SATYRICON To Embark On U.S. Headlining Tour This Summer

SATYRICON frontman Satyr has posted the following message on the band's official web site:

"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls! Thank you for the ride. To hell and back. [The U.S. tour with MORBID ANGEL] was the tour where too much went wrong and somehow we still prevailed. We had no chance of winning, but we went ahead and won.

"[ZYKLON's] Trym did a good job replacing Frost. For the first few shows there was a little bit of uncertainty in the air, but we learned that it was easier for us to try and adapt to his style rather than having him try and play SATYRICON style. He comes from the same scene as Frost and I do and that also helps a lot. We hope that US authorities will demonstrate common sense in this matter and let Frost come and play with us in the future. It feels weird to play without him and it's crucial that they sooner rather than later understand that he's a professional trying to do his job and that is all there is to it. Trym saved our day though and in good fashion. We're glad we could be there despite all the obstacles.

"Most of you have heard about the money who disappeared, the SWAT teams, the injuries on one of the band members and all the shit that flooded our path. IT DOESN'T MATTER, IT CAN'T STOP US. We we're out there on a mission and it didn't even cross my mind to cancel a single show!

"The tour was very well visited and we experienced that a lot of people came out to see SATYRICON. We thank you for your interest and dedication! A lot of people complained that we didn't play longer or that we went on too early. You have to realize that these are decisions made by MORBID ANGEL's people and each individual promoter. It's not for us to decide. That is why we are glad to announce that promoters want us to come back and headline as soon as possible! That way we'll get to play more songs and present to you SATYRICON in its full splendor. As it looks now, the last half of August is when we will be doing that. We’ll keep you posted.

"Some of the best audiences on this tour were New York, Worcester, Cincinnati, Chicago Heights, Seattle, San Francisco, Albuquerque and Mc Allen. It pleases an old Black Metal heart to see so many Black Metal shirts and fans wearing face paint. We feel now that we have a unique chance to help build a national Black Metal scene in North America. A scene that is actually going to last. It seems that many of you have passed your days of entry-level black metal and that is why it's crucial that we’re there now. That's why I also hope some of our colleagues from Norway that share the same background can make it over there in 2004. Ideally they should come with us when we return in a few months. If their labels back 'em, we're ready. The time is right, real Black Metal is on the rise in America. With the amount of people showing up to see us on this tour, all the shirts we saw from the stage and everyone we talked to every night after the show. ...it's looking very promising to say the least. We're also glad that we could come do this with another legendary band, MORBID ANGEL. I loved watching them night after night and we fit really well with them. It was an honor guys!

"Growing up with MTV 'Headbanger's Ball', it was a great honor to be there and talk about 'Volcano' and the tour. Thanks to them and many others, you all get to see our videos over there now. 'Volcano' has done REALLY well the first month and in addition to all the new fans of Black Metal, the old fans (like the CRAZY Navaho Indians we met a few of on this tour),we would like to thank all the radio stations, big and small that support us, the mags — from Revolver to the small webzines, the StreetwiseSATYRICON team, the label and the PR people, the agent, everyone...IT HAS ONLY BEGUN!"