DIMMU BORGIR Guitarist: 'I Have Achieved Already More Than I Have Ever Expected'

HardcoreSounds recently conducted an interview with DIMMU BORGIR guitarist Silenoz. A few excerepts from the chat follow:

HardcoreSounds: You did the tour with DEVILDRIVER, UNEARTH and KATAKLYSM. What's your opinion about these bands you toured with?

Silenoz: I wasn't so familiar with UNEARTH before the tour. We toured with DEVILDRIVER in Ozzfest in 2004 so I knew about them and KATAKLYSM was familiar to me of course. I think it was a very good and diverse package. It's good for the kids to have four bands that are extreme but still varied with their sound.

HardcoreSounds: But why go on tour with UNEARTH and DEVILDRIVER who are pretty different from you musically?

Silenoz: That's what we wanted. If we would play with bands that sound close to us I don't think that's fair for the fans who will come to see us because if they pay like 25 dollars for a ticket they should get four bands that sound a little bit different but still have an extreme sound.

HardcoreSounds: So how is the black metal scene doing in U.S. at the moment? I know that the emo scene is quite massive but what about black metal?

Silenoz: I don't know. For us it's coming bigger and bigger everytime we go there. For this U.S. tour we played on bigger places than we played last time on the same cities so it's a good thing. The crowd is getting younger and younger but they seem to be more dedicated and enthusiastic than the older people.

HardcoreSounds: Which one do you prefer more, a festival show or a club gig?

Silenoz: Well actually I prefer a club gig because the smaller the places are the better our sound is. The closer you are with the audience, the more energy and interaction you get between the crowd and the band. When you play festivals it's great too because if there´s a huge audience and they're into it, it's even better. In festivals we don't get soundcheck and our sound usually suffer a lot on that because our sound is really difficult to set right in a live situation. We try to make a best out of it but I personally prefer club gigs more.

HardcoreSounds: You have achieved quite a lot for being as a black metal band. Are there any goals left you would still like to achieve?

Silenoz: Personally I have achieved already more than I have ever expected. Everything that happens with each new album is a big bonus for me. I guess that to be able to live by making music has been the biggest achievement for us as a band. That's something no bands expect to do when they start. It doesn't matter whether you have a pop band or a black metal band. I guess it's every band's dream. If they say something else, they're lying. You love to do what you love the most in your life.

Read the entire interview at HardcoreSounds.