It’s easy to think of Cradle of Filth as simply the massive, globe-trotting horror-metal act they are today. But the band started off during black metal’s massive second wave, and frontman Dani Filth was around for plenty of the scandalous tabloid explosion of that scene.
For example, Dani recently revealed that he spoke to Emperor drummer Bård “Faust” Eithun at a party in the early ’90s, and that he confessed to murdering someone — a claim that Dani thought was a joke, but which later turned out to be very real.
Speaking to Metal Hammer, Dani was discussing Cradle of Filth’s 1993 tour with Emperor, and recalls being approached by Eithun at a party. It was there that Bård told Dani about the murder.
“We played at the Royal Court in Liverpool, then had a massive party,” says Filth. “Faust came up to me pissed out his head and told me about murdering a gay guy.
I dismissed it as a load of crap but when it all came out I felt like an accessory to murder after the fact.”
Of course, the story was regrettably very true. In 1992, Eithun killed Magne Andreassen, a gay man, by luring him to a park and stabbing him 37 times. He served nine years out of a 14-year sentence before being released in 2003.
That said, Dani’s quick to note that given who Emperor were in ’93, shrugging off the drunken claim was an understandable response.
“[I]f anyone had seen Emperor at that time, they’d never have taken them seriously,” he said. “There’s, like, Samoth [né Tomas Thormodsæter Haugen, guitar], Lord of Silence, but he wasn’t Lord of Silence that night – he was Lord of Giggles and Laughter… Everybody was either high or taking Es, drinking – all fucked.”
There you have it, folks — if some drunk at a party tells you he murdered a guy, we totally get laughing it off. But maybe don’t keep it to yourself for decades. *** Words by Chris Krovatin
