Dave Pybus
A stalwart of the British extreme metal scene, whose thunderous bass lines anchored the gothic horror of Cradle of Filth for over a decade.
Born 1970 (age 56)·British extreme metal musician·Birthday: June 4·Generation X
Biography
Dave Pybus joined Cradle of Filth in 2002, providing the low-end foundation for their most prolific international period. Born in 1970, he carved a durable career in the British extreme metal underground. Early stints included Dreambreed and Anathema. With Cradle of Filth, he appeared on albums like 'Damnation and a Day' and 'Nymphetamine.' His stage presence was a study in controlled intensity amid the band's theatrical chaos. After leaving in 2014, he co-founded the melodic death metal project Memoriam and later rejoined a reactivated Anathema. Pybus represents the journeyman musician whose technical skill sustains a major metal act.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Dave was born in 1970, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Dave Was Born
The biggest hits of 1970
#1 Movie
Love Story
Best Picture
Patton
#1 TV Show
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Dave's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1970Born
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1975Started school
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1983Became a teenager
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1986Could drive
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1988Could vote
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1991Turned 21
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2000Turned 30
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 40
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 50
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 56 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the bassist for Cradle of Filth from 2002 to 2014, performing on six studio albums during a peak commercial period for the band.
- Co-founded the melodic death metal supergroup Memoriam in 2016, handling bass duties and contributing to multiple albums.
- Rejoined the reactivated line-up of Anathema in 2022, a band he had briefly played with in the early 1990s.
- His playing is featured on Cradle of Filth's 'Nymphetamine,' which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005.
Did You Know?
Before joining Cradle of Filth full-time, he was a session musician for the band, first appearing on the 'Lovecraft & Witch Hearts' compilation.
He is a trained guitar maker and worked in a guitar factory early in his career.
He was briefly the bassist for the doom metal band Anathema in 1991, prior to their rise to fame.
He runs a small business building and repairing custom bass guitars.
“The bass must be a pillar of granite around which the chaos can swirl.”
