Inferno Metal Festival Norway 2015

Inferno Metal Festival – Day 1

One of my dreams as a metalhead/metal-lover/ metal enthusiast, call it what you may,  has always been to visit the enchanting lands of Scandinavia, where heavy music dominates the music scene and what better way to live that dream than to celebrate black Easter with the 15th edition of Oslo’s Inferno Metal Festival. Yes, 15 years of an aural assault that lasts for more than a day and I say this because at the end of Day 1, I was quite literally yelling at everyone I spoke to. And of course, a 15 year anniversary calls for a massive celebratory line-up, this year’s fest headlined by the likes of my all time favourite band Behemoth, Enslaved, My Dying Bride (an odd addition but I’m not complaining) and Bloodbath. I’ve always liked Inferno for their dedication towards the underground scene and giving new and lesser-known bands solid recognition.

The Osiris Club

First band to kick off the proceedings at John Dee was The Osiris Club from London, a psychedelic avant-garde band that incorporates a lot of doom and progressive elements into their music. To be completely honest, the first thing that struck me when I saw them go on stage and start playing was their uncanny resemblance both in sound and outfit to Swedish band Ghost. Their lyrics and style definitely lacked originality, but the music was atmospheric, with some heavy sections and mostly clean vocals with a proggy vibe. Patria followed bringing a hellish atmosphere with their brand of raw, brutal death metal. Galar was a band that caught my attention with their unique black metal sound which has strong melodies, and a good balance between clean and harsh vocals with a lot of background strings and orchestral arrangements. They played a couple of songs from their latest record ‘ De gjenlevende’ which has so far received positive reviews for the songwriting and musicianship. They seemed like the kind of band that I would enjoy more live than on audio.

Patria

Heading to Pokalen next which was a good walk away, Sinmara from Iceland were definitely worth the effort. Playing some straight up black metal, this band was definitely killer but given that the venue was one of those ‘fit 13 clowns in one car’ situation, the sound was all over the place. Fat bass lines and odd time signatures, the instrumentation was a definite highlight as was their stage presence. Day 1 ended for me with the mighty Naglfar from Umea, Sweden one of the pioneers of the Swedish black metal scene, playing at the Vulkan Arena which was definitely my favourite venue of the night – more spacious and a good view of the stage from wherever you are. After completing a very thorough sound check, the Swedish black metallers erupted into their first track of the night, and it was obvious why bands like this still have the ability to amaze even after 2 decades and attract the kind of fan following that they have. Needless to say their set was monstrous, with Kristoff ‘Wrath’ Olivius owning the crowd with his punishing vocals, getting the crowd psyched to no end. Naglfar’s style is quite hard to pin-point but the sheer ferocity of black metal coupled with the more haunting, melodic vibes and supersonic double bass goodness – the sound was absolutely massive! Their stage presence was enough to get your head into full windmill action. Brilliant band that everyone needs to see live at least once!

Naglfar

Inferno so far – bloody exciting! For starters, there’s nothing like the underground scene especially with the kind of sound that comes from Scandinavian bands, a sound that is quite unmatched elsewhere. The sprawled out venues helped build up a late-night post gig appetite for one, but apart from the claustrophobic atmosphere at the Pokalen, the venues are great, each with it’s own eerie demeanor, a decent bar and enough space to breathe. The obvious difference between a festival like Soundwave and Inferno here is that Inferno is Europe’s biggest indoor metal festival with multiple venues and the belief that you earn your beers if you walk a couple of kilometers. But the intimacy is probably what’s one of the best things about a festival like this especially today given that it was ‘club day’. You get up close and personal with the bands and with some of the venues having only a 200-300 capcity, things can get pretty intense. I always prefer club shows to big festivals with massive stages where you’re able to focus more on the music and not on avoiding the sun or being smushed into other people. That’s what Inferno does, brings the whole festival scene into a club atmosphere. It was great exposure to the underground scene on Day 1 – the next few days were bound to be a blast!

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