SKITLIV, the band formed and fronted by Maniac, one of black metal’s original pioneers and one of its most recognisable front men, will perform two dates in April with David Tibet’s CURRENT 93. The 14th will see the band as support at the Die Volksbûhne venue in Berlin, and the second will be take place on the 20th April as part of a one-day special event that Tibet has been asked to curate for the 13th Annual Roadburn Festival. Details of the entire festival, which takes place at the 013 Club in Tilburg, Netherlands, from the 17th to the 20th April, and which this year features bands such as CELTIC FROST and ISIS, can be found at www.roadburn.com.

Explaining how the collaboration with Tibet came about, Maniac commented: “I think most people know by now how much I have always admired David and Current 93. During a recent stay with my manager in the UK, I was finally able to meet David, and we discussed the possibility of working together in the future. He and David Liles wrote the introduction to our live set, and also the one for our MCD, and later David asked if we would be willing to support Current 93 on one of the Berlin dates of their tour. Of course we jumped at the chance. When OM unfortunately had to pull out of the Roadburn event, we were asked if we would like to step in.”

The inclusion of Skitliv in the eclectic line up that Tibet has put together, and which consists of AETHNOR, BABY DEE, Current 93, RICKIE LEE JONES and Skitliv (Tibet is insistent that no one band will headline, and that the performers are listed in alphabetical order), will surprise many who still see Maniac as being shackled to the black metal scene, a misconception that the legendary front man himself has been keen to dispel since he formed Skitliv following his departure from MAYHEM.

He went on to say “I know a lot of people have been perplexed by Skitliv because it doesn’t meet the general (and these days pretty erroneous) perception of what a black metal band should be. But Skitliv was never meant to be simply another black metal band. I have retained some of the basic roots, but the band was always more doom orientated, and has developed even further, incorporating elements from the noise, ambient and experimental genres. People tend to forget, or conveniently ignore, the fact that I have always been involved in other projects that were not Black Metal - NECROPHAGIA and BOMBEROS for instance, and that I have a long history of collaboration with artists outside the genre”.

Skitliv, whose line up includes SHINING front man Niklas Kvarforth on guitar and backing vocals, and with whom Maniac writes much of the music for the band, is due to release two special editions on the UK’s Cold Spring label. Entitled Amfetamin, the CD version will appear at the end of February and includes the tracks 'Amfetamin', with guest vocals by Attila (MAYHEM. SUNN0))), and a special mix of 'Slow Pain Coming', together with the live recording of their 2007 appearance at the Underworld in London, which opens with the Tibet/Liles introduction.

A track from the MCD Kristiansen and Kvarforth Swim In The Sea of Equilibrium While Waiting… can be heard on the band’s MySpace page.