Dani Filth, vocalist and frontman of the Suffolk-born extreme metal band Cradle of Filth let his guard down at Download festival this year by proposing to his girlfriend Sofiya Belousova live on stage.
The self described “lyricist, writer, scarecrow” interrupted his band’s performance at the Dogtooth stage on Saturday 14 June to call to the crowd, “I want to beg a few minutes of your time. This is really fucking important, at least for me. I’m gonna embarrass my partner now. Sofiya, come out here.”. A cloaked figure appeared bearing the ring which he wittingly announced came “all the way from Mordor”. The crowd in hysterics, Filth began with apprehension as he asked, “Sofiya, love of my life, my queen. Will you….”
Belousova said yes immediately, and the band celebrated the life-changing moment with ‘Malignant Perfection’, a romantic march of glory from their latest album ‘The Screaming Of The Valkyries’.
Watch the moving live proposal here.
Filth revealed in an interview with Metal Sucks, that the proposal was a surprise to not only the crowd, but his friends and family, as he says, “Nobody knew about it. I forgot to tell the band, and my family, including my mum, who was here. So, I quickly had to let them know, as they were watching from the side of the stage as well.”.
The metal singer went on to share his nerves for the occasion, as he considered when the proposal should be, though ultimately he thought, “I’m going to kick myself if I don’t do it at such a prestigious event.’ But, then it’s also like, ‘fuck, this could go horribly wrong.’ As in, she could say no, or the audience could go, ‘play another song, get on with it.”
Fortunately the proposal went off without a hitch, as fans found the live proclamation of love to be a very sweet moment.
Love has definitely been in the air for the band, as guitarist Marek “Ashok” Smerda and keyboardist Zoe Federoff got married earlier this year in Tucson, Ariz. Filth told Full Metal Jackie at Loudwire, “it’s a sure sign that things are going well in the band and we all attended. It was brilliant.”
Cradle of Filth’s Download performance was full of surprises, as the band had a close call with pyrotechnics. Filth explained the theatrical malfunction with Metal Sucks, saying “The pyro turned up 10 minutes before we went on, which normally is a no-go, but we were like ‘fuck no, we want this.’ But [they] hadn’t mapped out any of the safety areas. It’s supposed to be 5 feet [away], but it was about a foot. I cinched my eyebrows at one point”. One fan captured these moments on TikTok captioning, “CRADLE OF FILTH WAS LITERALLY ON FIRE”.
@terrorizedwizards CRADLE OF FILTH WAS LITERALLY ON FIRE #downloadfestival #download #cradleoffilth #blackmetal #bm#deathmetal #festival#concert ♬ original sound – TERRORIZED WIZARDS
Cradle of Filth has an exciting line-up of musical ventures this year with a new song featuring Ed Sheeran on the horizon and a North American tour this August and September. Find more updates on the band’s official website.
