Cradle Of Filth’s guitarist Marek “Ashok” Smerda has been fired from the metal band after the musician originally said that he was going to leave on his own terms.
Smerda first said that he would exit the band at the end of its current tour in an Instagram post on Tuesday, Aug. 26.
However, only a few hours after his post, Cradle of Filth’s lead singer, Dani Filth, posted to the group’s Instagram saying that Smerda was fired from the English extreme metal band.
“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,” he wrote. “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 rest of the band are cool, even if taken aback, and accusations toward management, who work very closely with me and the band are completely unjust and unfounded,” Filth continued. “Patience is a virtue and the truth will always out. Thank you once again fellow Filthlings and we look forward to the rest of ‘The Screaming Of The Américas’ tour here in Uruguay and beyond.”
Smerda’s firing came just two days after his wife and fellow bandmate, keyboardist/backing singer Zoe Smerda, announced that she would also be leaving Cradle of Filth.
She said in an Instagram post on Sunday, Aug. 24 that she was leaving Cradle of Filth “for personal reasons,” adding that she was “unable to continue this tour and continue in general with Cradle of Filth.”
In his Instagram post, Ashok said that his decision to part ways with Cradle of Filth come from “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,” he wrote. ”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.”
The guitarist also asked that his compositions be removed from all of Cradle of Filth’s upcoming releases, including a collaboration with Ed Sheeran.
“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,” Ashok wrote.
He also addressed rumors that he had been cheating on his wife, which Zoe also spoke about in a Facebook post on Sunday, Aug. 24.
“Meanwhile so many ‘brilliant’ internet brains trying to speculate on personal affairs between me and Zoe — just stop this, please. We are trying to start new chapter,” Ashok wrote in his Instagram post. “For the fans and for my friends in this band and crew! It is my last ride with Cradle and I am proud to give it my best. 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. This is all I have to say for now. Leave my wife alone. NEVER insult her or her choices in my presence… or else.”
Zoe added that the couple “were already planning to leave the band later this year” and that “certain events have sped that up for me.”
“At this time there is nothing further I wish to clarify and I’d appreciate keeping the ugly rumors off my page and out of my inbox,” she wrote in her Facebook post. “Please enjoy the remaining shows on this tour and give a lot of love to Kelsey, who is one of the greatest singers I’ve ever been privileged to hear. You’ll love her.”
Cradle of Filth, led by Filth, formed in Suffolk, England in 1991. The band has experienced several lineup changes over the years. Its current iteration now features Filth, Donny Burbage, Daniel Firth, Martin Skaroupka and now Kelsey Peters.
Cradle of Filth has released 14 studio albums, several of which have charted in the U.S. The band’s highest charting album, “Godspeed On The Devil’s Thunder,” peaked at No. 48 on the Billboard 200 in 2008.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.