Calm and Chaos

Only the rustling of the leaves can be heard when Sigurd Wongraven lies in his trekking hammock, which he stretches between two trees. Sometimes he needs silence. The vast forests around Oslo are his place of refuge. “I spend the night here and let the sound of darkness take effect on me. The moon, the smells, and the twinkling of the stars inspire me. That’s where many of my lyrics come from,” says the 46-year-old, who has become known internationally as the front man of the Norwegian black-metal band Satyricon. Even in winter, Wongraven takes evening trips on cross-country skis with a headlamp. Preferably away from the prepared trails, where experience in deep snow counts. He knows the pitfalls of nature – and treats them with respect. His personality is characterized by a self-confident sense of calm. This comes from the intensity with which he devotes himself to absolutely everything he does. Breaking down barriers and changing tempo are his specialty – a life that is like a composition of very loud and very quiet tones. If you experience him on stage in a black rocker outfit with morbid white makeup backed by a heavy beat, it is hard to imagine him dreaming in a hammock. The combination of powerful noise and soft tones continues in his garage: two Porsche 911 GT3 (991 and 992) share it with a Porsche Taycan 4S.

A multilayered tapestry of sound for works by Edvard Munch.

Between the Satyricon albums Volcano and Now, Diabolical, Wongraven followed another great passion: in his late twenties, he bought his first Porsche 911, a black Carrera 4 (993). The last one with air cooling, as he proudly emphasizes. “For me, the 911 has always been like a Les Paul, to draw a comparison with style-defining guitars. An absolute classic in form and sound.” He rocked his way through everyday life with the used car, transporting his snowboards to the slopes around the Holmenkollen himself. He challenged the Porsche, studied it in his own thorough way and stayed loyal to the brand. Through discovery and passionately delving deeper into the subject to reach a level of true expertise – that is also how the artist started his second career as a wine producer. That was after the success of the album The Age of Nero, released in 2008. “After almost 15 years with the band, I needed fresh impetus.” Cuvées bearing his name have long since become an established label.

Currently, a completely new chapter in his eventful life is being created in a farmer’s cottage made of dark-brown logs, converted into a high-tech recording studio with a wonderful Nordic ambience: a sound installation for a special exhibition in the spectacular Edvard Munch Museum, which protrudes like a cliff over the bank of Oslo harbor. Together with sound engineer Erik Ljunggren, who has previously sat behind the mixing desk with his colleagues from a-ha, Wongraven rolls out a multilayered musical tapestry. This will envelop a special selection of Munch’s extensive oeuvre in a cloud of sound. Satyricon & Munch is the name of the combination. The opening is on April 30, 2022. “Dealing with this master is the biggest challenge of my career so far,” admits the musician. “Munch’s harsh realism initially met with scandal. An antiestablishment figure who had to battle to assert himself. That fits with me!” Wongraven silently takes in the black-and-white lithograph The Kiss of Death – it is one of his favorites by Munch.

After the silence, it’s time for the loud side to come out again: this time the Rudskogen Motorsenter provides the stage – a 3.25-kilometer racetrack designed by the German architect Hermann Tilke, the mind behind almost all modern Formula 1 racetracks. This is where the Oslo Porsche racing community meets. The metalhead reveals his course record with emphasis on the last decimal place – 1:32.7 minutes. “First you drive to knock off seconds, at some point that becomes tenths,” he explains. The Guards Red GT3 (991) with his initials on the license plate is another challenge to which he devotes himself meticulously. As a member of the Rudskogen Drivers’ Club, it took him a whole year to internalize the track and master the 368 kW (500 PS) sports car along every meter and in all maneuvers. In this environment, too, the high standards Wongraven sets himself are the foundation of the cool confidence with which he now analyzes the course. The name of the long, sloping straight sounds like the title of a metal album: ANGSTEN. And the bend that follows is a sharp change of direction perfectly suited to the habits of this driver, who is always on the hunt for new experiences.

A bridge between eras.

SideKICK: Wongraven Wines

Sigurd Wongraven brings together music and sustainably produced wine from top vineyards. He gives enological lectures, trains sommeliers, and has established his own wine label. When it comes to white wines, he swears by German Riesling grapes, which he turns into a Wongraven cuvée together with local producers in Deidesheim in Rhineland-Palatinate. He also makes his own creations in France and Italy from Champagne and Barolo grapes. In 2020, Wongraven Wines sold more than two million liters of wine in Norway. After Sweden and Finland, he has his sights set on further export markets.