Biography
Here are various "biographies" taken from numinous locations.
Official Biography
Full Name : Daniel Lloyd Davey
Born in Hertford, England 25th July 1973. That makes me 34 Star sign Leo,
passion sign Aries.
Mother : Susan Janet Moore.
Father : Lawrence John Davey.
Two sisters : Amanda (28) and Rachel (25).
Younger brother : Phillip (22).
Now live in Suffolk, England with my wife , Toni and my daughter Luna Scarlett.
Bands prior to C.O.F : The Lemon Grove Kids, PDA, Carnival Fruitcake, Feast On
Excrement.
Role In C.O.F:
Lycanthroat
Serpent Tongue
Oral Pleasures
Desires Better Unsung
Sepulchral Voice
Dark Immortal Screams
Dead Man Squawking
(A.K.A. Vocals)
Favorites Profile
Favourite Music:
(Old) Mercyful Fate, Danzig, The Misfits, Hanzel und Gretel, Dissection,
Immortal, (old)Destruction, (old) Emperor, Bad Religion, Philip Glass, Limbo,
Iron Maiden, Type O, Wojciech Kilar, Diamanda Galas, Danny Elfman, Jeff Wayne,
GGFH, Rammstein, Carpathian Forest, Belisha, Eighties thrash- Darkness,
Testament, Violent Force, Exorcist, Slayer etc; classic American hardcore-Circle
Jerks, BadBrains, Dagnasty, Uniform Choice, Fear etc; European darkwave,
Soundtracks, dark vampyric funeral marches, nocturnal war anthems and
heart-rending melodrama.
Favourite films:
Curse Of The Demon (1930's), The Pit And The Pendulum, Coppola's Dracula, The
Nightmare Before Xmas, Underworld, Blade, Dog Soldiers, Aliens, Sleepy Hollow,
From Hell, The Masque Of The Red Death, The Omen trilogy, X-men films, Pirates
Of The Caribbean, good Zombie movies, Cradle Of Fear, Dominator, A Company Of
Wolves, the Star Wars original trilogy, The Devils, Haxan, House of 1000
Corpses, The Exorcist, The Wicker Man, Brotherhood Of The Wolf, Withnail and I,
Rosemary's Baby, Nightbreed, Hannibal, Prince Of Darkness, most Hammer Horrors,
Universal Monsters, Hellraisers 1 and 2, Carry On movies, Fifties B-movies,
modern B-movies and stylish, good looking secretary porn.
Other noticeable pastimes aside from trying to
hold some semblance of a normal life together:
Socializing, dining out, sightseeing, castles, horror/dark fantasy movies,
shopping, driving my cars, 19th century ghost novels, sleeping with my
girlfriend, collecting weird paraphernalia/antiques/masks/toys,
football/cricket, Spongebob on the Xbox, amusing my daughter, designing
stuff/brainstorming sessions, Heironymous Bosch, Egyptian artefacts, infrequent
skateboarding, India and recreational drugs.
Favourite food/drink:
Seafood, Full English breakfast and a legendary Sunday roast, Medium-rare steak,
Oreo icecream, chicken tikka masala, Italian, Space Raider pickled onion crisps,
Parma violet sweets, junk food, thickly filled sandwiches/new york deli baps and
rolls ten inch thick. Oh and more seafood! Prawns, mussels, crab, lobster,
cockles the lot....
Drink:
Vanilla milkshakes, tea, good coffee, ribena, root beer. Alcoholic- Guiness,
wine, absinthe, pernod and black, Belgian beers, Jaegermeister, brandy, irish
coffees made with the works.
Dislikes-
Urban sprawls/lack of trees, normality, obnoxious people, stupid fucking
questions like these!
Metal Hammer Biography
Age: 34
Instrument: Vocals
Previous Bands: My other band is Slipknot
How do your previous bands compare to COF? My other band sells more records but
it gets really hot in that mask. it really
does.
How long can you survive playing in COF? To the very bitter end, I've survived
four incarnations already!
On the 8th day God created...'Midian' the album, God being John Fryer.
The Mystic gazed into her crystal ball and saw...Gian's tax bill.
I would suck the blood of...Jane Seymour because she's so yummy she's an English
Rose in a wilting garden of thorns.
Favourite Author: Edgar Allen Poe, HP Lovecraft
Tell me about your previous life: You'd have to ask our insane fans about that, I
was probably an Egyptian cat.
Burning in Hell, which person are you least likely to piss on to help save?
The
rest of the band apart from Martin cause he's got a lovely arse.
Despite your AAA pass you find you're banned from Hell, how do you convince
Satan to let you in? Fucking come on, we've done enough for you so open this
door you cunt or we're going elsewhere!
In His Own Words Biography
Cradle of filth was formed in sixth form by myself and (long-time ex-guitarist)
Paul R. on a balmy Summer's Eve when the setting Sun held reddening sway over
all of God's creations. Something obviously went seriously adrift along the way
as it appears that the band is still together and, hopefully, growing evermore
successful, taking into account the four label changes, upteen line-up changes,
litigations, fuck-ups, punch-ups and divorce proceedings we've had had along the
way. Despite all this though, I still stand by the conviction that this band
still possesses the unique fabric that made the band what it is even now and I
know that the new material (new album with Epic records out next year...) will
undisputedly prove our status as forerunners of the genre. Either that or we all
get jobs in Burger King, well, all save Martin who will drink himself straight
into another band.
Original Eye Color:
I'm actually blind! I get around by smell alone, that's how come I always know
where the rest of the band are from one minute to another! Really, my eyes are
greyish blue. Sometimes with a touch of green.
Instrument:
Lycanthroat
Serpent Tongue
Oral Pleasures
Desires Better Unsung
Sepulchral Voice
Dark Immortal Screams
(A.K.A. Vocals)
Favorites Profile
(likes & dis-likes)
In General:
Oh yes. I fucking hate arrogance, no correct that... I fucking hate people. Vast
mindless herds of people, usually around Christmas time or rush hour. And TV
stereotyping. Urrrgh! Normality, waiting for anything (patience is not one of my
virtues), litter, concrete urbanization, lack of vision, religious
strangleholds, bigotry, cake sponge...hate them all.
On the less moany side I'm pretty partial to seafood, guiness, the occasional
joint, epic natural scenery, endless shopping, The Nightmare Before Christmas,
my own space and trying to be creative.
Drink:
There are three levels of alcohol abuse in my vocabulary... 1) The starter, or
the light drinker's favourite, which would have to be pints of Guiness. 2) The
secondary level... Red wine, Sangria or champagne. 3) The 'lets do this
seriously', two o'clock- in- the- morning pissed out of your head poisons aka
Jim Beam, Absinthe, Pernod, Jaegermeister, Rumplemintz.... at this point it
could be WB40 or meths, it really doesn't matter.
Movies:
I'd have to totally surprise everyone and say the horror genre would have to be
my absolute favourite- classic movies like the Roger Corman-directed Edgar Allen
Poe adaptations starring the terminally brilliant (but dead) Vincent Price. Also
"The Nightmare Before Christmas" and anything else involving the legendary Tim
Burton and Danny Elfman partnership; Most Hammer Horror movies, especially the
Dracula series featuring Christopher Lee... ; the original Star Wars trilogy;
Merlin; Evil Dead; Night of the Demon: A Company Of Wolves, etc, etc...
Music:
Recently i would say that the new albums from Rammstein, Fantomas, Nile, System
Of A Down, Dark Funeral, The Spook and the soundtrack from Hannibal have all
been on endless rotation in the stereo.
As for what inspires me in general, i would have to say dark, epic soundtracks (
Dracula, Sleepy Hollow, Hellraiser, Omen3, The Mummy, to name but a few), the
same in classical (Stravinsky, Wagner, Berlioz.. etc), eighties thrash, darkwave,
black metal, some goth but not loads, eighties US hardcore and classic Heavy
metal.
My favourite albums of all time would have to be:
1.Mercyful Fate-Don't Break The Oath
2. Destruction-Infernal Overkill
3.Misfits- Famous Monsters
4.Emperor- In The Nightside Eclipse
5. Judas Priest-Painkiller
6. Bram Stoker's Dracula- the soundtrack
7. Iron Maiden- Powerslave
8. The War Of The Worlds- Musical
9. Paradise lost- Gothic
10. The rest...
Midian Biography
Lude, the son of the satyr and the nun.
He's the Devilish-looking one in the movie "Nightbreed" who caterwauls and
catapults about the place.
And i'd definitely have my wicked little eyes on the chick with porcupine quills
if that was the case!
Personal Q&A With Dani
In regards to Epic, who are basically Sony records, what is the deal with them?
Surely such a big label will expect you to change your sound and eventually
distort your vision?
With regards to our new label, rest assured that we have already foreseen and
dealt with a higher force trying to muscle in and corrupt our way of outlook and
music. Don't forget that we have been signed to Epic now for almost seven months
and as expected everything has been addressed. Henceforth this is why we have
set AbraCadaver up, to serve as a self-controlled project with major financing.
And don't forget that Epic signed us for what we are- they'd soon realize the
errors of their ways if they ever tried to enforce dance moves upon us! The
beauty of signing with a major lies in the finance and exposure they can supply
you with to fulfill your visions- I mean, just wait until the videos for the new
album to agree with my point.
Did you think the year 2001 was a good year for the band?
One of the best! We've had numerable tours across the world (the most notable
being our US headlining tour with Nile and God Forbid) in support of "Midian"
and then, "Bitter Suites.. which of course we recorded in the early Summer as a
means to air new material and improve older ones (a sort of interim recording if
you will, to satisfy our output). Then there's been the DVD to contend with
("Heavy Left-Handed and Candid" should be released about now), filming two promo
videos, Tattoo the planet, Cradle Of Fear (amid numerable TV and radio
appearances), the writing of at least (well to date) three new tracks for the
forthcoming album and that's without the usual guff to deal with just being part
of Cradle of Filth. Fuck! even without the finer details, that's a immense
amount of work to have undertaken in such a short length of time. Time for a spot
of tea i think!
Any other plans afoot in the Cradle camp that you wouldn't mind sharing with us,
your humble but ever curious assembly?
Hmmm! Well, there's talk of working on another project with other horror band
members and Alex Chandon which must remain thoroughly undisclosed at the
present, then there's AbraCadaver which we're eager to get up and running by
taking a few bands under our wing, so to speak- more on this as it develops
(though if anyone has demo recordings or albums they want us to check out, then
feel free to send them through to the management address on the Ceedees and they
shall be forwarded to us...), a possible voiceover for me for a manga-styled
cartoon entitled "Dominator" via the Sci-fi channel next year.... and then
there's of course the aforementioned album which at the present moment in time
remains untitled and unwritten, though as stated, the songs are coming together
fast and furiously. We are due to demo a few songs in January at the same studio
we recorded "Bitter Suites.." in. A double live album is also in debate which
would include (as well as the live songs) a few additional pre-recorded rare
studio tracks. The working title for this at present is "Live Bait For The Dead"
with a release date penned in for May, which is when we are due to play this
year's Donnington and Dynamo festivals and enter the studio for our next album
On a more personal level now, do you have any interesting pastimes outside of
the band?
Well, when there's time to myself i usually spend it at home with my girlfriend
Toni and my daughter Luna doing family things. We've just moved into a new house
less than a year ago and so a lot of our free time is spent decorating the
place. Toni and i love watching movies together or going out to eat and then
watching movies- mostly horror and fantasy as to be expected. Reading is another
great pastime- at the moment I'm flicking between a book about the sins and
excesses of the Roman Emperors, a book on the origin of evil and the entire
series of Ramses by the Egyptologist Christian Jacq. All cracking stuff! I also
collect creepy toys (which line the walls of my office), Egyptian artifacts and
general ooky stuff that i peruse for in local country antique shops. A few
favourite acquisitions of late include a mock, fully decorated sarcophagus, a
bust of the vine-god Bacchus and a giant metal teapot from Thailand! They're a
bit like the possessions of the bloody Addams Family! I also like to drive- i
only got around to passing my driving test two short years but i'm totally
hooked. So much so that I've gone and tied up most of my cash next year by
ordering a nice new, shiny black sports car which isn't delivered till February,
which is a good thing seeing as I'll probably be dead in it by April! Fuck it!
C'est la vie... To be fair though, most of my time is spent in the company of
the band and it's subsequent leanings, so any spare time is like manna from
Heaven. Or Hell.
Do you spend any time outside of the band socializing with any of the other
members?
Fuck off! Actually yes. Gian, Martin, trial-period Dave and myself all live in
Ipswich so when the occasion arises we usually go out and get slaughtered
together. Ex-member Robin also lives close by so He's generally in the equation
as well. Paul sometimes makes an appearance from his nearby town but usually we
socialize and party all together on or after photo shoots or if we're called to
London for whatever reasoning. We all get along famously- well when you're
spending half the year on tour with one another, you'd bloody well ought
to...mind you, Paul could perform a miracle and change his socks before the next
one!
Where do you rehearse?
We rehearse in a converted barn in Suffolk. At the moment we are in the process
of cheering the place up a bit in order to make it a great deal more creative
environment to work in... .i.e...by painting it black, hanging stuff from the
walls, creating a wank booth...you know the score. It's local to Ipswich and the
majority of us...(poor Adrian has to commute daily from London), and it's nicely
tucked away from prying eyes, which is imperative in Gian's case. Going back to
something you mentioned earlier, the DVD, what did you hope to achieve with the
self-titled Shlockumentary? Was it's intentions to allow viewers into the
everyday real- life personas of the band or was it just a pastiche of cheap shit
vomited onto a blank canvass as I've been led to believe? The last one you said.
No, in all honesty, the Sifting through Filth documentary was an addition to the
DVD whose sole purpose was to entertain our followers. It may be argued that
this is for completists only, but i think that it remains a genuine and
fuck-funny insight into a life that is often only a pale reflection of it's
actual self. Plus it's an hour long.
And what of the horror movie that you have just finished, Cradle Of Fear? Tell
us a little bit about it - whose in it? what's it about? who directed it? when
is it available? Blah, blah, blah...
Cradle Of Fear is an underground urban gothic nightmare reminiscent of Amicus
horror and early-eighties gore movies. Directed by Alex Chandon, the creature
responsible for our "From The Cradle To Enslave" and "Her Ghost In The Fog"
videos, it stars a variety of B-movie actors including Eileen Daly, Emily
Bouffante, Stuart lang, Al Stokes etc, etc... as well as myself as a deranged
killer and the rest of the band in cameo roles. Essentially it concerns itself
with a gruesome mix of four horror stories all linked by the tale of Kemper, a
child killer and eater who, despite being incarcerated, uses his ally in the
outside world to reap revenge on those that imprisoned Him. Despite being put
together for the 'small' price of roughly £80,000, the film is excellently shot
and acted, and the effects are supplied by the people responsible for other cult
movies like the Hellraiser series. The overall effect is very reminiscent of a
modern-day Hammer horror but with gallons more gore and raunch, something that
to avoid massive censorship requires the film ( for at least the first few
months of it's life ) to be sold as uncensored director's copies directly from
the Cradle of fear
website but then, you don't need to
be told that do you?
There are some opinions that feel that "Bitter Suites To Succubi" isn't a full
length album and if it is, then not a particularly substantial one. What are
your views on this, your last release to date?
I think i briefly mentioned before that "Bitter Suites..." was an interim
release to instigate a marriage between the old and the new.. to give the people
who supported us over the years something to listen to during our slew of
touring commitments and deciding upon a new label. As it was originally
intended, "Bitter Suites" was supposed to be merely an EP's worth of just new
material, which in essence it was, it was only when we were due to record it
that we decided on extending the length to include the Sisters Of Mercy cover
"No Time To Cry" as well as the reworking of three tracks from our first album,
"The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh". I really like "Bitter Suites..", for me it
is very reminiscent of a previous work like "Vempire", fast, brutal and with a
production like heavy razors through flesh. Also for me i feel that the vocal
production on "Bitter Suites" is among the best yet on one of our own
recordings.
Why then release it on Snapper, a substantially smaller label than your previous
label Music For Nations?
Firstly, we left MFN because our contract with them was up and with no
disrespect intended, we wanted to shop around and see if we could find another
label with better funding and distribution... amongst other things. When the
interim deal with Snapper reared it's head we were only too pleased to accept
it.. here was a one release deal (inclusive of a DVD) that would enable us to get
some tunes out posthaste with plenty of freedom and scope and to be fair, a
sizeable advance to tide us through to the next album.
And last but not least... Any final words of
wisdom/salutations/anything at all?
Urrgh! Yes, actually i did want to thank a bunch of people, namely those who
have supported the band through thick and thin over the last few years...i hope
it has been worth it- i can certainly promise that the proper fireworks are yet
to begin....also our fans who saw us perform through what was the worst onstage
sound that we have ever encountered in Denver-we most certainly apologies to
each and every one of you for that and promise that we will rectify the
situation when once again we come to your neck of the woods. In the meantime you
might just catch yourselves on our new DVD, as some of the signing footage from
the shlockumentary was filmed in the store next to the venue.....
Also, some have asked after the lyrics to "Ebony Dressed For Sunset" on the
site, so best I honour their request.
Ebony Dressed For Sunset
Unshadow thyselves children
The reign in flesh begins again...
V Empire
Funereal majesty awake
Cneajna wreathed in snake
Draconis talons rake...
So haunted is my silent heart
Dreaming only of the moon
When velvet darkness falls tonight
The thirst crescends anew...
Only for you
...and finally, a quick acknowledgement to the following;
The Webmaster
Madshadowedmountain
Pyrael
ChildofDecadence
and Nyarlethotep
Thanx again, all the best, your fiend...Dani xxx