DIMMU BORGIR Guitarist On Upcoming Record: 'You Can Expect The Best Album We Have Done To Date'

Guitarist Sven Atle Kopperud (a.k.a. Silenoz) of Norwegian symphonic black metallers DIMMU BORGIR spoke to Rock 'N' Roll Journalist about the band's upcoming long-awaited follow-up to 2010's "Abrahadabra" album, tentatively due in late 2017 or early 2018. "You can expect what I would consider, of course, the best album we have done to date," he said. "I know every band says that, but if I didn't believe in us doing the best album so far in our career, then there wouldn't be any point making a new album. [Laughs]"

He continued: "Yeah, I think it's fair to say that the fans should expect the best album as well, because we have been away for so many years now and we have obviously something to prove, not only to ourselves but also to the fans. I think we will be able to deliver what they expect, and once they hear the new album, they probably will forget about all the years that have gone by without new music. I think it's safe to say that [the parts that are] more epic and majestic are more epic and majestic, and the same goes for the brutal sound of DIMMU and also the primitive and more black metal sound of DIMMU is more black metal this time around. So you will have the more extremes of each part that we are known for."

According to Silenoz, DIMMU BORGIR "worked harder on this album than any in the past, and we have demoed every song down to the last little detail. So there's no surprises for us," he said. "Once we started recording the album in the studio, there are no really big surprises, because we have been so detailed about the work this time. The main point was, of course, to get the best performances out of each person in the studio, and I believe we have done just that."

As before, all the writing on the new DIMMU BORGIR album was done by the core trio of Silenoz, vocalist Shagrath and guitarist Galder. "We had a little bit of assistance from the keyboard player, but it was less on this album than it was on the previous one," Silenoz said. "That seems to be working best and it means there's less cooks in the kitchen. [Laughs]"

Shagrath recently told Antihero magazine that the upcoming DIMMU BORGIR album would contain "a lot of the elements which DIMMU BORGIR are known for, so I think the fans will not be disappointed. It also includes a lot of themes and riff ideas that you can link back to '93. So, it's like a combination of different themes throughout the history of DIMMU BORGIR. It also has a lot of symphonic elements and we are using a big choir on this new record, and it's also darker, more atmospheric, more primitive, more black metal."

Shagrath elaborated on the musical direction of the new DIMMU BORGIR album, saying it's "a mixture of everything, but in DIMMU BORGIR you can expect the unexpected. That's how we like to, when we do something we want to, there is no limits for where we can take it, in which direction, and that's how we want it to be, it needs to be. It's progressive also, the new album, but it also includes a lot of atmosphere, as I said. Elements from like the riff atmospheres from 'Enthrone Darkness Triumphant' [1997] album and the 'For All Tid' [1995], the debut record, and all that stuff. So, it's a good combination of it all, but at the same time, it's also progressive, and that's very important for us as artists to stretch the limits and try out new stuff. We are a band, we have never been afraid of going into new directions and as an artist, it's also important to not try to repeat yourself too much, because then it would be boring. But we are not a band like AC/DC, where you buy an album and you know what to expect. But DIMMU BORGIR are quite different, even though I'm a fan of AC/DC."

DIMMU BORGIR's new DVD, "Forces Of The Northern Night", was released on April 14 via Nuclear Blast. The set contains two of the band's live performances: their legendary show in Oslo, presenting DIMMU BORGIR on stage with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and a bombastic choir, as well as their entire performance at Wacken Open Air festival in 2012 in Wacken, Germany with almost a hundred musicians on stage.