“You’ve gotta be able to learn the songs by ear – especially with Cradle of Filth. The tabs online are terrible”: Cradle Of Filth’s Donny Burbage and Marek ‘Ashok’ Šmerda on their theatrical metal roles – and what modern players miss abou

(Image credit: Nachtfrostvisuals)

Extreme metal, as Cradle of Filth is classified, is polarizing. It’s easy for instrumentation, such as Donny Burbage and Marek “Ashok” Šmerda’s ripping dual guitars, to get lost in the spectacle.

Šmerda admits that with that comes pressure – but there’s plenty of room for bits and bobs that fans might not associate with the extreme metal sphere. “You might be surprised,” he tells Guitar World. “We definitely have outside-the-box influences…”

“I’m a very unusual guitar player,” Burbage adds. “I don’t like a lot of modern guitar tones. I like low mids and chunkiness. It comes across as a 5150 sound, but it blends nicely with British amp tones, like a Marshall JCM800 or a plexi. It’s the best of both worlds.”

Unsurprisingly, it’s the same for Šmerda. “I find myself in the Marshall world,” he says. “Donny mentioned the Plexi; that’s the ultimate tone for me. It works for any kind of music and cuts nicely through the mix, which I think a lot of ‘modern’ guitar players might not realize.”

Cradle of Filth has new music out, with its latest single, Malignant Perfection, coming ahead of a new record for 2025. Burbage and Šmerda are excited – especially having navigated the rigors of the extreme metal machine since joining Cradle in 2022 and 2014, respectively.

It’s been a challenge, but they’re up for it. “It’s not like we’re playing crazy tech metal,” Burbage says. “Image-wise and stage presence are the main things and fitting into the complete picture artistically because Cradle is a lot about image and makeup.”

CRADLE OF FILTH – To Live Deliciously (Official Video) | Napalm Records – YouTube

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Grandiose-meets-gruesome as the Cradle of Filth vibe is, Burbage says it doesn’t get in the way of the music, saying, “It just adds to the show itself. If you go to see someone perform a show, and they’re standing still, and there’s nothing else to it, you can just listen to the record at home.”

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New music aside, be it the environment on stage, in the studio, or within the genre itself, extreme metal is about survival via aggression and expression. Having been in it for years, Burbage and Šmerda have advice, with Burbage saying, “You gotta be cool.”

“You don’t have to be the best player,” he says. “The hangs – that’s what it’s about. You’ve gotta be able to learn the songs by ear. If you can only learn by tabs, you won’t be as accurate as when you can learn by ear – especially with Cradle of Filth, where the tabs online are terrible.”

The Screaming of the Valkyries is out now via Napalm.This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Andrew Daly is an iced-coffee-addicted, oddball Telecaster-playing, alfredo pasta-loving journalist from Long Island, NY, who, in addition to being a contributing writer for Guitar World, scribes for Bass Player, Guitar Player, Guitarist, and MusicRadar. Andrew has interviewed favorites like Ace Frehley, Johnny Marr, Vito Bratta, Bruce Kulick, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Tom Morello, Rich Robinson, and Paul Stanley, while his all-time favorite (rhythm player), Keith Richards, continues to elude him.