MARCH 28th, 2024
INFERNO METAL FESTIVAL
DAY 1

Concert Review: Marius Rafoshei
Photo Gallery: Polina Kulikovskikh
Day 1 Gallery: http://www.metaltitans.com/concertpics/inferno-festival-2024-day-1/

The Inferno Metal Festival is an annual event held in Oslo, Norway, that celebrates extreme metal music. Arguably, it is one of the most important festivals dedicated to various forms of the more extreme genres with naturally, black metal taking center stage in a festival that takes place during the Easter holidays and spans over several days. The bite of the unholy in the middle of the Easter weekend is always a good pun.

I have been going since 2001 and it has become a gathering spot for metal fans and artists from around the globe. It not only showcases established names in the metal scene but also provides a stage for emerging talents. Next to this are other offerings, such as a series of lectures and conferences dealing with the music industry, a mini tattoo festival, and this year  an art exhibition. The main venue for the festival is the centrally located Rockefeller Music Hall in Oslo, with its connected smaller stage John Dee. Furthermore, there are various offerings going on in different clubs and stages across central Oslo.

In addition to the concerts, Inferno Metal Festival also features a variety of related events, such as workshops, art exhibitions, and panel discussions that explore the culture and artistry of metal music. This creates a comprehensive cultural experience that goes beyond just music, delving into the ethos and aesthetics of the metal scene.

It's Thursday, it's Easter, Inferno is about to begin. I am early on the scene, surrounded by other eager fans ready to kick off the 4-day long festival. Konvent gave us a groovy and heavy start at Rockefeller. It is off to a tough, slow, and hard start, as the Doom-Death beast of Konvent from Denmark laid down the heavy tones to make the eager public start moving. The female blackened death doom project from Copenhagen warmed us up for the festival and held their own. A brutal start to the festival, and a tight set with the drummer Julie Simonsen beating the everlasting s*** out of the drums at tunes such as “Pipe Dreams”, and vocalist Rikke Emilie impressing the viewers with her deep guttural vocal range.

Nakkeknaekker – I missed out on the party at John Dee. Afterwards at John Dee the death metal heads had their time banging away to Nakkeknaekker – I was not personally at the venue but was told from eager attendees that I did miss out on a great experience. My biggest loss of the festival?

Keep of Kalessin was center stage for a showoff. The fellow Norwegians were the next band on the main stage of Rockefeller, it was technical, it was epic and for the fans exactly what they hoped for – they really held a show for their fans. Often referring to older gigs, and music pieces. Maybe not my personal favorite, but if you do like Kalessin this was a show for you. Unapologetic in their epicenes, bringing the extreme metal into a new atmosphere. – A katharsis for the masses. Another goodie was their involvement with audience and fans, including during their signing session and one merely has to take a scroll through social media to see the number of photos with them during their stay at Inferno 2024.

Nordjevel – did the Devil’s work at Rockefeller. The next band I caught was when the Devil was let loose for full: As the black metal kicked off for full with Nordjevel. It was heavy, it was evil, it was all we wanted. They truly did the devil’s work.

I clearly was not alone in waiting for the true "kvlt" black metal offerings and the Northern Devils to come. As the audience was carried away and into headbanging frenzy. As I saw a fan describe it on social media: “These are not riffs, every note is attempted manslaughter”. The involvement in offerings such as Djevelen i Nord, and the combination of their tight drums, frenzied guitar and intense screams made for a perfect combination. Nordjevel is always a pleasure live and for me the highlight of the day. Closely followed by the next offering at John Dee (yes, this will be a trend for the first couple of days) – Candlemass.

Candlemass came on stage, and to say it straight: “Grandpa proved he still got it”. The doom legends from Sweden gave us a showcase of all that made them great, and not to forget; why they are still a force to be reckoned with. Playing tunes spanning their entire career and not stopping to catch a breath. I have no idea where they got the energy from, maybe the crowds that were spellbound from start to finish? As the hit-parade continued its relentless attack on our senses, and few wanted it to stop. Frontman and vocalist Johan Längqvist to have a special mention being able to outperform many of his colleagues at Inferno in style, showmanship, and energy.

It was at this point I felt hunger. Inferno has a range of various catering options, and I opted for a Moose Kebab – yes, you read that right: Moose. It tasted as good as I had hoped, and the price / what you get index was on the positive side. A positive sidenote, as we all know: Festivals can be costly, and Norway is not a low-cost country.

Finally, as the evening was coming to an end. The last band entered Rockefeller; Kampfar. A veteran black metal band you know will always deliver an instant, good show, with a tight grip on the music and the audience alike. A set filled with energy. Talking about the old days, blasphemy in the timing of the festival, and then doing a perfect lead into the next songs with attacks on everything the church did – heading right into the tune about making a pact with the devil; Trolldomspakten. Great finisher for the evening, and had I not been lucky enough to have seen them so often over the last year it could easily have been my favorite.

I’ll also give them credit in trying to teach people it is LykTemenn, not Lykkemenn – which is something altogether different, before they had two men carrying torches (“lykt” in Norwegian) come to stage and blasted off with this most asked for song.

After this final of the day there was little more to do than slowly scramble my way back to Clarion Hotel the Hub – the official hotel for the festival and looking forward to day 2.

Well, for many it was still an early night and the many local joints – be they rock or pop was surely able to cater to many. Clarion Hotel, having been decked out for the occasion (or at least playing metal music 24/7) has a ground floor bar that became a hotspot for many, even an afterparty.