Have Cradle Of Filth and Ed Sheeran just recorded that long-rumoured collaboration?

Dani Filth and Ed Sheeran — (Image credit: Venla Shalin/Redferns, Joseph Okpako/WireImage)

It's been almost 18 months since Cradle Of Filth hinted that they were working on a collaboration with pop mega-star - and fellow Suffolk denizen - Ed Sheeran. But, just when we thought the trail had gone cold, the band shared an update that seems to confirm that not only is this A Thing, but that we might be getting it sooner rather than later.

In a Facebook post that sees CoF singer Dani Filth raising glasses with Sheeran in 12th Century Suffolk Inn The Four Horseshoes, Filth hinted that the collab had now been completed. "A little over a week ago I was having lunch with the unlikely lads, having just done something fun," Filth wrote.

The quesiton now of course is exactly what that 'something fun' is. Cradle Of Filth's last album Existence Is Futile came out at the tail end of 2021, so the chances of a song popping up on a new CoF record in the next 12 months seem pretty unlikely.

Equally, although Sheeran's own last album = also came out at the tail-end of 2021 [a week after Cradle's in fact], the demands and rigours of pop mean a new album is most likely going to materialise in 2023. That said, even though he's previously expressed that he "wouldn't be opposed to making a death metal album", we'd be amazed (and, if we're honest, pretty interested) if he were to roll out a completely metal-heavy record.

In recent times, bands like Within Temptation, Machine Head and Slipknot have shown there is a strong market for stand-alone singles these days, particularly those that don't quite fit what is happening with an artist's vision for a full album, so we could see Cradle potentially putting a single out in 2023.

But with Sheeran already setting a precedent with his Bring Me The Horizon collab Bad Habits, our bet is that the song will be released by the pop star directly, either as a stand-alone track online, or as part of his upcoming album (similar to how Post Malone collaborated with Ozzy on 2019's Hollywood's Bleeding). Interestingly, Sheeran posted on Instagram in November to say he had been working on a music video for the forthcoming album, which does suggest it'll be here sooner rather than later...

No matter what, we're definitely interested in seeing how this one pans out and that it's actually happening at all is something of a Christmas miracle. Hail Santa!

Artists

Staff writer for Metal Hammer, Rich has never met a feature he didn't fancy, which is just as well when it comes to covering everything rock, punk and metal for both print and online, be it legendary events like Rock In Rio or Clash Of The Titans or seeking out exciting new bands like Nine Treasures, Jinjer and Sleep Token.