Inferno Metal Festival - Oslo, Norway 31/3/24 ⋆ Ave Noctum

Easter Sunday had that all too familiar bittersweet “last day’ feeling, with a whole day of music to look forward to, but also the knowledge that “tomorrow” meant back to work and reality. Trying to shut that out of my mind, I headed to Rockefeller in high spirits, in particular looking forward to the opening trio of Misþyrming, Dödsrit and Winterfylleth.

A decent crowd has assembled by the time Misþyrming stormed the stage with their Icelandic Black Metal, appearing as silhouettes in dense red and blue lights. Their music was intense and yet retained glorious melodies as one dense tome led into another. The crowd lapped up the Icelandic fire enthusiastically, head banging in unison.

There was minimal interaction with the crowd but this worked well, maintaining an air of mystique and letting the music be the focal point. This was utterly magnificent.

Following on from Misþyrming would be a challenge for any band, but thankfully Sweden’s Dödsrit were more than up to the task on their Norwegian debut. Opening tracks ‘Irjala’ and ‘Shallows Graves’ sounded massive as they resonated around the packed John Dee venue where a big crowd had gathered.

The band were barely visible, playing from the shadows but this added to the effect. One epic track led effortlessly into another with the feeling of one prolonged piece of music rather than stand-alone tracks as the music morphed between more serene atmospheric passages and bludgeoning! I had expected to enjoy these, but I had not been prepared for just how good they would be.

In contrast to Dödsrit who I was seeing for the first time, I have seen Winterfylleth many times over the years, watching them grow from playing the smallest venues imaginable to now playing venues such as Rockefeller. I have never been disappointed by their atmospheric black metal and I was looking forward to catching them again.

Eschewing many of the usual visual trappings of live black metal shows, Winterfylleth adopt a more minimalist approach allowing the music to speak for itself. A majestic rendition of ‘A Valley Thick with Oaks’ came early on and I felt a sense of pride as their English Black Metal completely dominated Rockefeller.

A new track, ‘To The Edge of Tyranny’ was aired and built upon its initial infectious grooves to an aggressive climax. With each track that passed, the cavernous venue was filled with dense, atmospheric riffs and sweeping, majestic melodies with the entire crowd mesmerised by the powerful performance.

I’m biased because it matched my personal taste perfectly, but this had been a stunning opening trio and had laid down the gauntlet for the rest of the day!

That gauntlet fell at the feet of Bergen’s Phantom Fire who had pulled a decent crowd into John Dee by the time they opened with ‘The Ninth Gate’ and ‘Mara’. It immediately struck me that they were much heavier than I recalled, with elements of speed and thrash metal apparent, but also a good dose of black metal thrown into the mix.

As the set progressed, aggressive black metal became the prevailing sound as a relentless barrage spilled from the stage pummelling the front rows for tracks such as ‘Return of the Goat’ and ‘The Bust of Beelzebub’.

The band were active on the stage, in perpetual motion and hair flailing all over the place. There was something raw and organic about this, exactly as black metal should be and out certainly made an impression on me!

There was a change in atmosphere next in Rockefeller, as Cynic took to the stage with their hard to label progressive metal. The crowd was inexplicably fairly thin for the Americans, as they delivered a fusion of progressive rock and technical death metal with a hint of jazz thrown in for good measure as they ran through the iconic ‘Focus’ album in full.

Special mention should go to the guest vocalist who I believe stepped in at the last minute and did a fantastic job on harsh vocals.

The sound was a little messy to begin with but this improved as the set went on, and although it wasn’t the biggest crowd of the festival, those that had shown up were very appreciative of what they were witnessing, including one of my friends who declared this his set of the festival.

Things slowed down next, and I mean right down, as Bell Witch brought their funeral doom to an absolutely packed John Dee. Simply comprising bass, drums and vocals, Bell Witch use a minimalistic approach to craft their art and the cramped room was soon shuddering under the weight of monolithic rumbles.

Positioned in the shadows on either side of the stage, the duo commanded the room from the darkness, and although some of the more casual observers left the room in search of food or beer, allowing others to come in, the dedicated mass at the front soaked up the sombre sermon.

In complete contrast, Finntroll brought the party to Inferno with their high energy blackened folk metal. As usual, the band cut a striking figure with their painted faces and troll ears as they unleashed their upbeat tunes upon Rockefeller.

A large pit soon opened up and the crowd were singing back every word. They sounded heavier than I remembered initially with the folky melodies buried deep in the mix, but this was soon rectified and anthems such as ‘Trollhammaren’ sounded absolutely huge.

They were treated as headliners by the enthusiastic crowd who I’m sure would have been happy for the band to play all night, but ‘Midvinterdraken’ was soon bringing the triumphant set to a close.

The evening took a more serious turn downstairs with Koldbrann and their raw Norwegian black metal. They were direct and abrasive as they belted out ‘Ingen Skansen!’ stirring up the capacity crowd.

The relatively short set covered the bands entire history from their 2002 demo ‘Mislyder Fra Det Nekrotiske Kammer’ with ‘Fortapelse i Svovel og Helvetesild’ all the way through to the 2023 single ‘Den 6. Massedød (Manna fra en annen himmel)’ and it all sounded gloriously sinister!

Plodding riffs and malevolent melodies rubbed shoulder with more battering sections, while avoiding any commercial leanings, keeping this pure old school Norwegian Black Metal!

There was more Norwegian Black Metal in Rockefeller to bring the festival to a close as Taake made their 6th appearance at the festival. The band wasted no time, opening with the distinctive ‘Fra Vadested Til Vaandesmed’ getting the set off to a flying start. Hoest was the obvious focal point, cavorting and writhing around the stage, he cut an imposing figure wrapped in a cloak lined with the Norwegian flag, meaning that there were occasional flashes of red and blue cutting through the murky darkness on stage.

‘Nordbundet’ sounded huge as the band settled into their rhythm and the set gathered momentum. This intensity did not drop and all too soon, the set came to an abrupt end with ‘Hordalands Doedskvad 1’ and ‘Nattestid Ser Porten Vid 1’.

I’ve seen Taake quite a few times over the years and there was something different for this show. The band, and Hoest in particular, seemed more focussed, and the result was phenomenal. The music sounded aggressive and confrontational, and yet precise and driven. It was raw and primitive but at the same time melodic and familiar.

Although the band were playing to a capacity crowd at Rockefeller, it somehow felt as though this was a small, intimate gig where the band were playing to a few friends such was the connection between the band and the crowd even thought there was minimal direct interaction, or at least that was how it felt to me. Given the calibre of the festival line up, I am surprising myself by saying this, but Taake were my highlight of the festival!

Inferno was over for another year, but this had been one of the most enjoyable editions I have been to in my twelve years. I had hung out with old friends, made new ones and had a great time with some great bands and great music. In an era of an ever growing number of festivals throughout the year, Inferno remains at the top of the pile and if you are a fan of extreme music, I cannot recommend it highly enough. My ticket for next year has already been bought.