DIMMU BORGIR's SILENOZ Wants To Do A 'Proper Tour' Of U.S. After Release Of New Album: 'It's Not Gonna Be Easy', He Admits

During an appearance on a recent episode of the Iblis Manifestations podcast, DIMMU BORGIR guitarist Silenoz (real name: Sven Atle Kopperud) once again confirmed that he and his bandmates are working on the long-awaited follow-up to 2018's "Eonian" album. Speaking about how DIMMU BORGIR's longtime record label, Nuclear Blast, feels about the lengthy gaps between the band last couple of records, Silenoz said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We have been fortunate in the sense that we've had priority on the label, obviously. And, yeah, sure, if we were a band that was less popular or less successful in the eyes of the label, we would probably got like a phone call, 'Hey, we need the album now.' But they never stressed us once about, 'Oh, we need the album now. We need the album now,' because they know that if we get to spend the time we need on the music, they will get a product that they can support and sell, and it will sell. So from their point of view, they know that they not to interfere with our creativity. And that's another thing that I'm really proud of, is that we never compromise, despite what probably common people think, 'Oh, they do what the label tells them to do,' blah, blah. No, never. We've always done it our way. And we even told the label a few times that, 'Let's hold on and let's do it this way.' And then the label has come back to us and said, 'Yeah, you made the right choice.' At least we know what we think is best for our art, and so we never had any issues there."

Regarding the fact that DIMMU BORGIR's next album will once again arrive nearly a decade after the band's previous collection of new material, Silenoz said: "We said [after 'Eonian' came out], 'Oh, it's not gonna take eight years until the next one.' But if you shave off the pandemic years, it's not gonna be eight years, really. Because we spent our time well, and we have been crafting the new stuff. Not to talk too much about it, 'cause it's still in the process, but great songs take time. Sometimes it doesn't have to take long to make a great song, but you never know. There's no template for that. And you just have to take the time it takes. As long as we can craft it in our tempo, it's gonna be good."

Looking ahead to the release of the new DIMMU BORGIR LP, Silenoz said:  "I think for the next year it's gonna be a very eventful thing for us, with the new album coming out and things are on schedule, as much schedule as we can say. So, we're looking forward to the next few couple of years. And, yeah, I can't wait to share the new stuff. It's always something I look forward to. And once it's done, to get the physical copy in your hands and you can see the physicality of your work, so to speak… It's something you don't take for granted. And let's face it, we could probably record an album every second year or whatever, but what's the point? If you don't have the right intent and conviction behind it, then it's bound to flop and fail."

Asked if DIMMU BORGIR will tour in support of the new album, Silenoz said: "Yeah, I think so. We're gonna do as much as we make room for, I guess, in our day and age. [Laughs] I don't know how it's gonna be with the U.S. yet right now. I know it's doable to do a tour there, but it's not gonna be easy, with new costs and the tripled, quadruple costs and whatnot. But that's another thing that obviously fans maybe don't think about. It's getting more and more widely known now that's the case. But we'll see how we can get around it. We haven't been on a proper tour in the States for 10 years, at least — 12, 14 years, something like that. We had a few shows, one-offs here and there — New York, Chicago, I think it was, and a couple in Canada — but not like a tour. So, that'd be good if we can get that sorted. I'm looking forward to that… We'll definitely have a proper headline tour [in Europe]. So, yeah, next year should be good."

At this year's Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany, Silenoz was asked how he knows that a DIMMU BORGIR album is finished and it's time to unleashed it on to the rest of the world. Silenoz said: "Well, it's always that time where you can work and work and work on it, but at the same time you have to let it go. It's the same when you have a kid and it grows up. You have to let it out of its shell somehow, and once that's done, yeah, then it's done. But certain albums, we live with the songs for so many years before we actually record them. So we can go back and forth, back and forth, and when we finally then go to the main studio to record all the parts again, then we pretty much have everything set. 'Cause we demo everything down to the smallest little detail before we go and record actual albums, so we can live with the songs and figure out the small tweaks here and there. Even after months and maybe even years, you can go back, and it's, like, 'Yeah, let's tweak it a little bit there.'"

Regarding what advice he would give to young up-and-upcoming musicians who have a vision of starting a band, Silenoz said: "Well, I would say try and find your place in the group or in the band constellation and do whatever you are good at. And there's a place for everybody in the band in that sense. And try and figure out who is the more leader type, because not everybody can be a leader. Let's face it — being in a band is not a democracy. It only works up to a certain point. Everybody wants to be there when you take the easy decisions and the cool decisions, but when you have to do the bad decisions and the negative ones and all that stuff, then that's when you separate from the democracy and to the leadership."

Asked if the leadership of DIMMU BORGIR is a 50-50 split between him and vocalist Shagrath (real name: Stian Tomt Thoresen),Silenoz said: "You know what? I think there's very few things that we disagree on. I tend to look at all the other stuff that we actually do agree on. And we have the same drive now more than probably ever, although that probably sounds a bit weird, but that's a fact. And I think we have the respect for each other and for our brand and for our history and legacy to not mess it up, if you know what I mean. So, yeah, if there's a hard decision to be made, then we do it together."

This past June, DIMMU BORGIR announced Kjell Åge "Damage" Karlsen as the band's new guitarist. Karlsen, who previously played with Shagrath in the long-running Norwegian rock act CHROME DIVISION, made his live debut with DIMMU BORGIR on June 27 at the Tons Of Rock festival in Oslo, Norway.

Longtime DIMMU BORGIR guitarist Galder (real name Thomas Rune Andersen) announced his departure from the band in the summer of 2024, explaining that he wanted to reactivate his OLD MAN'S CHILD project.

The now-48-year-old Galder played his final concert with DIMMU BORGIR on August 17, 2024 as the headliner of the main stage at Dynamo Metal Fest in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

Galder is a founding member of the melodic black metal band OLD MAN'S CHILD, with whom he released one EP and seven studio albums between 1994 and 2009.

DIMMU BORGIR's current lineup is officially a duo comprising Shagrath on lead vocals and Silenoz on rhythm guitar. They are joined by session musicians Karlsen on guitar, Dariusz "Daray" Brzozowski on drums (since 2008),Geir "Gerlioz" Bratland on keyboards (since 2010) and Victor Brandt on bass (since 2018).

DIMMU BORGIR's latest album, "Eonian", came out in 2018. The LP was released right in time for the band's 25th anniversary in 2018, about eight years after its predecessor, "Abrahadabra". Since then, DIMMU BORGIR has played various tours all around the world, including shows at leading metal festivals such as Wacken Open Air and Hellfest.

DIMMU BORGIR released a collection of its cover songs, "Inspiratio Profanus", in December 2023 via Nuclear Blast Records. "Inspiratio Profanus" featured the first single "Black Metal" by VENOM, "Perfect Strangers" (DEEP PURPLE),"Burn In Hell" (TWISTED SISTER) and renditions from CELTIC FROST, as well as other influential artists.