Mia Timpano of Melbourne, Australia's Beat magazine recently conducted an interview with vocalist Dani "Filth" Davey of British extreme metallers CRADLE OF FILTH. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Beat: Do you consider Gilles de Rais a monster? [Note: de Rais is a serial killer from the Middle Ages, whose life inspired CRADLE's new album, "Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder".]

Dani: Well, obviously, yeah. People just assume that we're just interested in the serial-killer aspect of him. That's not true at all. We like the decadence and the Gothicism and the adult fairy tale aspect to it. So there are Edgar Allen Poe-style mixed feelings about his descent into depravity and madness. At one point he is practically a modern-day rock star. He travels around France with his own entourage, his own private army, putting on these huge passion plays to represent his and Joan of Arc's victories — and this is after her death. That's before he retires to his castle and begins trying to replenish his fortune through the means of alchemy, which inevitably leads to sorcery, witchcraft, demonology, murder, kidnap, rape, et cetera. But do I think he's innocent? Well, it's not an episode of "Columbo", this album. It's not a particularly interesting topic: is Gilles de Rais innocent or guilty? And the translation of that into music would be crap as well, I should imagine.

Beat: Do you think that people are fundamentally savage and have the inherent potential to descend to Gilles de Rais' state?

Dani: Well, yes I do. I think the whole story in itself is a blueprint for the means of human debauchery. I often wonder to the excess some people might go, were they in the same position — where they had their own private army, were above the law, above reproach and sanctified by the church. And I think within the jurisdiction of all that wealth, yes, they would.

Beat: Would you find it offensive if I described you as a modern day Oscar Wilde character?

Dani: Well, without the gay bits [laughs uproariously]. But yeah, but you may do.

Beat: CRADLE OF FILTH, like any band of importance, has had its detractors. Have they ever poisoned your faith in humanity?

Dani: Occasionally, yeah. But then, that was a while ago. Nowadays I just laugh at it. I read a review the other day, and the guy obviously had a real problem with the band, because he gave the new album literally half a point. And I just laughed. Rather than ages ago, I would have thought, You bastard! How dare you! Nowadays I just laugh, because at the end of the day, I'd rather people be talking about the band than not talking about us at all. And I guess that's better than just remaining anonymous. Or just mediocre.

Beat: So maintaining this conviction furnishes you with the emotional fortitude to deal with bullshit?

Dani: Yeah, yeah. I just think, fuck 'em. I'm not interested. You know, there's so much to do. I have no time for anything negative. All it does is worm its way in and fester. So I just ignore it.

Read the entire interview at this location.