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.

Dani proposed live
byu/The_Ghost_of_WWE incradleoffilth

 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.

Cradle Of Filth frontman Dani Filth said of the tour, “we are so looking forward to performing at all these extraordinary places on this tour – it will be our first time playing in Turkey, can you believe it?” In the company of two great bands – Wednesday 13 and Sick N’ Beautiful – the anticipation for some riotous performances is running very high across the Baltics, the Balkans and Eastern Europe. So prepare yourselves for a night never to be forgotten, one of maleficent spectacle and debauch! You have been warned! See you early next year fellow Filthlings.”

Notable for their shock rock stage presence, Cradle Of Filth have broken into more mainstream avenues in recent years, receiving attention from some of the scene’s most high profile outlets. With the release of 2021’s Existence Is Futile, the band have even begun to garner success-the likes of which was perhaps unreachable for an extreme metal act in years gone by. The album was also a critical and popular success for the band.

Cradle Of Filth’s inclusion of popular horror themed musician Wednesday 13 is sure to delight long time fans of both Cradle Of Filth and Wednesday 13’s former group Murderdolls which featured ex-Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison. Wednesday 13 has stated he will be playing a selection of hits from the band’s debut album, Beyond The Valley Of The Murderdolls as well as a few selections off of the band’s final album Women And Children Last.

Speaking on the tour, Wednesday 13 said, “We are extremely excited to be hitting the road with our friends in Cradle Of Filth. We will be performing in places in Europe that we’ve never been or haven’t been to in quite some time. We can’t wait to see you all on this tour!”

Wednesday 13 released his album, Horrifier last October-his ninth studio effort since the disbandment of Murderdolls in 2004. Tickets for the tour can be found here. Existence Is Futile by Cradle Of Filth can be purchased here. Horrifier by Wednesday 13 can be purchased here.

10/02/2024 – Reading 3 – Tel Aviv, Israel
12/02 – B90 – Gdansk, Poland
13/02 – Loftas – Vilnius, Lithuania
14/02 – Melna Piektdiena – Riga, Latvia
16/02 – Pakkahuone – Tampere, Finland
17/02 -Rytmikorjaamo – Seinajoki, Finland
18/02 – Tavastia – Helsinki, Finland
20/02 – Helitehas – Talinn, Estonia
22/02 – Progresja – Warsaw, Poland
23/02 – Studio – Krakow, Poland
24/02 – Serikovka – Plzen, Czech Republic
25/02 – Fleda – Brno
27/02 – Form Space – Cluj, Romania
28/02 – Quantic Club – Bucharest, Romania
01/03 – IF Performance Hall Besiktas – Istanbul, Turkey
02/03 – Principal Club Theater – Thessaloniki, Greece
03/03 – Fuzz Club – Athens, Greece
05/03 – Club Joy Station – Sofia, Bulgaria
06/03 – Durer Kert – Budapest, Hungary
07/03 – Majestic Music Club – Bratislava, Slovakia
08/03 – Colosseum Club – Kosice, Slovakia

The band issued the following statement on their social media channels yesterday: “We are extremely excited to partner with Nuclear Blast worldwide for the forthcoming release of our second album. Having spent the last year or so getting to know Monte Conner, we count ourselves lucky to be working with not only a true legend in the world of heavy music, but one who continues to champion exciting, forward-thinking art.”

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Following the overwhelmingly positive reception of their debut 4-track EP I (2016) and its follow-up Mire, Conjurer had a busy 2019 releasing the brilliant collaborative project Curse These Metal Hands with Pijn and a cover split with Palm Reader. In September 2020 their previous independent label Holy Roar Records was hit by mass allegations against its owner, with certain staff members and leading acts like Rolo Tomasi, Svalbard and Apologies, I Have None all leaving amidst the public scandal. As a result, Conjurer were amongst the bands that respectfully cut all ties with the company with no further comment, and focused on their future.

Yesterday’s band statement confirmed the extreme outfit have been working with industry titan Monte Connor in preparation for their hugely anticipated second album. Previously from Roadrunner Records, Connor joined Nuclear Blast in 2012 and boosts an impressive portfolio, with the likes of Slipknot, Trivium and King Diamond worth mentioning standing out from the the endless list of hugely influential metal acts. His recent partnership with Conjurer pushed the promising young act into joining the international division of Nuclear Blast, adding:

“We’ve now also been introduced to Barley and the rest of the international team at NB and it’s evident that they understand our mentality and want nothing more than to support and nourish our creativity. In what has been an awful year on so many levels, we are grateful to have found the right home for our music. We look forward to working together with NB to bring you our sophomore album in 2021, and much more in the years to follow.”

We are extremely excited to partner with @nuclearblast worldwide for the forthcoming release of our second album. Full statement on FB/Insta. pic.twitter.com/s0rQgUIzMI — Conjurer (@ConjurerUK) February 3, 2021

With the exciting announcement of the new record deal with Nuclear Blast out of the way, Conjurer can direct all their energy into preparing the release of their second album. Official title, artwork and tracklist are yet to be confirmed but stay tuned for further updates and upcoming promotional singles. As Nuclear Blast have already added to their updated artists roster page, “the future of British metal lies in safe hands with Conjurer, who continue their journey as the country’s most exciting young metal band with their signing“.

So far, the Rugby quartet have three festival appearances booked for Summer 2021. On 30 July Conjurer will perform on Radar Festival alongside Dirty Loops, Sleep Token and Palm Reader, followed by 14 August for the second day of the huge Bloodstock Open Air, supporting Mercyful Fate, Dimmu Borgir, Paradise Lost, Bury Tomorrow, and more. Conjurer are also set to feature on the 2021 edition of the more prog and experimental-focused ArcTanGent Festival, bringing their Curse These Metal Hands collaboration with Pijn on Friday 20 August.

The band will be going on tour to support the release of their new album, Deceiver of the Gods, which was released last month. This is their 9th studio album, after Surtur Rising was released in 2011.

British extreme metal icons Carcass will be joining Amon Amarth as main support, and the tour will also be featuring heavy metal outfit Hell and Bleed From Within.

The UK dates are as follows:

Nov 12: O2 Academy, Birmingham
Nov 13: Manchester Academy
Nov 14: Barrowland, Glasgow
Nov 15: 02 Academy, Bristol
Nov 17: Forum, London

Tickets can be purchased from Amon Amarth’s official website.