Norwegian Black Metaler’s Dimmu Borgir are by far my favorite band to have emerged from the depths of this dark and twisted musical genre. Their incredible abilities as thoroughly skilled musicians has utterly amazed me in recent years and when I got word that they were to re-record their now legendary masterpiece Stormblast in an attempt to provide a better production value and breath new life into an album that is greatly deserving of praise to begin with, needless to say I was overwhelmed with excitement. As you’re reading this you’re probably thinking to yourself that I am a diehard fan who has been loyal to the band for many years, the truth however is that when Dimmu Borgir first debuted on the scene I thought of them as a joke. Much the way Slipknot is viewed these days as being nothing more than a gimmick. I just couldn’t get past the corpse paint an overtly satanic imagery (mind you I was not up on any portion of the Black Metal genre at this point) and wrote them off without a second thought. Well as we all grow and mature in life and learn to be more open mined and not so judgmental I eventually found myself listening to the powerful and absolutely astonishing Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia I couldn’t believe that a band this good had managed to get past me all these years. The fault was all mine and I regret not giving them the benefit of the doubt when I first heard of them. The follow up release 2004’s Death Cult Armageddon once again elevated the band to new heights and saw them serve a stint with the annual Ozzfest as a main stage act. The guys also broke the 100,000 sales mark with Death Cult making them one of the most successful Black Metal bands to ever play on American soil. As most artist are never completely satisfied with their work and strive to further themselves in future works it is not very often that a band will decide to improve upon an already existing work but that is exactly what Dimmu Borgir have done and have ultimately succeeded in their endeavor. I was recently privileged enough to speak with founding guitarist Silinoz in regard to the bands decision to re-record the Stormblast album as opposed to beginning work on a new CD. I also took the opportunity to get his take on the current state of Black Metal it’s rise in popularity and the various concerns and controversies it has sustained.

OT: So hey man, are you doing alright?

Silinoz: Yeah I guess I am. But I’ve been working on our music all day so I’m kind of…

OT: Kind of burnt out?

Silinoz: My head is pretty empty.

OT: Yeah I can sympathize as I usually don’t go to bed until like 3 o’clock in the morning myself so I’m always up late. Anyway, you’ve got the new CD coming out, the re-recorded Stormblast. I’ve actually managed to hear it once. They’re sending me a copy but I was down at the Nuclear Blast office and they played it for me down there.

Silinoz: Alright, cool.

OT: I was blown away man, the quality’s just outstanding.

Silinoz: Yeah I think the song writing still has some kind of potential even today even though this isn’t a brand new album; at least with this kind of production. I guess that’s the kind of production that we were looking for the first time but we failed miserably. That’s why we have been waiting for all these years to be able to re-record once the original contract was up.

OT: Right on. Yeah, I mean that was gonna be my next question: What led to your decision to completely rerecord the album Stormblast as opposed to beginning work on new material?

Silinoz: Basically the sound and production was not up to what we expected at that time. I mean we were still pretty young back in ’95 but we had hoped for more than that kind of sound that we got. And everything was rushed, too, in the studio back then so it was good to finally be able to redo it all and get it out of our system, basically. It’s bad when a band can’t even listen to their own albums, you know?

OT: Absolutely. So is this something you guys have been thinking about doing for quite some time then?

Silinoz: Yeah, for several years actually. But I mean it wouldn’t be possible until the contract time was up and usually that’s ten years by the time the contract’s done.

OT: So do you believe, I mean obviously a lot of people were expecting a new CD of new material as opposed to something that was old and you mentioned it would still be relevant today. Do you think people will be happy with what you’ve put out?

Silinoz: I think so. I mean I’m sure there’s going to be of course the usual naysayers that are, ‘They’re just doing this to get more money.’ And, ‘They don’t have enough good material on their own at this time so they have to do something else.’ And of course that’s just pure bullshit but we basically just did this for ourselves and also for the fans that we have gained on the last couple of albums that haven’t been able to get the original in the stores because it’s really had bad distribution and always hard to find. So with this we thought that we put those together and that’s a totally valid reason to re-release it.

OT: Awesome! So you brought Peter Tägtgren in as producer and I mean, the guy’s extraordinary in the studio, I just love all of his work. Did he bring anything new to the table that you guys didn’t expect?

Silinoz: Ah, not really because we knew exactly what we were looking for and that’s also one of the reasons why we went back to Peter because he did such a great job on our Enthrone Darkness Triumphant album which was the successor to Stormblast back in the day. So we thought that with going back to Peter and getting the sound that we were looking for we would show all the people that thought we changed between Stormblast and Enthrone Darkness Triumphant that’s just something people fooled themselves into believing. It was basically the sound of production error that was the big difference not musically and not the way we were writing songs at the time; so I think we have proven that. And also I’ve heard a lot of people already say that actually Stormblast the re-recording sounds very similar in many ways like Enthrone Darkness Triumphant which is good to hear ‘cause that means they have seen the whole idea.

OT: Right, absolutely. You also brought Hellhammer onboard to play drums on this project. How was it working with him?

Silinoz: It went really smooth. We had just a few days of rehearsals first and then went to the studio. He did his drums really quick, everything ran really smooth - and that goes for everything - in the studio; guitars, vocals and bass too. Which me and Shaggy did between us, we thought it wasn’t any point to bringing the whole current band into the studio when we knew exactly what we were going to do in the studio anyway. And for Shaggy and me it was just basically a formality to re-record the album, we just needed some help from Hellhammer to do the drums and our keyboard player to do the keyboards so it went pretty quick too. Although we worked like fifteen hour shifts and Peter is like a maniac too, we shared kind of the same work ethic so it went really smooth; although it was really hard work at the time but it was enjoyable.

OT: Very cool. So were the rest of the guys a little upset that they didn’t get to be in the studio or were they just happy to have the time off?

Silinoz: Yeah I think they were pretty happy to have the time off. They were totally fine with us doing the stuff on our own so that wasn’t any problem there.

OT: So you’re very happy with the end result I take it?

Silinoz: Yeah finally I can listen to it myself now. (Laughing)

OT: Awesome.

Silinoz: And that wasn’t the case earlier and I think that was one of the reasons why we haven’t been playing too many songs off this album live in the past because when a band can’t even listen to their own records then there’s something wrong. So it’s good to just finally sit back and value it and listen to it the same way as many fans do with our original album and they probably think that, ‘Oh they shouldn’t have re-recorded it.’ But to me there’s no rule that says that you cannot enjoy both and if they don’t like the new one they will always have the original one so there’s nothing you can do with those people.

OT: Absolutely. Well I’m diggin’ on it dude, I can’t wait to get my copy.

Silinoz: That’s good, that’s good. I mean there’s two bonus tracks on there too and that’s basically two new ones. The first one is “Sorgens Kammer Part II” which is also the video song too, that’s basically just all the riffs that we put together this year so that’s a new song to the band as well. But the second bonus track is older than the first album even so that was forgotten about back in the day, so we found it with some other unreleased songs on some tapes in the archives we had. So we thought it would be cool to just put some bonus stuff on there too and that would make a more complete album you know?

OT: Sure, that’s definitely incentive. The die-hard’s will be, ‘Man I gotta get this just ‘cause it’s got the two extra tracks.’

Silinoz: There is also a bonus DVD that contains our complete set from Ozzfest in 2004, it’s not much but at least there’s some visual stuff going on and the whole CD package is gonna be sold for the price of a regular CD so I think it’s an ok treat for the fans until the next album is out. We tend to use quite a lot of time to write an album; it takes us usually two to three years in between when each album is out.

OT: It’s better that way. It’s not something you want to rush. So this album Stormblast originally came out from a time before your lyrics were in English. Obviously with the increasing interest in Black Metal music, especially here in the States, the album will be released to a much wider audience. Do you believe that they will be able to relate to the CD even though they don’t understand the words?

Silinoz: I think so because the atmosphere and the music is what people hear first anyway. And there’s so many people out there that doesn’t even care about the lyrical content so I’m sure there’s gonna be people that would have no problem to enjoy this album even if the songs are in Norwegian, that’s something I totally expect. But of course we could have done the translation too of the lyrics but for us I think it loses some of the mystique and the atmosphere, at least for foreigners so, yeah, I think it’s cool.

OT: Yeah I was gonna ask if maybe you would offer translations like at least via your website for people.

Silinoz: Yeah I was thinking about doing that and I think some people have done some translations already which are fairly good; there’s always gonna be words that you can’t really translate to English but you just have to take the closest one. One time I went through them and corrected some and probably will work more on the translations if I have the time.

OT: Very cool, very cool. So I was watching the new video just before speaking with you and, to be honest, I’m not sure how much it will be shown here in the States….

Silinoz: (Laughing) Probably not much.

OT: …as it is quite graphic. (Laughing) What motivated you to do this particular video instead of one that might get more airplay?

Silinoz: I think it was something that we wanted to show the record company and everyone else that we don’t want to compromise our art, y’know? It’s supposed to be a promotional thing for the album and that’s why we chose one of the two new bonus tracks because it’s new and fresh to us and also to the fans. And the content of the video is something that the song kind of required; it has an old school atmosphere, the song, and that goes for old school content, so to speak. So that’s probably gonna be… it’s a bit different from what we do these days but I think the video came out pretty cool. I mean to us it’s not controversial or shocking or anything but I can see it is for the rest of the world. I’m not sure if it’s even gonna be shown on TV in Europe but I’m sure on some metal shows it’s gonna be aired but it’s gonna be difficult for MTV in the States for sure. (Laughing)

OT: (Laughing) Yeah definitely. They’ll get lots of letters on that one for sure.

Silinoz: Yeah, yeah. But I mean we thought that, well compromising what you do is something that’s totally wrong and of course we’re totally against censorship too. There’s always gonna be ugly and bad shit out there and it’s gonna be available for everyone but this is something that’s not real, it’s art so to me it’s more shocking to see people getting shot on the TV news; that’s something that people should notice instead of a video which is art and made up.

OT: Isn’t that interesting? And it’s interesting that you bring that point up because people will watch the news every night and hear about these tragedies…

Silinoz: Yep.

OT: …and not think twice about ‘em.

Silinoz: Nope.

OT: But a video like this that’s completely based on fiction…

Silinoz: Yeah they will say, ‘Oh it’s horrendous, how can they show this?’ Hey it’s a good question.

OT: I totally hear what you’re sayin’ on that and I do agree with you on that, that’s interesting. So the visuals of the video do coincide with what’s being said in the song itself?

Silinoz: Yeah pretty much because it’s about the whole concept of the lyrics and that song is about pain and I guess self-mutilation on a mental state of mind. So to me it’s something that captures that feeling. I wrote the lyrics actually this year earlier so I had something in mind already for the video, if we were gonna choose that song for the video and that’s what we ended up doing. So it came out pretty much what we had in mind.

OT: Right on, very cool. Now with so much of the world striving to unite and put aside their differences, and obviously there’s factions that don’t want to do that, but it seems like the general consensus is that people want to go that route, do you feel you are working against that with the music that you play?

Silinoz: Yeah well there’s time for everything; there’s time for holding hands and there’s time for solitude but we don’t necessarily encourage any of it, we just do our thing and we’re not following any guidelines or rules or anything and I think that’s what made us where we are today, in many ways. We just push the band forward no matter what people might think or do. It’s great to be loathed for something you are, I mean if you’re hated because of your music that means that also you’re dong something great so for us there’s a win-win situation no matter what we do.

OT: Do you feel that when people see the band and the imagery and what you’re saying in your songs, the videos and so forth, that you’re misrepresented, that they’re getting a wrong idea at times?

Silinoz: Well people are always I think, from experience, a lot of people, they tend to misunderstand on purpose ‘cause then that would be the safest thing to do. I’m sure there’s a lot of people that will perceive it totally different from what we do of course and that’s just how it is; it’s something you can’t control even if you wanted to.

OT: Right, right. So what impact do you hope your music will have on society; and what are you trying to accomplish with what you’re saying in your songs?

Silinoz: Nothing in particular, for us it’s just extreme art just like someone else has extreme paintings or stuff like that. I’m satisfied if we, of course, first are happy with ourselves and the music we do and then if there’s people out there in the world that want to listen to it and enjoy listening to it, that’s just the biggest bonus we can get; that’s the only thing that we care about really.

OT: Cool, right on. Now I really enjoyed your part when doing the interviews during the filming of the World Misanthropy DVD when you said that, ‘In order to listen to Dimmu Borgir you don’t have to be a Satanist.’ Do you still feel this way?

Silinoz: Yeah, yeah totally. I think that’s a pretty obvious statement. If I wanted to listen to R&B I don’t necessarily have to be black do I? So it’s the same thing, it’s pretty simple.

OT: Do you feel your music has something to offer to those who don’t necessarily subscribe to your lyrical points of view?

Silinoz: Yeah I think so too because at the end of the day I believe music to be the best form of escapism and even the sickest depraved person just as the most normal Christian guy out there, they still have those needs from time to time. So I think music is a good way to help in that way but it’s not up to me to judge anything anyways so.

OT: Right, right. No I totally hear what you’re saying and I do agree that when it comes to music it’s more or less a neutral place where people can just kind of gather what they need for themselves from it.

Silinoz: Yeah I think music and art, it’s universal, even if we sing in Norwegian on this album, musically it’s the same, it’s something that people will understand no matter what kind of lyrics there are.

OT: Very cool. Now the last time I spoke to you was during your stint with Ozzfest and we discussed the rise in popularity that Black Metal has seen. Do you feel it’s reached its peak and do you fear the commercialization of the genre in any way?

Silinoz: It’s hard to say because many people don’t consider us a Black Metal band anyway so I do consider us a Black Metal band but luckily we are not only that we are so much more. So for us there’s no limits, I don’t see any ending in sight. Of course we could get bigger and even more successful but that’s not out ambition, our goal, for us it’s just to do the best we can with the music and to please ourselves and the fans. So it’s hard to say if we can get bigger, it’s hard to say.

OT: So when people say you guys are Black Metal, do you feel that you’re being boxed in, do you try to go against that?

Silinoz: I don’t think so, we always felt like we were some kind of outsider and an underdog especially in the Norwegian scene and that’s good, that’s a position that we want to maintain and that’s where the challenge is, if there is any, so that’s just how we’re gonna go about it in the future I’m sure.

OT: Very cool, very cool. So do you plan on doing any touring for this CD before beginning work on the next album?

Silinoz: No, not any full touring, I’m sure we’re gonna do a handful of festivals this summer but mainly we’re just gonna concentrate on writing the next album. We’re pretty much started with a few songs already and we’re very excited about how it is going so far. It’s just hard to say when we will be ready for the studio so for now we’re just gonna take time as it comes and we’re not gonna stress or anything. But we chose not to do too much touring for this album because it would take away too much attention from writing the next one.

OT: Right, right. Yeah I hear what you’re sayin’ on that. I know there are a lot of fans that are just dying; the live experience is what it’s all about in a lot of ways.

Silinoz: Yeah I’m that kind of person too, I like to play live, I like to travel around and even play new places that we haven’t been yet. It’s just that everyone in the band doesn’t share the same opinion so we have to come to a compromise on that part. I understand that we’re not a band that can be touring for like eight months straight but there’s a load of fans out there that want to see us and there’s a load of places we haven’t been yet either so there’s still a lot of stuff to do.

OT: Awesome! I thank you so much for your time today Silinoz.

Silinoz: No problem man.

OT: And man I’m glad you guys are doin’ what you’re doin’, I mean in spite of whatever attacks you may come under, I definitely enjoy the music, dude.

Silinoz: Cool, thank you.

OT: I look forward to seeing you guys play when you do make it back over this way.

Silinoz: Yeah I’m sure we’re gonna do, at least in 2007, we’re gonna do some more extensive touring in the States. And maybe even this year, it all depends on the visa situation; we need to know up front like five to six months ‘cause it takes a lot of time to get the papers sorted. But yeah it all depends; we’re open to anything really. It’s just we haven’t been playing live for awhile and last year we only had a few festivals so me, personally, would like to go out and play as soon as possible really but everyone of the band doesn’t share the same opinion.

OT: Right, right no. Well cool dude, thanks so much and we’ll talk to you again.

Silinoz: No problem.

OT: Have a good one.

Silinoz: You too, man.

OT: Ok, ‘bye.

Silinoz: See ya.