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TWO members of trailblazing Brit metal band Cradle Of Filth have quit mid-tour.
Marek ‘Ashok’ Šmerda and Zoe Marie Federoff have alleged that “low pay” and “stress” are the reason for their sudden exit.
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It comes after frontman Dani Filth announced that they had fired guitarist Šmerda with immediate effect.
He announced on social media that he would be leaving the group at the end of their current tour and said “the band could not provide for their future, and in fact hinders it”.
In his statement, Šmerda said on social media: “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 prioritising/caring about members.
“It has been years of unprofessional behaviour from people above us that led to our decision.”
While Šmerda’s wife and the group’s keyboardist, Zoe Marie Federoff, also quit the group mid-tour.
Šmerda said he will be “finishing the tour strong”, without his wife.
He has also requested that “all compositions” of his be removed from upcoming releases, including the bands collab with Ed Sheeran.
Šmerda said: “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.”
However, Dani has hit back and slammed Šmerda’s “attempts to illegally defame and derail the band”.
In a statement, he wrote: “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.
“Patience is a virtue and the truth will always come out.”
But in response, Zoe has shared another post detailing allegedly how much she got paid, which alleged the couple “make [£]150/day currently and [£]25K a year roughly in this band, to clarify the math”.
She said: “We planned this transition out of Cradle of Filth months ago. Management is dishonest, manipulative, and tries to take money that belongs to us with no contract between us session musicians and him.”
The musician continued: “The frontman does nothing to stop them and hides behind them while they belittle and steal.
“We hold the frontman responsible for hiring this management and never advocating for his team, only himself.
“Other ex members try to tiptoe around this and only blame management management works for the frontman.”
Kelsey Peters will be taking over on backing vocals and will be on the keyboard for the rest of the tour.
The Sun has reached out to the band for comment.
Cradle of Filth was formed in 1991.
The band’s original members consisted of vocalist Dani Filth, guitarist Paul Ryan, keyboardist Ben Ryan (Paul’s brother), bassist John Pritchard and drummer Darren Gardner.
Some of their best known tracks include Her Ghost in the Fog, Beneath the Howling Stars and Cruelty Brought Thee Orchid.
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