Last week, The Music reported that five former members of Cradle Of Filth – plus a model who appeared in two of the band’s music videos – have filed a lawsuit against vocalist Dani Filth, the band’s associated companies, and The Oracle Management.

In case you missed it: in August, keyboardist and vocalist Zoe Marie Federoff left the extreme metal band mid-tour. Initially, she shared few details, but as time went on, she publicly alleged that she suffered mistreatment by The Oracle Management, which is led by Coal Chamber vocalist Bradley “Dez” Fafara and his wife Anahstasia Fafara.

Federoff’s husband, guitarist Marek “Ashok” Smerda, initially stayed in the band. However, he quickly began making accusations and was fired by Dani Filth just days after Federoff’s departure. The pair continued to share allegations against the band and its management on social media, including claims of a “threatening” work environment and low wages.

Now, it appears the couple has joined forces with other former band members to file a lawsuit. The suit first appeared on Reddit, was initially reported by The PRP, and can be viewed on Jotta Cloud.

Plaintiffs include Federoff and Ashok, plus other former members of Cradle Of Filth, such as guitarist Paul Allender (1992-1995, 1999-2014), keyboardist/vocalist Lindsay Matheson (aka Lindsay Schoolcraft), who was in the band from 2013 to 2020, and guitarist Richard Shaw (2014-2022), as well as Sasha Baxter (aka Sasha Massacre), a model who appeared in the band’s To Live Deliciously and Malignant Perfection music videos.

The internal dramas between the band members, and now the lawsuit, have thrown Cradle Of Filth’s long-teased collaboration with Ed Sheeran into doubt, as Ashok said he wants all his “compositions” removed from all of the band’s upcoming releases—including the unexpected collab.

Last May, Dani Filth told The Music about “a song we did with a rather famous person” that was moved around after Sheeran took some time away from music, so the band had to “be very careful” with the release.

He added, “His interaction with us was originally going to be on the album—it's recorded; it's all done. It was done a year ago, but it very well may see the light of day on the special edition instead, [so] that we don't delay the release of our album by another year.”

Reports of the unlikely team-up began in 2021 when Filth revealed that Sheeran had invited him “up to his place” in an interview with Kerrang! Radio. 

Then, in 2022, Filth indicated that the collaboration could be “coming soon”. The track has been delayed due to opposite touring schedules and Sheeran becoming a father. 

“We still have yet to finish our song with Ed Sheeran,” Filth shared in an interview at Knotfest Finland.

Filth added, “He's done some of it, but then he had a baby, and then he got obviously sidetracked with that and doing whatever Ed does, which is play massive shows around the globe. He's not at our beck and call. But he is gonna finish it, he assures me. Actually, I spoke to him quite recently. It will be released when it's finished. We don't know when it's coming out."

In December 2022, excitement ramped up again when Filth shared a new picture of himself with Sheeran and frequent Cradle Of Filth producer Scott Atkins. "A little over a week ago, I was having lunch with the unlikely lads, having just done something fun," Dani Filth wrote on Instagram, with five devil horn emojis.

In 2023, Filth told Metal Hammer that the track would see the light of day that year, but it didn’t.

At the time, Filth confirmed that “Ed’s done all his parts”.

He added, “It’s just bass and vocals for me to do on my return to England after Easter. The plan is to do it as a charity single. We’re hoping for it to be out by the summer.”

About the song itself, Filth hinted, “It’s exactly how you can imagine it’ll sound if you can imagine Ed Sheeran with Cradle Of Filth. He plays acoustic guitar on it, but it’s heavy: it’s got a blast beat in there.”