Dani Filth shares “one final statement” about messy Cradle Of Filth members’ exits: “I won’t let unfounded slander define this band”

On: September 2, 2025

Dani Filth has shared “one final statement” about the breakdown of Cradle Of Filth amid a series of high drama exits.

The ongoing friction within the metal group began late last month, when spouses and bandmembers Zoë Marie Federoff and Marek “Ashok” Šmerda quit Cradle Of Filth, citing “low pay”, “stress” and “unprofessional behaviour”, including management withholding proper compensation and Filth’s “foolish” decision to collaborate with Ed Sheeran.

After a period of reflection on the road, Filth today (September 2) shared what he described as his “one final statement about recent events”, which followed subsequent missives shared by both him and Federoff on social media.

Most recently, she made an allegation that unnamed “management” had attempted to “steal” album advance money from their 2025 record, ‘The Screaming Of The Valkyries’, and that she had been threatened with dismissal.

Taking to Instagram, he wished both Federoff and Šmerda well, but refuted allegations of “theft” and “exploitation.”

Having apologised for sharing “more personal detail than was probably necessary” in a previous post, he addressed the allegations, saying they were “false and damaging”.

“As Zoe and Ashok are aware, my mother is currently battling stage 4 cancer — a fight that takes all her strength,” he continued. “She has seen the wave of online attacks aimed at me, and it has only added to her distress. Whatever else is said, I hope we can all agree that dragging families into this storm is a cruelty none of us should wish on another.

“To Zoe and Ashok: despite everything, I do wish you well. We shared great times together, and I’ll always be grateful for those memories. But I won’t let unfounded slander define this band or diminish the work we’ve put into it.”

He concluded the post by saying the focus remained on delivering shows “with the passion our fans deserve, and on building a stronger, clearer foundation for all our musicians moving forward”.

Filth had previously shared that Kelsey Peters was set to take over backing vocals and keyboard duties for the remainder of their tour.

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How To Get The 24 Karat Badge In Peak

In: Gaming, News

Getting the 24 Karat Badge achievement in Peak is one of the most elusive tasks currently in the game. If you’re hunting for new badges, you might have noticed that this is literally the bottom of the achievements earned percentage globally.

Generally speaking, Peak’s achievements provide helpful hints in their descriptions, but not this one. Aside from knowing that you have to offer something to The Kiln, which is the last biome, there’s little else to know. But don’t fret, as we’ll explain how to get the 24 Karat Badge in Peak and what the worthy sacrifice is.

Did Bing Bong have a glow-up recently?

How to Get the 24 Karat Badge in Peak

If you’re looking to get the 24 Karat Badge in Peak, here’s the gist. The achievement involves finding the secret entrance–this is easier said than done, as the daily map rotation and other permutations can get in the way. If you want more details, we have a dedicated guide with everything you should know.

The key puzzle piece to solve the 24 Karat Badge mystery is the Ancient Idol, which is one of Peak’s items introduced in the Mesa update in August. The idol grants you invulnerability to everything, as long as you hold it in your arms. The problem is that it’s quite heavy, which leads to the difficulty of this challenge.

In short, to unlock the badge, Peak tasks you with offering The Kiln a worthy sacrifice. This translates to taking the Ancient Idol through Mesa and Caldera, making it to The Kiln, and then dropping the item into the lava inside the volcano.

Due to the item’s weight, this trip is a tall order. That being said, if you want some pointers on how to tackle this, make sure to read our section below.

How to Offer The Kiln a Worthy Sacrifice in Peak Using the Ancient Idol

Now, assuming that you know about the secret entrance, make your way through the Tomb. It’s a fairly straightforward path. There’s a maze-like set of corridors at the beginning that’s fairly easy to follow, as well as a room with a big gap before the door. For the latter, hold onto the walls as much as possible–it’s the perfect time to use all of those stamina-boost items you’ve probably been hoarding this whole time.

No Caption Provided

Then, the corridor will take you to the room with the Ancient Idol. At the time of writing, picking up the object won’t trigger any traps, so don’t worry about activating an Indiana Jones-like sequence here. If you have a backpack, you’ll reduce the item’s weight, but only slightly. The penalty is still quite high.

Now, prepare to leave. The Tomb’s exit is underneath the long path that you use to get into the Ancient Idol chamber. It’ll take you to another corridor and then a set of stairs. Even with the idol on you, just go ahead and jump all the way back to the surface.

Getting through Mesa is by far way harder than surviving through Caldera with the idol. In short, there’s a lot of climbing to do. Keep your inventory and backpack as light as possible, and if you find any items that give you additional stamina, there’s no better time to use them.

It’s a long way to the top.

The Ancient Idol is a great help, but I recommend using it sporadically. After all, you won’t be able to do much climbing while holding it, only some fairly limited jumps. In Mesa, the item works best when you’re about to be hit by sunlight, which normally adds a burn penalization. Be patient while making the way to the summit, keeping an eye out for scorpions and any dynamite lying around.

One upside of the climbing section that happens right underneath the summit is that there’s no shortage of briefcases to open. Not all of them will give you something very useful, but I was able to replenish my stamina quite often by just keeping an eye out for them. Even if getting to one means backtracking slightly.

This is fine.

Once you eventually get to Caldera, you’ll be relying on the Ancient Idol much more often. Drop down carefully, and then plan a route. When you have it, go ahead and equip the idol. From this point on, you can be in touch with fire and even the actual lava without suffering burning or direct damage. And yes, don’t worry if the Ancient Idol gets incinerated or burnt, as it’ll still count for the achievement.

There are some intricacies, however. It’s quite easy to press the wrong button and change to a different inventory item, leaving you vulnerable to any nearby hazards. This can also happen when you’re jumping, so to be absolutely sure of any maneuvers, wait until the lava’s “tide” is decreased. Ideally, you want to get close to rocks and surfaces that can inflict some burning but not outright incinerate you. If you have the burn status, just wait for a few seconds until it’s gone, and re-equip the idol so you’re safe.

Overall, it’s way more straightforward than the Mesa section. You can literally be in the lava “pools” without getting engulfed in flames and losing the run. When you approach the final segment of the area, which requires you to gain some height in order to climb to the checkpoint, there are two options. You can either find a safe vantage point and just tackle one or two pillars as you’d normally do without the idol, or you can get close to the left side of the structure. You’ll notice a few “steps” on the outer wall, which are perfect to climb onto, restore stamina, and then finish climbing until you get to the staircase. Just remember to wait until the lava tide is low enough so you don’t get hurt.

It’s nothing personal.

Almost there. When you make it to safety, rest at the checkpoint, grab everything you need, and start the long walk toward The Kiln. From here, it’s fairly self-explanatory. Get to the inside of the volcano–so, after you get the Control-style message on screen saying that you’re in The Kiln–and approach the surface in the middle. Before you begin the last climb to the summit, equip the Ancient Idol and drop it into the lava surrounding the surface. You should see the achievement appear shortly afterward.

That’s the worthy sacrifice for The Kiln. Now, once the run is over, you’ll obtain the badge to proudly show off to others online. Getting the 24 Karat Badge also gives you a Bing Bong beanie for your character, which is quite cute.

If you’re looking for additional help around Peak, we have guides covering how to do the Scout Cannon Glitch and where to find the Scoutmaster to get yet another tough badge in the game.