A musical hardon collision of sorts could be about to hit us, with signs pointing towards a forthcoming Ed Sheeran and Cradle Of Filth collaboration which would surely be the strangest (and most exciting) pairing since Metallica teamed up with Lady Gaga at the Grammys.
Sheeran recently expressed his nostalgic love of extreme metal, name-checking both Slipknot and Cradle of Filth, while noting that when it comes to blast beats and cookie monster vocals, it “wouldn’t be something that I would be opposed to creating.”
While the idea of ‘Dracula’s Castle On A Hill’ (credit: Cradle of Filth frontman Dani Filth) sounds like a great laugh, it turns out that the pair have been emailing since Sheeran tentatively threw up the horns, with a potential project on the horizon.
“I’ve actually been emailing with him,” revealed…erm….Mr. Filth in a recent interview with Kerrang! Radio.
“I’ve been invited up to his place. Well, he said he could come down to mine, but I pointed out to him that I don’t own my own bar or village, and it’d be better if I went there.
“He said he’d do anything, quite literally. He said he’s a massive fan. He seems like a genuinely very nice guy actually.”
It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen a pop star teaming up with metal gatekeepers in recent times, with Ozzy Osbourne recently tapping Post Malone for a tune, while genre-benders Bring Me The Horizon seemingly became the hottest ticket for pop stars to work with.
Dani went on to note that a fundraiser for a black metal/pop crossover would potentially work for the idea, stating that “I think [an Ed Sheeran collaboration] would be great fun. I think it’d be great if we did it for charity because at least it would bring a bit of credibility to it.”
While ‘Shape of You (In The Mosh)’ sounds like every true metal warrior’s worst nightmare, it could be just the right amount of weirdness that we need in 2021.
Heck, if Miley Cyrus can get away with covering Metallica (and nail it in the process) then the most successful songwriter of all time may as well don the corpse paint give it a red hot go.