Spiritual Star Metallers
(This interview is provided by Thomas Bonnicel )

Wow, this interview wasn’t easy to make at all!! Firstly, it was not that easy to recognise the Dimmu guys without make-up in the Wacken backstage area, and secondly, it’s not easy at all to make them talk ! I had first met Nicholas and Silenoz, who didn’t really look like they wanted to do the interview, so I tried with Shagrath and Mustis... But these guys are such fucking Rock Stars, that they didn’t even answer me!! But finally, Claudia from Nuclear Blast fixed it up, and I talked with Silenoz. He didn’t look very happy at first, but once the interview began and I promised him to make it short, everything went allright. So, thanks a lot to Nuclear Blast, Claudia and Silenoz!! But a big FUCK OFF goes to Shagrath and Mustis!! These two guys are true DICKHEADS ! !

How do you feel right here in Wacken , playing on a huge stage?

Well, I think it’s basically as it is always with festivals as big as these. We have played here two years ago, and that was probably our first big festival, except for Dynamo. So, it’s cool to play festivals like these, and we can have the chance to play in night-time, because the visual effects work better, so I’m looking forward to playing tonight.

There have been some line-up changes in Dimmu, so how is it going now with Nicholas ?

It’s working out great, he’s like a kind of a drum machine ! And I don’t know the reasons for all the line-up changes, but it’s basically because we need people that can be there all the time and are 100% in the band, and that’s always hard to find. And since we got success pretty fast, everyone is not prepared to put 100% into it straight away, so that’s probably why we change people all the time. But now, the line-up works really fine, so...

And who is your new bass player ?

Simens from Borknagar. He did also the clean vocals in the studio, so he now plays the bass also.

‘Devil’s path’ has just been rereleased as a Split CD with Old Man’s Child. What do you think about it ?

I think that when it was first released by Hot Records, it was like, not many people got hold of it, and this is kind of a history to the band, before we got known in the media and the press. So, I think it’s a cool thing that people who are into our new albums can get a chance to check out what we did before. I’m really happy with this MCD.

And now, it’s well distributed, by Hammerheart Records, so...

Yes, they’re doing a great job, it has sold quite a lot already.

About sales, how is it going for ‘Spriritual Black Dimensions’ ?

I have no idea, I haven’t asked. I heard the first press was over 100000, but I’m not sure. I don’t personnally care so much about the sales, although I need money to live, you know. If we sold 20000 or 150000, it wouldn’t matter that much, because we would still do the same thing, so...

For the promotion, do you plan to make another video-clip for the album ?

We already did one video-clip for ‘Arcane Lifeforce Mysteria’ at the release party, which has been shown on televison, but I don’t think it is on video yet, so maybe it will be released later. I think there are also some talks about a home-video. It would come out late this year or at the beginning of next year.

Still about video, you played in a famous French TV show, ‘Nulle Part Ailleurs’. How did you feel there ?

I think it was a very good opportunity to us to play the music and show something new to the listeners. But it was pretty strange, because we did the most brutal song we had on the album, and it lasted only 3 minutes. And I think that a lot of people got to see the show, so that’s good.

‘Arcane Lifeforce Mysteria’, the last track of the album, has a Pain/Fear Factory feeling...How do you feel about that ? Do you think you are going to evolve in this direction ?

No, not really. Basically, when we wrote that song, it was just kind of jamming in rehearsal, and we thought it sounded cool. We put new and different things in that specific song, but I think that the new album won’t be in that direction. The new album will also be different, more varied than the last albums. But I think that’s a pretty cool song, so...

Well, you know there’s a controversy between True Black Metal and Cradle Of Filth/Dimmu Borgir. What’s your position concerning that ?

I really don’t care. People should know that it’s not a competition of selling albums. It’s not about money either, because if it was about money, then we would play Pop music outside of the band and make money from that. As long as you do what you believe in, and follow your own self, that means a lot more that people shouting all the time about being true or not true. Being true is believing in what you do yourself, that’s what is being true. If other people say something, that’s stupid, you have to think for yourself ! I really don’t see that as a discussion, it’s too stupid. I think that we’re getting compared to Cradle Of Filth all the time, I don’t see the reason why. It’s not like we are rivals, or anything. We do our own thing !

Would you have one last word for all the people who are going to read this interview ?

We happen to see all the fans at gigs, it means a lot for us to see their points of view !