First we had Justin Bieber wearing a Metallica shirt, and now we have apparent death metal fan Ed Sheeran.
The U.K. tabloid The Sun quotes the “Shape of You” and “Castle on the Hill” singer professing his childhood love for bands including Slipknot and Cradle of Filth, adding that he “would not be opposed” to recording a metal album of his own.
“I’m not saying I could ever step into that world,” the quote reads. “I learnt all those riffs on guitar as a kid. That’s something I’ve never thought about doing — but something I would not be opposed to creating.”
It’s unclear where exactly that quote came from, but needless to say, the idea of a death metal Ed Sheeran album has certainly raised a few eyebrows, including those of Cradle frontman Dani Filth.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Filth wrote in an Instagram post, though he doesn’t seem totally opposed to the idea.
“Fellow Suffolk lad could come good in the end,” he added, referring to he and Sheeran’s mutual home county in England. “‘Dracula’s Castle on the Hill’ anyone?”
Sheeran, by the way, has hinted at his inner metalhead in the past. In 2018, he ran into Korn‘s Brian “Head” Welch and James “Munky” Shaffer at a Marilyn Manson concert, and he covered Iron Maiden and Limp Bizkit during a 2015 Tonight Show segment.
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.