Inferno Festival - Rockefeller, John Dee Oslo, Norway 8/3/23 ⋆ Ave Noctum

Many of the festival goers were bleary eyed on Saturday morning either due to the fire alarm causing an evacuation of the hotel at 3am, or still being out partying at that time! I grabbed a coffee and then headed out into Oslo for some sightseeing and a beer or two before heading back to the famous Inferno Metal Auction. I have to admit I was a bit gutted that this clashed with Blodhemn who were playing at Vaterland as I was keen to catch them again. However, the auction was calling so I grabbed a seat and beer and got involved! This year’s offerings included the very first two Immortal shirts and plenty of rare, first pressing vinyls (including a very nice Emperor 7” which I couldn’t resist) as well as plenty of one of a kind odds and ends. Tore Bratseth (Bömbers) once again did a great job auctioning off the items with great humour, telling many anecdotes along the way keeping everybody entertained and in good spirits.

All too soon, it was time for the short walk up to Rockefeller for Trondheim’s Vemod and their ambient black metal. I’ve caught them a few times and have always been very impressed by their shows, one minute full of venom and the next serene melody as the soundscapes build and swirl around you.

Inferno was no exception as they played mostly in silhouette in front of a video screen showing a snow covered forest. The crowd stood in reverence as they soaked up the atmospheric black metal which was glorious.

To date, Vemod have only one album, ‘Venter På Stormene’ which was released back in 2012, but I understand they are now working on their sophomore and I cannot wait to hear this.

The first band of the day downstairs in the smaller John Dee venue were Norway’s Dwaal who were celebrating their first appearance at the festival.

From the opening riffs, their sludgy, doomy, post metal barrage caused the building to vibrate as ‘Gospel of the Vile’ and ‘Obsidian Heart Burns’ rumbled past, each riff monolithic in stature, creating an atmosphere or depressive despair.

This style is not my usual cup of tea, but I found myself enjoying this and thinking that I need to give them more of a listen when I get home which is a big compliment from me!

The next artist on the Rockefeller stage needs no introduction, but is perhaps better known for his role with Greek Hellenic black metal pioneers Rotting Christ rather than his solo work which he was showcasing at Inferno.

Sakis Tolis released ‘Among the Fires of Hell’ just over a year ago but this show at Inferno was to be its first live outing. As such, there was a lot of anticipation to experience this concert and there were a lot of Rotting Christ shirts in the crowd, and a lot of people were wondering whether there would be any Rotting Christ songs played.

The set opened with ‘The Silence’ from the debut album, which (with this exception) was then played in full, in chronological order including the cover of Daemonia Nymphe’s ‘Nocturnal Hecate’. To some people’s disappointment there were no other songs played but this did not detract from things at all, allowing the new material to be aired and judged on its own merits.

There were obvious similarities to Rotting Christ, particularly their more melodic material, not least with Sakis’ distinctive vocal style and the angular riffing and melodies, but this solo work is perhaps more melancholic and a little less aggressive. I heard a lot of people talking positively about this set afterwards with many saying it had been one of the best sets of the festival.

That gave Dold Vorde Ens Navn a tough act to follow, but the Norwegian black metal band gave it a good go! With a pedigree including members and ex-members of Ulver, Dødheimsgard, Ved Buens Ende, Satyricon, Strid and Nidingr, it was no wonder that John Dee was absolutely packed as the set opened with ‘Er Det Måneskinn’ and ‘Jeg Vil Ha Det Mørkere’ laying down a marker for their experimental/avant garde black metal, one minute howling and the next serene but always melodic and captivating.

Although they only have one album out, it’s easy to see why they have generated so much interest and I suspect we will be hearing a lot more from these in the near future.

The festival went further down the experimental, avant garde route on the Rockefeller stage, with Arcturus. The drum kits proudly displayed the Mayhem logo as Hellhammer was on drums, while the rest of the band wore masks and goggles, or had huge horns coming from their head.

This gives an idea of what happened musically! The venue was packed and became a little frustrated as the band were late on stage but they were soon forgiven when then let rip, pushing the boundaries of extreme metal on tracks such as ‘Collapse Generation’ and ‘Evacuation Code Deciphered’.

It was perhaps a little too avant-garde for me but I was in a minority as the crowd loved it.

Svalbard were up next in John Dee and I was really looking forward to seeing them again. While waiting to get into the photo pit, one of the photographers asked me how I would describe their music. I simply replied “angry” – Half way through the first song he grabbed me and said “yep, they are angry!”.

Of course, this was a bit flippant of me as that description does not do justice to the nuances of their post metal/hardcore (with a hint of black metal) aural onslaught but it’s a good starting point. A relatively short set list meant that we were served up a “best of” as Serena and Liam traded angry vocals, with occasional clean vocals giving extra poignancy to the lyrics and the meaning behind songs such as ‘Disparity’, ‘Open Wound’, ’Click Bait’ and ‘The Currency of Beauty’ which were all colossal.

I’ve seen Svalbard quite a few times now and this was the best I have seen them. I hope to be able to catch them doing a full set again before long.

Following Cannibal Corpse the day before, it was now time for another American Death Metal heavyweight, this time in the form of Nile and their Egyptology Metal. With nine albums under their belts and countless live shows, they are masters of their art and wasted no time levelling Rockefeller with ‘Sacrifice Unto Sebek’ and ‘Defiling the Gates of Ishtar’ with a pounding rhythm section and shredding guitars.

Karl Sanders was grinning from ear to ear as ‘Kafir’, ‘Call to Destruction’ and ‘Vile Nilotic Rites’ flew past. The pit was in full flow and the crowd surfers had surfaced as they lapped up ‘In The Name of Amun’ and that momentum continued until the final track, the inevitable ‘Black Seeds of Vengeance’ came to a close.

This had been a massive triumph and will hopefully encourage them to return to Norway soon.

I have been battered by Gaerea a few times before and was looking forward to seeing them again, but I was not prepared for what was to unfold in John Dee. The venue was absolutely rammed and even before the band took to the stage, the crowd were hyped.

This exploded when the band appeared, with the crowd and band seeming to feed off each others energy.

The masked vocalist was flailing and cavorting around the stage, stepping over the photopit to engage with the front rows while the rest of the band were unleashing their tight, abrasive black metal resulting in an intimate, intense show of savage black metal that I’m sure will go down in extreme metal folklore.

There was no time to recover before Watain took to the main stage to close the day with yet another stand out show.

The Swedes have a reputation for dramatic, confrontational live shows and they didn’t disappoint. The stage was full of inverted crosses, tridents, bones and other symbolic paraphernalia which were then set ablaze during the show which began with Erik kneeling at the altar in the centre of the stage.

As the barbaric set unfolded with ‘Reaping Death’ and ‘Sworn to the Dark’, the intensity increased with more and more items being set ablaze and then a flaming torch being handed to the front row of the crowd. A chalice was held aloft during ‘Devil’s Blood’, before the blood contained within was thrown over the baying disciples in the front rows. ‘

Total Funeral’ was savage before more flames were lit across the front of the stage and the set was closed with ‘Malfeitor’ and an absolutely epic ‘Waters of Ain’, before the concert ended as it started with Erik kneeling at the altar.