There’s nothing better than waking up in the middle of a festival, still buzzing from the night before and looking forward to what is still to come, and that was exactly how I felt on the third day of Inferno. I explored the Oslo waterfront before heading back to the hotel for the Inferno Metal Auction with Tore Bratseth, which this year saw test pressings, rare vinyls and many odds and ends auctioned off, including previously unseen photos, a painted skull and a newspaper carrying the story of the murder of Øystein Aarseth. Note to self, four pints and an auction is a bad idea, but I ended up with a couple of very nice items!
It was then time to head up to Rockefeller for the first band of the day, Dark Fortress. Despite having been around since 1994 this was to be my first live encounter with them and I was really looking forward to it.
I was particularly looking forward to hearing tracks from ‘Stab Wounds’ and their most recent release ‘Spectres from the Old World’ but to be honest, I was blown away by the entire set. Taking to the stage to a relatively small crowd, the Germans unleashed a masterclass in melodic black metal and opening track ‘The Silver Gate’ had me headbanging from the start.
The performance was polished and yet virulent, with epic melodies swirling around Rockefeller, perhaps epitomised by the stand out track ‘CataWomb’ from the ‘Séance’ album. Those that chose not to arrive until later missed out!
Downstairs, Polish competition winners Gnida were preparing to unleash their grindcore upon the Inferno crowd. The bassist and guitarist took to the stage wearing white boiler suits and masks adding to the atmosphere as opening track ‘Reeks of Death’ laid down a marker for the rest of the set.
This was grinding death metal which battered those in the front rows, but the band were clearly having fun, with the vocalist grinning from ear to ear when not roaring into his microphone.
That was infectious creating a party atmosphere in the cramped confined of John Dee. The brilliantly named ‘Cat the Pervert’ was perhaps the highlight….enough said!
Next up were Dutch death metal legends Asphyx who delivered a crushing set of energetic old school death metal. The floor was a seething mass of flailing bodies as the pit opened up, before Martin van Drunen took a moment to dedicate a song to Vladimir Putin wishing him a ‘Death the Brutal Way’.
Of course, that was met with a loud cheer and the crowd were even more energised. Asphyx have been going since 1987 and yet seem as full of energy as ever, head banging constantly and running around the stage. Personal highlights were ‘Wasteland of Terror’ and ‘Forerunners of the Apocalypse’ but to be honest, every single track was awesome.
People often assume that Inferno is all about black metal, but Asphyx proved beyond doubt that death metal is equally welcome and relevant.
Danish extreme metallers Xenoblight followed, with their rampant thrashy death metal onslaught. Opening with ‘Descension’ and ‘Oblivion’, Marika’s scathing vocals belied her demure appearance as she spat venom across the packed, unsuspecting crowd.
They have only been going since 2017, and of course have had half of that time impacted by COVID, but they have an album under their belts and based on this performance have developed into a ferocious live band.
‘Transcendence’ and ‘Crux Ansata’ were perhaps my highlights as I added this band to my “new discovery” list for the festival.
Vreid are something of a Norwegian national treasure and leading exponents of the Sognametal scene, having risen from the ashes of Windir following their tragic demise. Since then, Vreid have delivered nine albums, every one of them a classic, and have never disappointed live.
A packed crowd were treated to a stellar show with stand-out tracks such as ‘Solverv’ and ‘Pitch Black’ showcasing black n’ roll at its finest, augmented by pyros. The band were in good humour, joking that they were going to talk in English between songs as even Norwegians couldn’t understand their Sogna dialect.
Adding variety, and a sense of occasion, there was a poignant cover of Windir track ‘The Spiritlord’ and a cover of The Rolling Stones ‘Paint it Black’. Absolutely magnificent.
Downstairs, there was a far more sinister mood as Swedish black metal band Valkyrja took to the stage. After a short intro, the band opened with ‘Oceans to Dust’, and it was a ferocious, relentless onslaught.
The band, covered in blood, played in near darkness as they tore through one malevolent racket after another. I remember ‘Madness Redeemer’ and ‘Crowned Serpent’ being particularly potent before the set was pulled to a close with ‘Throne Ablaze’.
Thoroughly nasty stuff, but exactly what I had been wanting.
There was more black metal brutality up on the main stage courtesy of Swedish blasphemers Marduk. After a sinister intro tape the band blasted into an aggressive version of ‘Werwolf’ to which the rammed, sold out crowd responded appropriately. There was no let-up in intensity as ‘The Hangman of Prague’ and ‘Seven Angels, Seven Trumpets’ continued the onslaught.
‘Frontschwein’ came shortly after and for me was the highlight of the set. This was ferocious from start to finish, and was an unrelenting barrage of black metal. There was no finesse, this was all about aggression and intensity and it kept the pit moving from start to finish.
‘Viktoria’ was a stand out track for me towards the back end of the set, but this was not about individual tracks, this was about the cumulative effect of relentless bombardment after relentless bombardment, and after the hour long set the band triumphantly marched off stage leaving the crowd battered, sweaty and shell shocked.
The black metal continued downstair in John Dee, with a rare live gig from Tulus. They are often overlooked when people consider Norwegian black metal, which is a real injustice as they can hold their own with the best of them. Not as fast or aggressive as some of their peers, Tulus are more brooding in their black metal with subtle melodies as important as the aggression.
Choosing to forsake the usual black metal image, the band took to the stage in jeans and shirts/hoodies as they opened with ‘Draugtatt’ and ‘Varg’. Their rhythmic, pulsating black metal was soaked up by a packed John Dee crowd who realised they were witnessing something special.
And so it fell to the godfathers of Norwegian black metal, The True Mayhem, to close the penultimate day of this year’s Inferno festival. Opening with ‘Falsified and Hated’, the band took to a stage bathed in red light and smoke appearing as ghostly silhouettes. Atilla was wearing priest robes, along with a huge inverted crucifix and studded leather arm bands as he confrontationally stalked the stage.
‘Freezing Moon’ came about half way through before ‘Pagan Fears’ and ‘Life Eternal’. The final portion of the set focussed on older material ‘Deathcrush’, ‘Chainsaw Gutsfxxk’, ‘Carnage’ and ‘PFA’ giving the baying crowd exactly what they wanted.
Mayhem may have become very popular and a household name, as well as a trend that many non black metal fans have latched onto, but this set proved that they are at the very heart of black metal, and are as relevant as they ever were and they fully deserve their reputation and exaltation as one of the seminal black metal bands.
(Review and Photos Andy Pountney @shot_in_the_dark_photography)
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