Fired Cradle of Filth Guitarist Ashok Blasts Band, Calls Unreleased Ed Sheeran Collab ‘Foolish Clown Antics’

Cradle of Filth guitarist Marek “Ashok” Šmerda took a number of shots at his now-former band just days after his wife, keyboardist Zoe Marie Federoff, left the British black metal group abruptly mid-tour, including mocking the group’s long-anticipated collaboration with Ed Sheeran.

“I ask you to please respect my wife and myself in this transitional period. I am indeed leaving Cradle of Filth at the end of this current tour, and the reasons behind this are conclusions my wife and I came together at long before this week. We simply do not feel like Cradle can provide for our future, and in fact hinders it,” Šmerda wrote on Facebook on Tuesday (Aug. 26). “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.”

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Šmerda’s post came two days after wife Federoff, who joined the group in 2022, announced her departure in a post in which she explained, “It is with deep regret I share that for personal reasons I am unable to continue this tour and continue in general with Cradle of Filth. Please respect my privacy and my family’s privacy. I will answer no further questions. Be kind to my successor. I wish her and my now former bandmates well.”

In addition to announcing his intention to split with the extreme metal band he joined in 2014, Šmerda threw some shade at the group, specifically tied to their untitled, long-delayed collab with Sheeran.

“I have also asked all compositions of mine removed from upcoming releases including Ed Sheeran collab,” he wrote. “This song feels like foolish clown antics for me at this point anyways- 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.”

Though a release date has not yet been announced, CoF singer Dani Filth first mentioned the Sheeran collab in 2022. Earlier this year, he confirmed that the song would not be on the band’s latest album, The Screaming of the Valkyries, because they didn’t want to “overshadow” their own LP.

“But we are going to bring it out. Originally, everybody wanted us to bring it out to glorious fanfare but Ed’s management weren’t keen on that,” Filth said. “We’re not absolutely sure how it will emerge, but it’s been done, mixed and it’s sitting on the shelf somewhere… you know, virtually. And it’s f–king fantastic. But only a handful of people have actually heard it. My mum hasn’t even heard it.”

Filth described the track as sounding like, “a cross between Ed Sheeran and Cradle of Filth! You hear it and go, ‘Oh, my God, f–k me, acoustic guitar, that’s Ed Sheeran.’ Then at the same time, you can flip the coin and go, ‘F–k me, this is a Cradle Of Filth song: blastbeat, Dani screaming.’ Obviously, he wouldn’t put his name to a technical death metal track and we wouldn’t put our name to a song that sounded like ‘Galway’ Girl part 2. It’s catchy, though. It’s a good marriage.”

And though Šmerda rubbished salacious internet speculation on why he and Federoff were splitting with the group, he promised to “finish strong” on the band’s current South American tour, slated to run through a Sept. 28 show in Mexico City, before moving on to Europe in November. “It is my last ride with Cradle and I am proud to give it my best,” he wrote. “I am sad to not share the stage with my wife these last times but I respect why she left and I am happy our friend Kelsey Peters has been given opportunity to shine.”

Cradle of Filth was founded in Suffolk, England in 1991 by singer Dani Filth along with guitarist Paul Ryan, bassist Jon Pritchard, keyboardist Benjamin Ryan and drummer Darren “Daz” Gardner; at present Filth is the only remaining original member of the band that has cycled through nearly three dozen members over the past 35 years.

At press time, spokespeople for Cradle of Filth and Sheeran had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment on Šmerda’s statement, but the band made their position on the matter crystal clear in an Instagram post (see below). “It is with a grave heart that Cradle Of Filth officially announce the firing of guitarist Marek ‘Ashok’ Smerda from the band, effective immediately,” they wrote on Tuesday night (Aug. 26) of the guitarist’s apparent sacking.

“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,” they 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 message also noted that the rest of the Dani Filth-led group are “cool,” though taken aback, by the accusations about their management, which they called “unjust and unfounded.” They ended with the message, “Patience is a virtue and the truth will always out.”

See the band’s full statement below.