Friday night in San Francisco. The air is thick with anticipation, smoke, and the kind of raw energy that only a black metal show can bring. We caught up with Erik Danielsson, frontman of the legendary Watain, for a candid backstage conversation before the band’s set at the Oakland Metro.

Mighty Z: How’s it going, man?

Erik Danielsson: Pretty okay, thank you. It’s Friday night, we’re in San Francisco—smoking, drinking, living the life.

Mighty Z: Living the life, eh?

Erik: I suppose. It’s a tough life though.

Mighty Z: Tough?

Erik: Well, the smoking and drinking part isn’t that hard. But I’ve always seen metal as something more than just a party. I never really related to the whole “having fun” thing in metal. For me, it’s always been a profound thing—rooted in strife, not celebration.
Touring is hard. That’s how it should be. There’s depth in the struggle.

Beyond Sex, Drugs & Rock ’n’ Roll

Mighty Z: So it’s not all sex, drugs, and rock and roll, then?

Erik: No, definitely not for a band like us. That kind of motivation might have worked for a lot of rock bands in the past, but Watain has always been driven by something deeper—spiritual and even religious motivation, rather than carnal indulgence.
That’s what sets us apart from the average rock band. We may share similarities with our musical forefathers, but our emphasis is on something far more profound.

A Name Rooted in Black Metal History

Mighty Z: Your band name—Watain—comes from the San Francisco black metal band Von, correct?

Erik: That’s right.

Mighty Z: From the song on their Satanic Blood album?

Erik: Exactly. Their demo tape circulated in Scandinavia in the late ’80s—’89 or ’90, I think. It reached the Norwegian scene first, then made its way to Sweden in the mid-’90s. It made a huge impact on us. That tape is a very important piece of black metal history.

Mighty Z: Their music still seems widely available.

Erik: Maybe. I still have my old cassette, and the CD reissue from ’95. I suppose it’s out there now—everything is. But it was a different world back then.

The Wild Hunt: A New Chapter

Mighty Z: Your new album The Wild Hunt—that’s your first release on Century Media, right?

Erik: Yes, and also our first release on our own label. It’s a collaboration between us and Century Media.

Mighty Z: What led you to go that route?

Erik: We’ve always gone our own way. For a black metal band that thrives on freedom and liberation, staying independent is essential. That’s just the way it goes.

Final Thoughts:
Erik Danielsson makes it clear—Watain isn’t here for the afterparty. Their mission is spiritual, intense, and deeply personal. With The Wild Hunt, they’re charting their own path—both musically and professionally—reaffirming their place as one of black metal’s most uncompromising forces.

Catch Watain on tour and stream wherever you get your music.

Watch the full video interview below.

Categories: Interviews, WATAIN

Tags: black metal, Capital Chaos TV, Century Media Records, Erik Danielsson interview, Erik Danielsson Watain, metal band independence, metal music interviews, Oakland Metro metal show, Scandinavian black metal, spiritual black metal, The Wild Hunt album, underground metal bands, Von band influence, Watain interview, Watain new album