Cradle of Filth confirm firing of guitarist and accuse him of trying “to illegally defame and derail the band”
Cradle of Filth singer Dani Filth has confirmed that Marek ‘Ashok’ Smerda has been fired from the metal band and hit back at the guitarist’s recent statement.
Šmerda’s wife, Zoë M Federoff, was the keyboardist and backing singer of the veteran metal outfit before departing on August 25th. A day later, Šmerda shared a statement outlining his plans to also leave the group following the conclusion of their ongoing South American tour, stating, “We simply do not feel like Cradle can provide for our future, and in fact hinders it.”
The guitarist added: “Among other reasons it is a lot of work for relatively low pay, the stress is quite high, and we haven’t felt for a while like this band actually prioritizing/caring about members. It has been years of unprofessional behavior from people above us that led to our decision.”
Šmerda also brought up the band’s unreleased collaboration with Ed Sheeran as another reason for his departure, stating, “First it was charity single for kids, then for profit single, then on next album, and now who knows and I just do not want to be involved anymore, no disrespect to Ed Sheeran.”
As a result of these comments, Šmerda will not be completing the South American tour, and he has been relieved of his duties with immediate effect.
Filth’s statement reads: “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.”
The singer continued: “Thank you 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.”
He then said that “the rest of the band are cool, even if taken aback, and accusations toward management”. The frontman labelled these accusations as “unjust and unfounded”.
Filth concluded by writing, “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.”
Their tour is set to continue at the Teatro Coliseo in Santiago, Chile, on August 28th.
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