Cradle Of Filth guitarist Marek “Ashok” Šmerda has been let go from the band mid-tour, days after his keyboardist wife Zoe Marie Federoff left the lineup.
Šmerda, who’s played with the British black metal veterans since 2014, was dismissed on Tuesday night (Wednesday 26) after issuing a comment on Federoff’s exit, which occurred on Sunday (August 24). The couple got engaged in 2024 and married in January.
Federoff, who joined Cradle in 2022, said on Sunday that she was leaving the band effective immediately, despite them being midway through a South American tour, citing “personal reasons”. Šmerda’s statement followed on Tuesday and went into further depth, saying that he too will be leaving at the end of the run of shows.
The guitarist called being in the band “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”. He also lambasted the band’s long-delayed collaborative track with pop megastar Ed Sheeran, describing it as “foolish clown antics”, and shot down rumours that Federoff left due to problems in their relationship.
Šmerda and Federoff then issued a joint statement, calling Cradle’s management “dishonest” and “manipulative” and warning future members of the band to “read the contract”.
They added (via Loudwire): “[Management] tries to take money that belongs to us with no contract between us session musicians and him [Dani]. When I called them out on this attempted theft of album advance money from [2025 release] 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.”
They went on to allege that Dani creates a “threatening and abusive” atmosphere within the band, and that members are “exploit[ed]” as they receive “low wages” while also being exclusive to Cradle, unable to play with other bands during their tenure.
Šmerda and Federoff added screenshots of their alleged Cradle contracts, with Federoff saying they make “150/day” and “25K” a year. The contract is in British pounds (GBP).
Shortly after, Dani offered a response via Cradle’s social media, confirming Šmerda’s immediate firing and saying, “Despite all attempts to illegally defame and derail the band, Cradle Of Filth WILL NOT cancel any of our South American shows.”
He 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.
“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.”
Read the full statement below.
Cradle are currently touring with Kelsey Peters as a fill-in for Federoff; it is unclear who they will bring in to temporarily replace Šmerda. Their South American run continues on Thursday (August 28) at Teatro Coliseo in Santiago, Chile.
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