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Sometimes you get asked if there is a particular person in a band you would want to speak to. Not knowing the band or the people in it, it’s obviously an impossible choice. Good thing, that in the instance of CRADLE OF FILTH I had my good friend Sandy who said „Girl, you gotta talk to Zoë! You guys will get along well!“ and I went for it! What can I say? Sandy was right and I enjoyed this interview immensely which is why I kept it as the last hurrah of Rockharz 2025. You gotta put the best stuff last, right? Huge thanks to Zoë for bearing with me and being so honest and open with her answers! Below, you can read all about her inspirations, her goals and which special person she would love to take on tour someday!
Also, immensely huge thanks to the one, the only, lightinmirror.de for the awesome pictures!
Shieldmaiden’s Voice: What does music mean to you?
Zoë: Music is a language, it’s the closest thing that think we have to magic in this world. We’re just beginning to understand how music affects, for example the physical world around us down to human cells, how certain music vibrates the cells in our bodies. They are researching ways in which it could cure disease. We already know that music can cure mental health issues, like elevating your mood of helping to focus your thoughts. I truly think music is the closest thing we have to magic, something that is still kind of a mystery as we unravel it in our evolutionary story.
SV: A bit like love, right? You can’t grasp it, but it’s there!
Zoë: Yes, that also a mystery!
SV: What would you say inspires your music the most?
Zoë: I think everybody has to be inspired by their experiences in life. You can only write about what you know. But when you create music, you have this hope that something you went through or you’re feeling or experiencing is also going to speak to someone else. I think we write it not just to be understood, but to tell other people „Hey, maybe I understand you!“
SV: How is that reflected in the music of CRADLE OF FILTH?
Zoë: The lyrics for CRADLE OF FILTH are all created by Dani Filth and he is a big lover of horror and Victorian literature and poetry. I think his love for language comes out so strongly in his lyrics. He is very clever with words. I have never met a more clever wordsmith, to be honest. It’s this great love for beauty that comes out even if he talks about dark and horrific things. The language he usually chooses is so beautiful. What I think he projects most of the time as a lyricist, even though I don’t want to speak for him, is his great love for beauty even in the darkness.
SV: For me beauty oftentimes comes from contrasts. Most of the time, in nature, the most beautiful things are the most dangerous. This is the vibe I’m getting from this music.
Zoë: The dichotomy! Everything is more beautiful because we are dying!
SV: Exactly! In March, you released a new album called Screaming of the Valkyries. What makes it worth listening to in your opinion?
Zoë: I think we managed to combine an Oldschool CRADLE OF FILTH sound with something new. Donny and I are the newest members and we grew up listening to CRADLE OF FILTH when we were teenagers, so we brought our love for albums like Midian into our writing contributions, but we also brought in some modern contributions. It’s really an Oldschool and a Newschool vibe at the same time. It’s been really cool having old fans be like „Oh, I’m finally feeling Midian“ and newer fans feeling like there is something for them too.
SV: What is your favorite thing about the album?
Zoë: I would go back to the dichotomy thing! CRADLE OF FILTH is all about the dichotomy and so you have this extreme, intense, crushing darkness and also this overpowering light and beauty. I think we managed to have this balance of tracks like Non Omnis Moriar, which is of course a ballad piece, it’s very soulful and emotive, and then you have full-on, in your face stuff like To Live Deliciously. Great dichotomies, great contrasts going on!
SV: As you mentioned, you are one of the newer members. What has being a member of CRADLE OF FILTH been like for you? You mentioned that you grew up listening to them. How does „Man, I wish I could be in that band? compare to „Now I’m in that band!“?
Zoë: It’s kind of surreal most of the time! The good news is that I was welcomed very quickly and it felt really warm. Donny and I really hit it off, we’re both Americans, both Millenial kids, we come from very similar backgrounds, we were both homeschooled and lots of other random stuff. And then, of course, I ended up meeting and marrying my husband in the band as well and we hit it off instantly too. I get along well with all the guys actually. It hasn’t been anything super shocking, to be honest. I just kind of fell into it three years ago and it’s still going strong today. No issues!
SV: Is there anything in particular that you might have learned about yourself in this process?
Zoë: This is a new area of Metal for me, I usually work in Symphonic Metal and Power Metal. I think I have become a different songwriter than I was three years before, because I work in this Extreme, Gothic, Black Metal kind of thing. I’ve learned a lot about my limits and pushing myself to do something new. If it’s about what I learned, it would probably be that I have become more musically brave.
SV: Speaking of songwriting, you mentioned that Dani writes all the lyrics. How is the songwriting process in the band working?
Zoë: Usually, how it works is someone will come up with the beginnings of an idea for a song and they will pass it on to the rest of us. For example, Malignant Perfection started out with some keys ideas I had and Donny and Ashok added some guitars. They also did some rearranging of it. Drums then got added by Martin. Then, at some point, we will give it to Dani to see if he feels inspired by it. It’s really a collaborative effort, there is really no one way for us to write a song. Some songs start off with some guitars.
SV: So it’s a „We’ll see what happens“-kind of thing!
Zoë: Yes! It’s a baby with many parents!
SV: You guys have been playing a number of shows recently. What is something you look forward to the most when you play a CRADLE OF FILTH show?
Zoë: I love playing music with my husband. It’s an extremely intimate act to create music with someone you love. I would compare it to something sexual, actually, in terms of the intimacy level of creating music. I love making music with him and I love performing with him. And I also love meeting all the fans around the world. My favorite is when we see girls at the shows, because that reminds me of myself when I was a teenager going to shows with my dad. That’s also why I especially love seeing girls with their parents at our shows! To me, that’s my target audience! It’s been a lot of fun going around the world meeting other young women who love Metal, who want to be in Metal and being able to say „You can totally fucking do this, you belong here!“
SV: Now that you’re on tour this much with your husband, is there ever a point where you think „Oh my god, I’m going to murder this guy!“?
Zoë: Absolutely not, we really get along well! Other people ask that too! We take good care of each other and it’s great to be able to spend so much time together.
SV: That’s a healthy relationship then! I could have imagined you getting sick of one another at some point, just because you’re hanging around each other so much…
Zoë: It’s not a FLEETWOOD MAC situation! [we laugh] At our wedding, our bass player was kind enough to comment in his speech that we really just get along and that there is never any drama that we drive the rest of the band into and we try to keep it that way. We understand each other really well and because we’re living this same shared lifestyle of being on the road all the time, there is this patience with each other of being able to say „We have played five shows in a row, we’re exhausted, let’s give each other that extra grace!“
SV: Lifestyle is a good keyword! What is something people don’t realize about this lifestyle?
Zoë: It will emotionally exhaust you, way more than it will physically exhaust you. Every time we’re playing a show, we’re giving a piece of ourselves to everyone there and at the end of the tour you feel that a lot of little pieces of you have been ripped out. It’s not a bad thing, but I always leave the tours more emotionally exhausted, simply because we give so much of ourselves!
SV: You are going to be on tour a lot in the near future. What is something you hope for in that scenario? What is something that you wish were to happen?
Zoë: At some point, I would really love to take my daughter on tour. I would love it if I could give her a more hands-on experience of what mommy does in her day-to-day life and the things I get to do and the places I get to see. At this point I have pretty much done my bucket list things… I played the festivals I dreamed of playing, I met the people I wanted to meet and I visited the countries I wanted to see. Honestly, I just hope it continues the way it does!
SV: What is a piece of advice you would give to someone who wants to do the same thing you did, like playing in a (big) band and living this touring life?
Zoë: You really have to stay yourself. There is going to be so many pressures around you telling you who or what you should become and everyone wants to put you in their own direction or in their own box. What’s been helpful to me has been not to conform to anyone’s box. I’ve pissed some people off by doing that, but in the end it’s paid off.
SV: Now, today is your first time at Rockharz. As a last question, what is something you look forward to when you go on stage later today?
Zoë: I love all the German festivals first of all! Whenever we are in Germany, the hospitality, the catering, the organization is always top-notch! Your country really has this efficiency thing down! For this festival in particular, my friends have been playing here before for years and they only had good things to say and so far it’s met all the expectations. I think we’re going to have a great show tonight and after, I’m hoping to catch some MONO INC. because I’ve never seen them life and I think it’s going to be a great night!
What a great way to not only end an interview, but also to put an end to all the stuff we did or reported on for Rockharz 2025. But don’t be sad: We’re already setting our sights on new adventures and you can soon read about all of them here!
Shieldmaiden's Voice 