Sven “Silenoz” Kopperud, the founding guitarist of Norwegian symphonic black metal pioneers Dimmu Borgir, has provided new insights into the band’s creative philosophy ahead of their upcoming studio album, Grand Serpent Rising. Set for release on May 22 via Nuclear Blast Records, the record serves as the long-awaited follow-up to 2018’s Eonian.
In a recent conversation with “Jai That Aussie Metal Guy“, Silenoz emphasized that the band deliberately avoids pre-determined musical directions during the early stages of songwriting. Instead, the identity of a new project emerges organically from the music itself.
“ I think when we start writing a new Dimmu album and Dimmu songs, we don’t really particularly decide what direction it’s supposed to take because we don’t know that. That comes after the three, four, five songs, maybe. Then you see things a bit more clear,” Silenoz explained. “But the basic line is always trying to come up with something that we all enjoy listening to ourselves, basically. It’s that simple, really. And just take it from there. Yeah, there’s basically no recipe. If we have made a fast or aggressive song, we don’t sit down [and go], ‘Oh, we have to make a slower one, [a more] epic [one] now.’ It’s just whatever comes to the table, and we stir the pot and see what comes out of it. So there’s no, really, recipe.”
The guitarist also discussed the evolution of the band’s signature symphonic sound. While Grand Serpent Rising retains the epic scope of their previous work, Silenoz noted that the dynamics have been heightened to create a darker and more guitar-focused atmosphere.
“I think maybe the dynamics are are a bit more heightened, in the sense that if we have a more guitar-driven track, we let that speak in the forefront. And then if there’s a song that has more epic or majestic cinematic aspects, we let that shine through there. So you focus on certain things through the songs,” he said.
Silenoz attributed the success of these arrangements to a meticulous mixing process, which ensures that every layer—from melody to disharmony—serves the intended atmosphere.
“But I think everything comes down to the mix, once you’re mixing the album, because there’s so many facets, so many different layers here and there that we feel need attention. And we can talk only about, like, two, three seconds of a part or two minutes of a part. It doesn’t really matter. So the mixing needs to be dynamically appropriate towards whatever part it is… You want the ups and downs and the sweet and sour and the bitter and whatever else you can fit in there. And that’s what we have done ever since the beginning. You can see that through the whole catalog, that we include everything. And we have melody, we have disharmony, we have what we feel is important to achieve the atmosphere that we’re after,” he added.
Reflecting on the eight-year gap between albums, the guitarist maintained that the band prioritizes artistic integrity over commercial convenience. He explicitly rejected the idea of retreading old ground simply to please the market.
“So, I’m really, really proud of this new album. And like you mentioned earlier, it takes a while before we do a new album, and I think that’s important in many ways because we could probably have done Enthrone Darkness Triumphant Part Two in a couple of years. But in my eyes, that would be the easy way out, and we have never taken the easy way out. We have never compromised. We have always followed our own lead, so to speak,” he concluded.
The upcoming record marks the group’s first full-length effort in eight years, following 2018’s Eonian. It also represents a new chapter for the band’s lineup, acting as their first album without longtime guitarist Galder, who exited the group in August 2024. He was officially replaced in 2025 by guitarist Kjell Åge “Damage” Karlsen, who made his live debut with the band at the Tons of Rock festival in Oslo last June.
During a recent appearance on “KillerTube“, Silenoz detailed the extensive gap between releases. He explained how the album’s thematic focus on serpent imagery, specifically the concept of shedding skin and renewal, directly mirrors the band’s creative struggles and sacrifices over the past decade.
“We’ve had to shed quite a lot, as usual, maybe more than previously. But it’s all a good thing. I feel like great things shouldn’t be easily achieved. It should include a lot of sacrifice, and that’s what we feel like we have done with this record. And it just sucks that it took us eight years to have it out. But there you go. I’d rather have quality over quantity any day. So, whenever we feel ready to release it upon the world, that’s when we do it,” Silenoz said at the time.
Preparing the material for the new album required heavy editing to trim the excess from their complex arrangements. The guitarist acknowledged that leaving strong musical ideas on the cutting room floor is a difficult but necessary requirement of their songwriting process.
“It can be challenging. It’s like if you have worked on a musical part for like weeks and months and it doesn’t find it way into a song for whatever reason, and it’s still a great piece of music that doesn’t make it to the album — it happens more than once,” he continued. “And it’s part of being an artist. You have to write for what’s best for the songs. You cannot force things in there just to have a piece of the pie extra. That doesn’t work for the overall picture. So, I think we’ve gotten a lot better doing it the way we do it on this album, the last few times, because, yeah, it just feels the flow is there a bit more, I think, and we try not to analyze it to death. I think that’s also very important, that you do spontaneous things and you take things as they come.”
He further noted that Dimmu Borgir intentionally blocks out external pressures and expectations to protect the integrity of their music, keeping their motivations strictly artistic rather than commercial.
“If you do something and you don’t expect a reward for it, that’s usually when the great things come,” Silenoz concluded. “If you try and force things to you, then that’s just going to go further away then. Obviously, we don’t mind the ‘thumbs up’ and people coming to our shows — this is what we do for a living — but we would still do it in whatever level we would be at, ’cause it’s part of you. And if we did it for other reasons, we would have an album out every year.”
Grand Serpent Rising Track Listing:
- “Tridentium”
- “Ascent”
- “The Qryptfarer”
- “As Seen in the Unseen”
- “Ulvgjeld & Blodsodel”
- “Repository of Divine Transmutation”
- “Slik Minnes en Alkymist”
- “Phantom of the Nemesis”
- “The Exonerated”
- “Recognizant”
- “At the Precipice of Convergence”
- “Shadows of a Thousand Perceptions”
- “Gjǫll”
In support of the new material, Dimmu Borgir will launch a major North American tour late this summer. The trek marks the band’s first run in the territory since 2018 and will feature support from Hypocrisy, Suffocation, and Hulder.
Following their time in the United States and Canada, the band will return to Europe in October for a massive co-headlining run dubbed the “In League With Satan” tour alongside Polish extreme metal act Behemoth. Swedish black metal veterans Dark Funeral will join as special guests for the European leg. The tour concludes with a standalone routing in Oslo featuring a different support package of Satyricon and Enslaved.
Dimmu Borgir 2026 North American Tour Dates (with Hypocrisy, Suffocation, and Hulder):
- 07 Aug – New York, NY – Palladium Times Square
- 08 Aug – Worcester, MA – The Palladium
- 10 Aug – Toronto, ON – History
- 13 Aug – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre
- 14 Aug – Chicago, IL – The Vic Theatre
- 15 Aug – Minneapolis, MN – The Fillmore
- 18 Aug – Denver, CO – The Mission Ballroom
- 21 Aug – San Francisco, CA – The Warfield
- 23 Aug – Los Angeles, CA – The Novo
Dimmu Borgir and Behemoth 2026 “In League With Satan” European Tour Dates (with Dark Funeral):
- 09 Oct – Zurich, Switzerland – Halle 622
- 10 Oct – Zwickau, Germany – Sparkassen-Arena Zwickau
- 11 Oct – Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg – Rockhal
- 13 Oct – Milan, Italy – Alcatraz
- 14 Oct – Munich, Germany – Zenith
- 16 Oct – Paris, France – Zenith
- 18 Oct – Den Bosch, Netherlands – Mainstage
- 20 Oct – Cologne, Germany – Palladium
- 22 Oct – Hamburg, Germany – Inselpark Arena
- 23 Oct – Berlin, Germany – Columbiahalle
- 24 Oct – Brno, Czech Republic – Hala Vodova
- 27 Oct – Helsinki, Finland – Ice Hall
- 29 Oct – Stockholm, Sweden – B-K
- 30 Oct – Copenhagen, Denmark – K.B. Hallen
Dimmu Borgir Oslo Date (with Satyricon and Enslaved):
- 31 Oct – Oslo, Norway – Oslo Spektrum Arena
