A documentary following the original trio screens at Sydney Opera House on the same date as Kleive’s final announced show with the band.
Witch Club Satan drummer Johanna Holt Kleive is stepping away from the Norwegian black metal band. Friday’s performance at Rockefeller in Oslo will be her last with the group for the foreseeable future.
Australian audiences can see the original trio’s story on screen that same date. HEX, Maja Holand’s documentary about Witch Club Satan, screens at Sydney Opera House’s Playhouse at 6pm on Friday, 30 October. It forms part of the venue’s HELLHOUSE cinema program.
The film follows Kleive, guitarist Nikoline Spjelkavik and bassist Victoria Røising as they build the project from its beginnings. Its Sydney screening coincides with the Norwegian cinema release. The band’s Oslo concert also marks that release.
The band confirmed Kleive’s departure in an Instagram statement posted on 26 October. It identified Bodø on 28 October and Oslo on 30 October as the remaining opportunities to see the original lineup.
The project began in theatre, according to the trio’s booking agency biography. The musicians learnt their instruments in the months before its premiere.
In the English statement shared by the band, Kleive described believing in aggression as a liberating creative force. Over time, however, the personal pressure of the project had become too heavy.
“I do no longer feel that freedom, so I am taking a step back to rediscover the joy of why I create,” she wrote.
Kleive also expressed her continued belief in Witch Club Satan and its potential to give others a platform. She said she was looking forward to performing with Spjelkavik and Røising in Oslo.
The band expressed love and respect for Kleive and said further information would follow.
What Comes Next For Witch Club Satan?
The band’s later calendar includes Dommedaggry, a theatre production by Lisa Lie with Witch Club Satan. It opens at Det Norske Teatret in Oslo on 28 November.
Norwegian outlet Rockman names Mina Halvorsen as the production’s drummer. That identifies a drummer for the theatre engagement, but does not establish a permanent replacement for Kleive.
The lineup for other bookings remains unconfirmed in the material checked. Those include the band’s announced Wacken Open Air appearance in 2027.
MORE IN News
