All about the new album, the volcanos in Iceland and the End of the world

'Abrahadabra' -В the long-awaited new studio recordВ by the Kings of Norwegian black metal will be officially out on 24 SeptemberВ through Nuclear Blast/Wizard.В 

This is a great occasion to talk with Dimmu guitaristВ Silenoz.

an interview conducted by Vassil Varbanov

HEY SILENOZ, DO YOU BELIEVE THE END OF THE WORLD WILL HAPPEN IN 2012?
Aaah, that’s a good question.  I haven’t thought too much about it. And I think it would be quite naïve to think it would end just like that. At least it won’t end in one day.

YEAH, BUT 2012 CONSISTS OF 366 DAYS,  SO PLENTY OF TIME TO LOOSE THIS PARTICULAR FORM OF LIFE WE’VE BEEN TRHOUGH….
Well, yeah, hahaha.

SO IT COULD HAPPEN AND THIS COULD BE ONE OF YOUR LAST INTERVIEWS EVER, SO PLEASE TRY TO BE COMPLETELY HONEST WITH US…
I will!

TELL US MORE ABOUT THIS LITTLE SOAP OPERA THAT HAPPENED THESE DAYS WITH  SNOWY SHOW OF THERION  – GETTIN’ IN THE BAND AND THEN LEAVING THE DAY AFTER….
Well, that’s something you’d better ask him because we had never announced anything so it was kind of out of our hands and…what can I say? Seems like we have a curse.

BUT WAS HE MENTIONED TO BE PART OF YOUR BAND?
Oh, there are several guest musicians playing on the new record and we decided early on that we didn’t want to go out officially  announcing anything because it wouldn’t be fair towards whoever else plays on the album, I mean we have a full orchestra and we have a full choir. Are we going to announce every person there as well?

A FULL ORCHESTRA SHOULD HAVE SEVERAL PEOPLE, RIGHT?
At least over one hundred. We want to focus on the music  and the album is a whole thing. We want the fans also to focus on this as a one thing. That’s why we didn’t  make any announcements and we won’t make any announcements.

WELL, TALKING ABOUT THE MUSIC, AS YOUR RECORD LABEL TOOK GREAT PRECAUTIONS FOR THE ALBUM NOT TO LEAK ON THE INTERNET AND THERE WERE NO PROMOS, WE STILL DIDN”T HAVE THE CHANCE TO LISTEN TO IT…
Ha ha ha ha..

IS THERE A CHANCE YOU COULD POSSIBLY DESCRIBE IT IN FIVE WORDS.
I would say in one word – it’s the most complete album we’ve done to date. It has so many different elements and a lot of variations. Every song on the new album could stand on its own basically and you could play it to someone and they will immediately know it’s DIMMU BORGIR.

Every song has a Dimmu identity but they are all different from each other as well, so it’s like a journey from one starting point to a finish point. It takes a lot more than just one listen to digest the whole thing.

THAT’S GREAT. THANK YOU FOR NOT BEING LINKIN PARK …
Ha ha ha…

WE DON’T HAVE THE ALBUM YET, BUT AT LEAST WE DO HAVE THE TRACK LISTING AND I CAN SEE THAT THE ALBUM OPENS WITH 'XIBIR' AND IT'S LENGTH - 2:50, TELLS ME IT SHOULD BE A KIND OF AN INTRO?
‘Xibir’ is an introduction to the whole album that kind of sets the mood, but it might have ended up like a midtro.  Like in the middle of the album.

BUT YOU CAN STILL RECOGNIZE IT’S DIMMU?
Yes , for sure. I would say so. Even if it’s an instrumental piece, it’s still very recognizable.

I REMEMBER THAT YOU GUYS HAVE WORKED IN THE PAST WITH SOME VERY IMPORTANT ORCHESTRAS AND A COUPLE OF MINUTES AGO YOU SAID THAT THIS TIME YOU DO HAVE AN ORCHESTRA AGAIN, AND A CHOIR. TELL US MORE ABOUT IT OR IS IT A SECRET?
No, it’s not a secret.  We used the Norwegian broadcast orchestra also known as KORK and we used the Schola Cantorum choir….

BOTH ARE FROM NORWAY, RIGHT?
Yeah. It’s been the most professional recording I’ve ever witnessed by any human being. They did their parts in three days and it sounded absolutely phenomenal ..

WHAT A SHAME THE WORLD IS GOING TO END IN A YEAR AND A HALF…
You seem so negative about it…

I MEAN, YOU SHOULD PUT THE ALBUM IN A CAPSULA IN ORDER TO BE DISCOVERED SOMEWHERE BY OTHER CIVILIZATIONS AS A DISPLAY OF HUMAN ACHIEVEMENTS…
The master tape!

THE FIRST HALF OF 2010 WAS MARKED BY THE ERUPTION OF THIS VOLCANO IN ICELAND THAT FUCKED UP THE TRAFFIC IN THE WHOLE WORLD FOR MONTHS. AND DURING THE WHOLE PERIOD IT WAS ON THE NEWS, I WAS THINKING OF DIMMU BORGIR…

WE KNOW THAT DIMMUBORGIR IS A PLACE IN ICELAND AS WELL… ARE YOU HAPPY THAT YOU CHOSE TO NAME THE BAND AFTER THIS? EASIER TO PRONOUNCE …BECAUSE YOU COULD HAVE NAMED IT EYJAFJALLAJOKULL?
The place in Dimmuborgir has a lot of myths and stories connected to it – both real and unreal. We feel the same about our band sometimes – we feel that we are cursed. But let’s hope no other volcanos will erupt on Iceland any time soon because last time it happened, it was active for two years and that kind of made it difficult for aviation.

DID EYJAFJALLAJOKULL AFFECT YOUR BAND SCHEDULE SOMEHOW?
No, but it could have done pretty easily. I remember our sound engineer that helped  us record the guitars for the album – he had to stay at my house for another extra couple of days, as his flight was delayed.

Imagine if we were on our way to the States or somewhere like that – then we would be in trouble.

WAS THE GUY DRINKING LIKE A PIG?
Actually, we did drink a lot, yeah.

CAN YOU, YOURSELF, PRONOUNCE THIS BLOODY NAME - EYJAFJALLAJOKULL?
Well…

THAT’S WHY I SAID YOU MADE A GOOD CHOICE TO NAME YOUR BAND DIMMU BORGIR.
But Dimmu Borgir is still hard to pronounce and obviously if we wanted to go for a more commercial approach,В  we would definitely choose something else.

YEAH, YOU GUYS UP THERE IN NORWAY GO TO BOTH EXTREMES – EASY BAND NAMES LIKE A-HA ON THE ONE HAND AND DIMMU BORGIR ON THE OTHER…
Yeah…

LET’S GO BACK TO THE ALBUM – I CAN FEEL THAT YOU ARE VERY PROUD OF IT…
Is it that obvious?

OH YES. BUT AT THE SAME TIME WE KNOW SHAGRATH HAS HIS SIDE PROJECT – CHROME DIVISION, DO YOU HAVE YOUR OWN THING YOURSELF?
Yeah, I have a mistress as well and it’s called INSIDIOUS DISEASE. It’s a band I put together in 2004 actually and released the debut album in July this year through Century Media.

It’s called ‘Shadowcast’ and its pretty much back-to-basics. Old school type death metal… whatever you want to call it...but it has a nice groove and nice attitude, so if people are tired and bored of the typical modern sounding bands these days, they should check it out.

SO YOU GIVE IT ALL – YOU GIVE A MAJESTIC, MODERN SOUND WITH THE NEW DIMMU AND TO THOSE WHO  ARE TIRED OF MODERN SOUNDS – YOU GO BACK TO THE ROOTS WITH INSIDIOUS…
Yeah,В  you got to cover all grounds, you know ha ha ha.В 

LAST YEAR DIMMU BORGIR PLAYED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN BULGARIA …DO YOU HAVE ANY MEMORIES FROM THAT ONE?
I have very strong memories from playing Bulgaria. The show itself was very good, the audience was supreme, I would say.В  We had such a good time and I also experienced quite profound personal things as well which I am not going to reveal, but it was a time that I will remember for the rest of my life.

I CAN HEAR YOU. YOU GOT A TREMENDOUS BLOW JOB IN KAVARNA.
No, it wasn’t anything sexual.

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