SATYRICON Drummer Comments On Bassist Split, Temporary Replacement; Video Available

Sweden's Loudfarmer web site conducted an interview with drummer Kjetil-Vidar "Frost" Haraldstad of Norwegian black metallers SATYRICON prior to the band's April 13, 2009 concert in Gothenburg. Watch the entire 23-minute chat below.

Regarding the group's split with bassist Victor Brandt, Frost said, "We had to [part ways with him]. Being in a live band means that you have to be a team player in addition to being an individual artist, and if you cannot really manage that talent and if you can't understand what it takes of you, then it's simply not possible to go on. You will, sooner or later, get into insolvable problems regarding atttude and how the band works together and eventually it will start to have a destructive impact on the music and the performance. You can only go so far with a very deconstructive air in the band, and we felt that we were getting there. If he comes to us and says, 'I don't really feel motivated to give my best now,' and 'I don't like the vibe in the band,' it's better that we just part ways, I think. And that's what he came to us and said. He was really at a point where he was telling us out straight that he couldn't really give us what we want. And, I mean, we're SATYRICON, and we cannot have an attitude like that, and I think that he cannot live with that either. So we have had a good co-operation; his style has been very suitable for SATYRICON. But sometimes when you work with musicians in a live band, you'll come to a point where the co-operation doesn't really work out anymore. And then you just have to end the co-operation and part ways, and that's what we did. Nothing very dramatic. We hoped to have a more stable lineup that would last for awhile, but we will move on and so will he."

SATYRICON's current session bassist is Anders Odden, whose experience includes stints with such bands as APOPTYGMA BERZERK and CADAVER, as well as touring with CELTIC FROST.

Commented Frost: "[Anders is] a very skilled musician. He has a very profound musical understanding and a very solid platform. He has, anyway, been working with a band — he's actually teching for a band after having done this tour with us. It's a temporary solution, but we have been rehearsing with him and it sounds very, very good; it's tight and he goes into this with everything he's got and the band has never sounded better, really, so it's good to have him there."

"The Age Of Nero", the latest album from SATYRICON, has sold more than 6,000 copies in the United States since its January release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD debuted at No. 18 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

"The Age Of Nero" entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 73. It also landed on the national chart in the band's home country at position No. 5. This is SATYRICON's lowest chart entry in Norway since "Rebel Extravaganza", which premiered at No. 32 in 1999. "Volcano" (2002) entered the chart at No. 4, while 2006's "Now, Diabolical" came in at No. 2.