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

Shagrath Stian Tomt Thoresen (born 18 November 1976),Shagrath
at Encyclopaedia Metallum known professiona ...

and

Tjodalv Tjodalv (born Ian Kenneth Åkesson in 1976) is a Norwegian drummer. He is a founding member of both Dimmu Borgir and Old Man's Child. He now plays in Black Comedy and Susperia. Tjodalv played guitar on the first Dimmu Borgir albums '' Inn i evi ...

, of the Norwegian symphonic black metal 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, ...

of which he is the primary songwriter. He is also guitarist for the death metal 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 contributes vocals (on "

Stormblåst ''Stormblåst'' (English: ''Stormblown'') is the second studio album by Norwegian black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released on 25 January 1996 through Cacophonous Records, re-released in 2001 by Century Media, and completely re-recorded in 20 ...

", its re-record, and "

Godless Savage Garden ''Godless Savage Garden'' is a compilation album by Norwegian black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released in 1998 by Nuclear Blast and re-released on 3 October 2006 with 2 bonus tracks. The first four tracks were recorded during the ''Ent ...

") and bass (on "

Stormblåst MMV ''Stormblåst'' (English: ''Stormblown'') is the second studio album by Norwegian black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released on 25 January 1996 through Cacophonous Records, re-released in 2001 by Century Media, and completely re-recorded in 2 ...

"). He also sang lead vocals on their debut album "

For All Tid ''For all tid'' ("For All Time") is the debut studio album by Norwegian black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released in 1995 through No Colours. It was remastered and re-released in 1997 through their new label Nuclear Blast with the front co ...

". 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 was the Norwegian

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band, "

Nocturnal Breed Nocturnal Breed is a Norwegian thrash metal band, formed in Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population ...

". 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 ''In Sorte Diaboli'' (Latin for "In league with the devil") is the eighth studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, released in 2007. It is the band's first concept album. A site on the Nuclear Blast website was created ...

on a narrative of his composition. Silenoz was featured as a voice actor in the

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

cartoon

Metalocalypse ''Metalocalypse'' is an American adult animated television series, created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha, which premiered on August 6, 2006, followed by a musical one-hour special, '' Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem'', on October 27, 2 ...

. This episode kicked off the second season of the popular show and debuted on

Adult Swim Fix Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

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, Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen - 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 (; grc, Σειληνός, Seilēnós, ) 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 ...

," the name of a satyr-like being in

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

who was a tutor to the wine god

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Roma ...

, 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 ESP most commonly refers to: * Extrasensory perception, a paranormal ability ESP may also refer to: Arts, entertainment Music * ESP Guitars, a manufacturer of electric guitars * E.S. Posthumus, an independent music group formed in 2000, ...

Okkultist Custom V guitars (Maroon & Natural Finishes) *

SV Series guitars *

Viper guitar *

Jackson Guitars Jackson is a manufacturer of electric guitars and electric bass guitars that bears the name of its founder, Grover Jackson. The company was acquired by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation in 2002, which manufactures Jackson-branded guita ...

(formerly) *

Seymour Duncan Seymour Duncan is an American company best known for manufacturing guitar and bass pickups. They also manufacture effects pedals which are designed and assembled in America. Guitarist and luthier Seymour W. Duncan and Cathy Carter Duncan found ...

pickups *

EMG Pickups EMG, Inc. is the current legal name of a company based in Santa Rosa, California that manufactures guitar pickups and EQ accessories. Among guitar and bass accessories, the company sells active humbucker pickups, such as the EMG 81, the EMG 85 ...

(formerly) * Marshall amplifiers *

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 *

ENGL Engl or Engl. may refer to: *England, a country that is part of the United Kingdom * English * Engl (surname), a German surname *Engl., taxonomic abbreviation for botanist Adolf Engler Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler (25 March 1844 – 10 October 1 ...

amplifiers *

Blackstar ''Blackstar'' is an American animated science fantasy television series, produced in 1981 by Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott for Filmation. The series was Filmation's second fantasy epic, the first being '' The Freedom Force'', a segment of '' ...

amplifiers *

Boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire 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, a ...

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

Shure Shure Incorporated is an American audio products corporation. It was founded by Sidney N. Shure in Chicago, Illinois, in 1925 as a supplier of radio parts kits. The company became a consumer and professional audio-electronics manufacturer of mi ...

wire-less systems

Videography

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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Silenoz 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