Dani Filth says he's been “emailing with” Ed Sheeran about a potential collaboration

Last month, pop superstar Ed Sheeran revealed that he is “not opposed” to making a death metal album. Yes, the guy who sings Perfect, Thinking Out Loud and Shape of You.

In an interview with The Sun, the singer-songwriter noted that he was “really into death metal as a kid," adding that he spent time in his youth learning Slipknot and Cradle of Filth guitar riffs. “That's something I've never thought about doing – but something I would not be opposed to creating,” Sheeran said.

And while his comments came across as somewhat tongue-in-cheek – at least Dani Filth thought so, replying: “I'll believe it when I see it” – it seems the acoustic guitar-toting star might actually have some death metal up his sleeve.

Speaking to Kerrang! backstage at Bloodstock 2021 (as reported by Planet Rock), Filth revealed that he's “actually been emailing with [Sheeran]." 

“He actually touched base with me,” Filth says. “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.”

He continued: “I think the 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. Because obviously to his public, it'd be like ‘Oh my god, he's got this weird comical guy’, and to my public, it'd be like ‘Oh my god, this is a bit weird isn't it?’ But I think that sort of thing, nowadays, works.”

It's yet unclear exactly what will come of such a collaboration, though prior to contact being made between the pair, Filth suggested “Dracula's Castle on the Hill” (a play on Sheeran's 2017 single, Castle on the Hill). We'll endeavor to keep you updated as information unfolds.

Cradle of Filth recently announced their 13th studio album, Existence is Futile, and shared its impossibly heavy lead single, Crawling King Chaos.

The album's title, Dani Filth explains, “is about recognizing the truth and saying that everything is permitted because nothing really matters”. “We all know we're going to die,” he continues, “so we might as well indulge life while we possess it.”