only black metal). Focusing on technology (the internet and the technical progress in the actual recording process) some things were for the good, some of it turned out weird, but in my opinion at the end of the day it has been always been about the quality of music which is all that matters!
Robbie: How do you go about choosing the perfect set-list every night?
Ashok: We do really care about setlist for each and every tour bearing in mind which songs have been played last time to prevent repeating ourselves too much, but also focus on newer stuff from new record.
Robbie: Could you give some parting words for your fans in Australia?
Ashok: We are really looking forward to hitting Australia this time, especially as this will be the first time there for some members of Cradle of Filth. So prepare yourself for kinda fresh experience!!!!
Interview Date: 2018-04-28
Interviewer: Robbie Tannous
