Silenoz (born Sven Atle Kopperud, 1 March 1977) is a Norwegian guitarist who is a founding member, along with Shagrath and Tjodalv, of the

symphonic black metal Symphonic black metal is a subgenre of black metal that emerged in the 1990s and incorporates symphonic and orchestral elements. History One of the earliest forerunners in what would come to be the sound of symphonic metal was Celtic Frost ...

band

Dimmu Borgir Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic lang ...

, of which he is the primary songwriter. He is also guitarist for the

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

supergroup Insidious Disease.

Biography

Silenoz has been Dimmu Borgir's guitarist since they started. He also composes and writes lyrics for most of the band's songs. He contributed vocals (on '' Stormblåst'', its re-recording, and ''

Godless Savage Garden ''Godless Savage Garden'' is the first compilation album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released in 1998 by Nuclear Blast and re-released on 3 October 2006 with 2 bonus tracks. Two of the five studio tracks on th ...

'') and bass (on '' Stormblåst MMV''). He also sang lead vocals on their debut album '' For All Tid''. At first, he was known only as Erkekjetter Silenoz (''Arch-Heretic Silenoz'' in Norwegian). Another band Silenoz, or "Ed Damnator" as he was called, played rhythm guitar and occasional bass in the Norwegian

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

band Nocturnal Breed. Before becoming a musician, Silenoz used to work in a kindergarten. Silenoz has written the majority of

's lyrics and also based the songs in the album '' In Sorte Diaboli'' on a narrative of his composition. Silenoz was featured as a voice actor in the

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

cartoon ''

Metalocalypse ''Metalocalypse'' is an American Musical film, musical adult animated television series created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha for Adult Swim. It premiered on August 6, 2006. The television program centers on the larger-than-life melodic deat ...

''. This episode kicked off the second season of the popular show and debuted on Adult Swim Fix on Friday 21 September 2007. Silenoz originally played bass, but he 'felt limited by only four strings'. He has played guitar since 1991, saying that he was inspired to play the guitar by

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...

, Randy Rhoads and

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex V ...

– in his words 'Real guitar players'. For many years as guitarist in Dimmu Borgir, Silenoz appeared with long hair. However, as of 2012 he has appeared with a shaven head whilst maintaining a beard and various piercings.

Stage name

Silenoz explained in an interview that his stage-name is derived from an alternative Latinised spelling of the Greek "

Silenus In Greek mythology, Silenus (; , ) was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus. He is typically older than the satyrs of the Dionysian retinue ('' thiasos''), and sometimes considerably older, in which case he may be referred to as a Pa ...

," the name of a satyr-like being in

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

who was a tutor to the wine god

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

, and was said to possess special knowledge and the power of prophecy while intoxicated. In the early days of the band, he used as stage name Erkekjetter Silenoz (''erkekjetter'' being Norwegian for "arch heretic"), having it shortened later to Silenoz.

Equipment

* ESP Okkultist Custom V guitars (Maroon & Natural Finishes) * ESP SV Series guitars * ESP Viper guitar *

Jackson Guitars Jackson is a brand of guitars sold by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Jackson was originally an independent manufacturer of electric guitars and electric bass guitars named after its founder, the American luthier Grover Jackson. Th ...

(formerly) *

Seymour Duncan Seymour Duncan is an American company best known for manufacturing guitar and Bass (guitar), bass Pickup (music technology), pickups. They also manufacture effects pedals which are designed and assembled in United States. Guitarist and luthier ...

pickups (formerly) * EMG Pickups (formerly) * Fishman Fluence pickups * Marshall amplifiers (formerly) *

Mesa Boogie Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a ...

amplifiers (formerly) *ENGL amplifiers (formerly) * Blackstar amplifiers (formerly) *Kemper Amps Profiler *MLC Guitar Electronics amplifiers and pedals *MLC Guitar Electronics signature S_bzero 93 amplifier * Boss guitar

effects Effect may refer to: * A result or change of something ** List of effects ** Cause and effect, an idiom describing causality Pharmacy and pharmacology * Drug effect, a change resulting from the administration of a drug ** Therapeutic effect, ...

*Dean Markley – Blue Steel guitar strings * Dunlop Tortex picks *

Shure Shure Inc. is an audio products corporation headquartered in the USA. It was founded by Sidney N. Shure in Chicago, Illinois, in 1925 as a supplier of radio parts kits. The company became a manufacturer of consumer and professional audio-electr ...

wire-less systems

Videography

* ''Behind the Player: Dimmu Borgir'' (DVD, 2010, Alfred Music Publishing)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1972 births Living people People from Nannestad Dimmu Borgir members Rhythm guitarists Norwegian male bass guitarists Norwegian black metal musicians Norwegian heavy metal guitarists Norwegian heavy metal singers Norwegian male singers Norwegian multi-instrumentalists Norwegian rock guitarists Norwegian rock singers Norwegian songwriters Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Norwegian bass guitarists