Cradle of Filth Fire Guitarist Ashok “Effective Immediately” After He Slams Band in Exit Letter

On Tuesday (August 26th), Cradle of Filth guitarist Marek “Ashok” Šmerda announced he would quit the band after its current Latin American tour, following the exit of his wife, keyboardist/backing singer Zoë M. Federoff, who parted ways with the extreme metal act in the midst of the outing. Just hours later, Ashok was fired by frontman Dani Filth “effective immediately.”

Šmerda cited “low pay,” “stress,” and “unprofessional behavior” as a few of the reasons for his impending exit in an open letter, while also criticizing Cradle of Filth’s as-yet-unreleased collaboration with pop star Ed Sheeran as “foolish clown antics.”

That apparently didn’t sit well with Dani Filth, who later in the day shared the following news of Ashok’s firing:

“It is with a grave heart that Cradle Of Filth officially announce the firing of guitarist Marek ‘Ashok’ Smerda from the band, effective immediately.

Despite all attempts to illegally defame and derail the band, Cradle Of Filth WILL NOT cancel any of our South American shows, though fans will have to bear with us being a band with only one guitarist live, that is of course until Ashok’s temporary replacement is flown out to join the tour in a few days time.

Thank you for your understanding in this horrible matter, we are all in a state of shock over proceedings and will share our side to these unfortunate events in due course. Please, respect our decision to part with Ashok now rather than at the end of the tour and avoid speculation as more clarity on the situation will be provided.

The rest of the band are cool, even if taken aback, and accusations toward management, who work very closely with me and the band are completely unjust and unfounded.

Patience is a virtue and the truth will always out.

Thank you once again fellow Filthlings and we look forward to the rest of ‘The Screaming Of The Américas’ tour here in Uruguay and beyond.

Your fiend, Dani”

Cradle of Filth’s Latin American tour is scheduled through a September 28th show in Mexico City. After that, the British band is slated to embark on a European outing in mid November. Tickets for their upcoming shows are available here.

See Dani Filth’s Instagram post announcing Ashok’s firing below.