SILENOZ On DIMMU BORGIR's Longevity: 'We Love What We Do, And We're Meant To Do This'

In a interview with Łukasz Dunaj of Noise Magazine at this year's Mystic Festival in Gdańsk, Poland, which took place from June 3 to 6, 2026, guitarist Sven "Silenoz" Kopperud of Norwegian symphonic black metallers DIMMU BORGIR was asked to name the "most difficult moment" in the the band's history so far. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Obviously, I think every band out there wants to try and avoid changing lineup. But sometimes it has to be done to basically save the rest of the band. And I can say that since the beginning, both Shagrath [vocalist Stian Tomt Thoresen] and myself, we have had this real ownership to the band and the brand, and we've been there since the beginning. And we don't always agree, but we agree more than we disagree. And I think us running the band with that ownership feeling has maybe sometimes been way more than for other people involved, and that's understandable 'cause everybody cannot feel the same. And I think that's one of the challenging parts, difficult parts. But we're still here, and we have a great team with us. And there's a reason why we're here still."

Asked if DIMMU BORGIR has ever been on the verge of splitting up or collapsing, Silenoz said: "Um, not really. We've been on the verge of probably hitting each other and fights and stuff, but that's normal, I think. After so many years, there's bound to be some disagreements. But I think what dials us back into the middle is that we love what we do, and we're meant to do this. And we have this conviction that, yeah, we basically have this immortal feeling still, invincible feeling that we had back in the beginning."

After Dunaj noted that DIMMU BORGIR's 2007 album "In Sorte Diaboli" served as a turning point for the band in terms of commercial success, with each preceding LP being a bigger success than the previous one, Silenoz said: "Well, we had a major clash and a major lineup change after 'In Sorte'. And, obviously, you feel like you have to kind of start [from] scratch. The only alternative is to give up, which is not an alternative for us. So we have to just find a way to go about it, and we do it as best as we can. And sometimes you don't hit 10, sometimes you hit seven or six, and that's normal. But that only makes you more hungry to get back up on top, in a way. And, obviously, this is gonna sound cocky probably, but we do this for ourselves first, and if we like what we do, there's gotta be someone out there that's also gonna like it. Some are gonna hate it, but a lot of people gonna like it as well, and if we do the right thing for us, then it's gonna be the right thing for a lot of other people."

Silenoz added: "Like I said, giving up or giving in has never really been there for us, 'cause we don't have a plan B. We never had a plan B, and I think that's been one of the keys to why we're still here, to not have something to fall back on if something doesn't work out. Because we work towards a point where it has to work out. And sometimes, you don't fail, but you don't hit 10, as I said. But that goes along with every artist — every painter, every writer, author, filmmaker, whatever. It's the dynamics."

On the topic of the "artistic chemistry" between him and Shagrath, Silenoz said: "I don't think there is any secret apart from that we just… This is what we're supposed to do. And if we have a hurdle, if we have a disagreement, we attack it as best as we can. Sometimes that means maybe communicating not for a couple of weeks. But I think that's very normal. And then someone picks up the phone, and then we talk like nothing has happened, and then we remember why we're still here, and we kind of pat each other on the back, and we move on."

Asked if he and Shagrath have ever "fundamentally disagreed in the past", Silenoz said: "Yeah, I think we have some different opinions on certain subjects, but I think, at the end of the day, we all want what's best for everybody involved. We want what's best for the band, what's best for the song, what's best for each member. And let's face it, if you're in a band or in a group of people and you have something together, democracy only works up to a certain point…

"There are easy decisions to be made, and that's when everybody wants to take credit," Silenoz explained. "But if there are difficult and challenging decisions that have to be made, then it's Shagrath and me that has to do that. And, yeah, sometimes we don't agree, but we usually come to a certain compromise if there's a case where we disagree."

DIMMU BORGIR recently embarked on a North American tour. Support on the 10-date trek is coming from SUFFOCATION and HULDER. The tour kicked off on August 7 at the Palladium Times Square in in New York City, and will wrap up on August 23 at The Novo in Los Angeles, California.

DIMMU BORGIR is touring in support of its new album, "Grand Serpent Rising", which arrived on May 22 via Nuclear Blast Records.

"Grand Serpent Rising" was recorded in Gothenburg with acclaimed producer Fredrik Nordström, whose legacy with the band includes landmark releases "Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia" and "Death Cult Armageddon".

In October 2026, two of the most influential forces in extreme metal join together for a monumental live assault: DIMMU BORGIR and BEHEMOTH will embark on the "In League With Satan" co-headline tour, storming across Europe. As special guests, the Swedish black metal icons DARK FUNERAL will add even more ferocity to an already devastating lineup.

In June 2025, 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, 2025 at the Tons Of Rock festival in Oslo, Norway.

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

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.