Jun 15 2026, 9.34am / Features
Dear Joey and Brooke, What a wild ride! I just wanted to write to express …
It doesn’t get more privileged than the chance to talk to a man who helped shaped the entire black metal genre. Not long now until Australia gets to see Norwegian metal masters Satyricon live (after their original dates were cancelled) and, as is usually the case for drummer Frost, when there’s an Aussie tour in the works he’s pretty excited.
“We have always enjoyed playing Australia. Last time we were in Australia we did Soundwave [2014] and that was great–we’ve always been warmly welcome there, I’ve always felt it’s open and the fans seem to love what we do.
MORE: TROPHY EYES: The Dreamers And The Doers // ALPHA WOLF: … And Out Come The Breakdowns // OUTRIGHT: Don’t Holler Atcha Girl
REVIEWS: TROPHY EYES: The American Dream // AS IT IS: The Great Depression // PLINI: Sunhead // THE SPIRIT: Sounds From The Vortex
“We’re touring the new album [Deep Calleth Upon Deep] and that’s gonna be its first performance in Australia.”
Satyricon have been at this for 27 years and as a touring band, it can’t be too unusual they’d run into issues. “We’re used to all kind of different happenings,” he says in broken English. “Most traumatic events have been happening when we tour Australia the previous time. We were supposed to tour New Zealand, too, for the first time and we were denied access from Japan.
“It was impossible to get the band and the equipment on the plane, it was so much of a hassle I think it was really traumatising, just the worst experience to have to cancel shows. We lost a lot of money and the fans in New Zealand were disappointed and we had so much looked forward to playing there. We had plane tickets so we still had to go, just no shows!”
The logistics of touring, particularly when your shows are big, powerful, theatrical performances such as Satyricon’s, shifting everything around to be told ‘no, you can’t come,’ something that’s also happened to the band when they tried to tour America, is a deflating experience. But once they do get up there and start performing, all that stress suddenly becomes totally worth it. “Definitely,” Frost says firmly.
It was impossible to get the band and the equipment on the plane, it was so much of a hassle I think it was really traumatising, just the worst experience to have to cancel shows.
[ Frost ]
“To me playing live is part of that art and is definitely not only entertainment, I think to perform songs live is all about connecting with different energies of different songs and to enter [a] mindset that actually makes it possible to connect and to perform.
“You have to connect with the songs on the one hand and you have to connect with the audience on the other. You’re also in this very particular world of your own, it’s very introvert in a way but it’s still meant to be very extrovert.”
The delivery of energy, the way Frost works with expression is in itself an art form. “For years I have gotten to understand that art form and how I can work with the different energies and expressions. As long as you can go with your heart all those things are stimulating and will always drive you forward and make you develop.”
Energy is certainly not waning for Satyricon as they’re travelling back and forth between home and festivals in Europe, even a festival in Germany the day before they leave for Australia. It’s exhausting just to hear Frost reel off their itinerary, but he’s a glutton for punishment, he says. “That’s the work side of it, it’s always expected but this is not just a hobby, this is all for our work. We just have to accept it’s not necessarily all nice and cosy, we’ve got to take the stressful part as well and roll with it.”
Frost, as a drummer, has no better way to relieve stress than to whack out furious beats at his kit. “No doubt,” he laughs. He must have done some serious thwacking after their latest stint in America. Their first tour in nearly ten years, it all went down well in nearly every way. “Crowd was great, the shows were really good, the general atmosphere was very fine indeed.
“I think it went beyond our expectations, it was cool for us to go to America again after all these years.”
And much like the rest of the world Frost is triggered by America’s stupidity, saying, “It has to be said, it’s really a lot of hassle to get into that country, like the American authorities want to make it as difficult as possible to go to the US. The level of bureaucracy is beyond ridiculous.
“We took about nine to ten months of really hard work and a lot of money to make it happen and we were very uncertain whether it would be possible to pull it off until shortly before the tour would start. It takes the fun out of touring when you have to do way more paperwork than you actually get to perform songs.”
Face it, Frost, you know the Australian leg of the tour is going to be the best, though. “It’s going to be great,” he agrees, laughing.
Catch Satyricon with special guests Deadspace at the following dates:
Tuesday 4 September // Capitol // Perth
Thursday 6 September // Max Watts // Melbourne
Friday 7 September // Metro Theatre // Sydney
Saturday 8 September // Transit Bar // Canberra
Sunday 9 September // The Triffid // Brisbane
