Cradle of Filth
Band Biography
This Black-Metal band, led by vocalist Dani Filth, was formed in Suffolk, ENGLAND in 1991; the early incarnation comprised guitarist Paul Ryan, bassist Jon Richard, keyboardist Benjamin Ryan and drummer Darren.
The quintet soon released a demo; after several personnel changes and two more demos the group scored a deal with Cacophonous Records who released in mid-1994, their debut full-length album, "The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh". Shortly afterwards the Ryan brothers quit.
By late 1996 Cradle Of Filth's line-up consisted of Dani Filth, guitarists Stuart Antsis and Gian Pyres, keyboardist Les Smith, bass player Robin Eaglestone and drummer Nicholas Barker, they recorded "Dusk... And Her Embrace".
The follow-up "Cruelty And The Beast", took the band into The Official U.K. Albums chart for the first time when it peaked at #48 in the spring of 1998.
During the year 2000 Adrian Erlandsson joined over the drum stool as Barker left, guitarist Paul Allender replaced Antsis and the group started to work on "Midian", Martin Powell took the place of Smith on keyboards in time for the sessions; the record gained critical acclaim in North-Europe reaching the #11 position in Finland.
A year later, Cradle Of Filth, released on their own imprint label AbraCadaver, "Bitter Suites To Succubi", an album that incuded re-workings of early material plus four new songs, it failed to chart in their homeland but hit #11 on the U.S. Top Independent Albums list.
Their next effort, "Damnation And A Day" the first recorded with new bassist Dave Pybus, which arrived in March 2003, stormed the albums charts all over Europe and cracked the American Billboard Top 200.
After switching to Roadrunner Records, the band acquired James Mcilroy who replaced the departing long-time guitarist Gian Pyresnearly and in September 2004 the sextet issued "Nymphetamine"; it crashed into the top 100 in the U.S. and they toured extensively to promote the release sharing the stage with such acts as Type O Negative, Soilwork and Mudvayne.
Yet another line-up change occurred; in 2005 Powell announced he would leave the group, Mcilroy exited the band a short time later while newcomer Charles Hedger took his spot and a new keyboardist, Rosie Smith, was added as well. In October 2006 the band put out their eighth full-length studio album, "Thornography", reaching the #66 position on The Billboard 200, their best chart-placing to date. The disc was also the band's most commercially successful album making it into the top 40 in Finland, Sweden, Germany and Australia.
Two years later Cradle Of Filth released a new album called "Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder", based on the story of the world's first serial killer, French nobleman and soldier of Joan of Arc, Gilles De Rais. The album was recorded with Czech drummer Martin Å karoupka, who replaced Adrian Erlandsson after his departure from the band.
The quintet soon released a demo; after several personnel changes and two more demos the group scored a deal with Cacophonous Records who released in mid-1994, their debut full-length album, "The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh". Shortly afterwards the Ryan brothers quit.
By late 1996 Cradle Of Filth's line-up consisted of Dani Filth, guitarists Stuart Antsis and Gian Pyres, keyboardist Les Smith, bass player Robin Eaglestone and drummer Nicholas Barker, they recorded "Dusk... And Her Embrace".
The follow-up "Cruelty And The Beast", took the band into The Official U.K. Albums chart for the first time when it peaked at #48 in the spring of 1998.
During the year 2000 Adrian Erlandsson joined over the drum stool as Barker left, guitarist Paul Allender replaced Antsis and the group started to work on "Midian", Martin Powell took the place of Smith on keyboards in time for the sessions; the record gained critical acclaim in North-Europe reaching the #11 position in Finland.
A year later, Cradle Of Filth, released on their own imprint label AbraCadaver, "Bitter Suites To Succubi", an album that incuded re-workings of early material plus four new songs, it failed to chart in their homeland but hit #11 on the U.S. Top Independent Albums list.
Their next effort, "Damnation And A Day" the first recorded with new bassist Dave Pybus, which arrived in March 2003, stormed the albums charts all over Europe and cracked the American Billboard Top 200.
After switching to Roadrunner Records, the band acquired James Mcilroy who replaced the departing long-time guitarist Gian Pyresnearly and in September 2004 the sextet issued "Nymphetamine"; it crashed into the top 100 in the U.S. and they toured extensively to promote the release sharing the stage with such acts as Type O Negative, Soilwork and Mudvayne.
Yet another line-up change occurred; in 2005 Powell announced he would leave the group, Mcilroy exited the band a short time later while newcomer Charles Hedger took his spot and a new keyboardist, Rosie Smith, was added as well. In October 2006 the band put out their eighth full-length studio album, "Thornography", reaching the #66 position on The Billboard 200, their best chart-placing to date. The disc was also the band's most commercially successful album making it into the top 40 in Finland, Sweden, Germany and Australia.
Two years later Cradle Of Filth released a new album called "Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder", based on the story of the world's first serial killer, French nobleman and soldier of Joan of Arc, Gilles De Rais. The album was recorded with Czech drummer Martin Å karoupka, who replaced Adrian Erlandsson after his departure from the band.