Fagerlund's reviews

Long time no writing... again! But Inferno was celebrating it's 18:th birthday so I decided to head west to have a look at this notorious festival!

THURSDAY

Odium

Unfortunately we misjudged the queues to the venue and wardrobe so I only managed to catch the last song of these guys. Sounded heavily Dissection inspired, but a good one at that at least.

Erimha

First of the hooded band on the John Dee stage were these guys. I'll be honest, I don't really remember them at all so I'll not write anything more...

Naglfar

Naglfar is one of those Swedish Black Metal bands that doesn't seem to play live very often. So every chance to see them is always filled with a bit of expectation. They're also one of those bands that has been around forever, so they know what they're doing. So the question is simply, did they play the songs I wanted to hear? And yes, I'm satisfied. This was a solid gig. Hopefully they play again soon a bit closer to home!

Dodecahedron

Second of the hooded bands on the John Dee stage... and I remember a really aggressive drum sound. Other than that, again a bit too generic for my taste...

Shining

Ah, Shining... managed to see them a couple of times and this actually felt like a very generic gig for them. I still think that they have a guitar player that's way too good for the band, but overall this gig felt very... routine. I guess Kvarforths thing is to be a bit of a bad boy, but when all he does is annoy some photographers you're not exactly intimidated. It was alright though, but nothing special.

UADA

Wow. I've managed to catch this Black Metal band from USA briefly before at Brutal Assault. But there they kind of disappeared in the huge mass of bands I saw, while here at Inferno they turned out to be one of the stand out bands of the whole festival for me. This was a great set. They manage a real fine balance between being mysterious with these all so popular hoods while still keeping the intensity up. Great set!

Dark Funeral

Ah, Dark Funeral, the legends! This was my second time seeing them since Heljarmadr joined the band. And well, it really has a different feeling seeing them live. Caligula had such a presence on stage which is really missing now. It's absolutely not bad, just different. And the drummer having to fill the shoes Nils Fjällström left behind is also tricky... Jaloomah is doing a good job behind the kit, but he's cheating a bit for the fast parts. Who can blame him though? Solid set overall.

One Tail, One Head

I've heard this band mentioned a lot lately, so figured I'd check them out. They reminding me a lot of Taake, but not as good as Taake, so I soon lost interest unfortunately. 

Obituary

Even though Inferno is primarily Black Metal, they still have some other genres represented around. And Obi is definitely a good representative for Death Metal. I was lucky to see them the night before in Stockholm as well, so I knew exactly what to expect. Groovey Death Metal, and total madness. It was actually interesting to see them in a different country two days after each other to compare, and I have to say it was much better in Stockholm due to the crowd response. While there were a lot more people at Inferno, the crowd in Stockholm was there only for Obi - and it showed in the madness. And this really reflected on the band who were even more energetic in Stockholm. Not that they were bad in Oslo, it was still a great set!

FRIDAY

Mephorash

The hooded trend continues! This time a band from Stockholm that I've actually seen before. What these guys do to stand out though is to mix in some magic that makes them stand out a bit. This wasn't a concert, but more like a sorcerer gathering performing a ritual. Solid set, and they certainly have potential to get pretty known I think.

Ulsect

Ulsect is a pretty new back from the Netherlands who play technical Death Metal. However they didn't leave much of an impression on me unfortunately. 

Auðn

Black Metal from Iceland! There's a newish wave of Icelandic bands that has managed to get noticed by festivals around Europe lately, and I must say that I'm impressed every time I see one of them live. It's really solid stuff where they really manage to deliver that melancholic atmosphere without losing any of the rawness of Black Metal. This was a great set!

Wiegedood

Black Metal from Belgium, not something you see everyday! Pretty good stuff, but perhaps not something I'll listen to again.

Origin

Some bands are more like athletes than musicians. Origin from USA is definitely like that. They play so damn fast that they somehow managed to squeeze in what felt like twice the amount of songs in the same time as the other bands. Even so, it got a bit dull for my taste. Fun for 15 minutes or so, but then not so interesting. But the bass player though. That was crazy to watch. I didn't know you could do such things with a bass guitar.

Earth Electric

Okay, so this is a weird one. Blasphemer (Aura Noir, ex-Mayhem) playing in some kind of progressive 70's rock band. You can absolutely hear Blasphemers particular guitar style in it though, and they even had an organ as well. Unfortunately the vocalist really didn't fit the music in my opinion - it even sounded false at times. But alas.

Emperor

Ah, Emperor returns to Inferno! Inferno was the place they did their comeback show at, and haven't played since there since 2006. So it's been a long time coming! And what a way to do it by playing Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk as well! I've managed to see them a couple of times the last years, and they are a truly mighty live experience. To see them with the Norwegian crowd made it a bit extra special as well! This show was just superb, probably the best one at the festival for me.

Necrophobic

Ah, then on to some oldschool Blackened Death Metal from Sweden. These guys also recently changed their lineup, and to me Fredrik Folkare was a big loss on the guitars here, so last time I saw them I wasn't particularly impressed. Now they've had a year or two playing together though, and it showed! This was a really solid show with a bunch of energy. And that was right after Emperor... so saying that means a lot!

Fleshgod Apocalypse

And the final band of the night was Fleshgod Apocalypse from Italy playing their technical Death Metal! Unfortunately this felt a bit like a routine show from the guys, and in their own words they were humbled from playing after Emperor. Still a solid show, but I've seen them be much better than this before.

SATURDAY

Nordjevel

Saturday kicked off with some Norwegian Black Metal. They had a touch of folk melodies mixed in there, but other than that just traditional Black Metal. Not bad, but not so interesting either.

Necronautical

So this Black Metal band from the UK won a competition to play at Inferno, and I must say I was impressed. It was really good Black Metal on the more melodic side. Good stuff!

Krakow

...and then there was a random band for the festival. Stoner at a Black Metal festival? I guess so. It was alright, but I spent most of their gig sitting down and resting so...

Memoriam

From the ashes of Bolt Thrower came Memoriam! I'll have to admit I was very disappointed with the first album they released. It doesn't sound very good at all. It had me questioning why Karl Willetts is still growling - and since he's one of my favourite growlers of all times that really sucked to think. However... sometimes bands are better live, and that's definitely the case for these veterans. It took them a couple of songs to get going, but once they got going they were back to the unstoppable tank I'd expect! So I'm very glad to have seen that, and now I might actually dare checking out their latest album as well...

Vanhelgd

Vanhelgd is a band that has really shaped up the last couple of years I think. They have created this very melancholic Death Metal, but without losing any of the intensity. Especially live their energy explodes and grabs you, just to drag you into the atmosphere they build. I really like these guys, and this was another good gig from them!

Ihsahn

After Emperor the day before there was of course some expectations on Ihsahn as well. In my experience they're really a hit or miss band live. Either really good, or not very interesting at all. This time was a bit more towards the later unfortunately. But still, they have some cool guitars going on so still a decent gig.

Ahab

Germany's premier Funeral Doom band I guess! These guys really know how to make heavy music! For me though, the Doom genre is tricky. I have to be in the right mood to really enjoy it - and this festival didn't really create that state of mind for me. But still I absolutely enjoyed this gig, hope to catch them headlining a show at some point!

Satyricon

Ah Satyricon... what to say? They did pretty much the exact same set they did when they played in Stockholm this autumn. And after that show I basically said to myself "I'll probably never go see Satyricon headline again". The new stuff just doesn't appeal to me the same way... and this show didn't change that feeling. It's not bad at all, it's just not grabbing me at all. The performance was superb as usual though.

SUNDAY

Djevel

Norwegian "super group" of Black Metal... looking at the members of the group they sure have a lot of merit. But I'll have to admit the music didn't really show it. For example I didn't notice that it was Faust behind the drums. The whole thing sounded a bit uninspired to be honest. Perhaps it was too early in the evening for these guys?

Empyreal

Ah, the second competition winner was this Melodic Death Metal band from Germany. Apparently this was their first show outside of Germany, so that was pretty cool. Their description said "Blackened Death Metal", but to me this sounded a lot more like Dark Tranquillity and Amorphis - which is not a bad thing at all. It was really good actually! I expect to see more of these guys in the future.

Tsjuder

Ah, Tsjuder from Norway. Managed to see them a couple of times before so I knew to expect some raw uncompromising Black Metal. They're really solid live, and know how to make a show. But then they turned it up one notch further when they brought the biggest surprise of the whole festival; Frederick Melander (founding member of Bathory) got up on stage with them to play three Bathory covers. They even had the backdrop. Now that's something. One third of the original Bathory lineup live on stage is probably the closest I'll ever come to seeing Bathory live, so that was awesome!

Naðra

Icelandic Hooded Black Metal... unfortunately they took more from the "hooded" part than the "icelandic" part. Again, just a little bit too forgettable.

Napalm Death

And then suddenly; Grindcore! A bit of an oddball at this festival I guess, but these legends are really good live for sure. I'm not a huge fan of Grind, but I'm never bored watching these guys live. So much energy you just can't help being infected by it. 

Schammasch

And this was the final of the hooded bands... as you might have guessed by now I'm a bit fed up with this new trend of hooded Black Metal bands. I've already seen the "original" wave of the hooded bands so all these copies that show up really have to put forward something special to be remembered. And on a festival like this, lasting for four days... they just kind of gets lost in the mix. These guys did have three seven string guitars which is definitely rare for Black Metal, but still nothing that stood out for me.

Electric Wizard

Another oddball for this festival for sure, but judging by the crowd much appreciated! Doomy madness from these wizards, as captivating as ever. They just know how to drag you in and forget your surroundings for a while. But like I wrote earlier, really have to be in the right mood for these guys. Still, very good show!

Grave

Seventeenth time I see Grave live, hah. This year Grave is turning 30, so they were celebrating by playing nothing newer than '91. At first I was a bit sceptical when I saw that, as I really like the later Grave-albums. But I really had nothing to worry about. They came, they saw, they won. This was definitely one of the highlights of the festival for me. Really good gig from the guys!

Carpathian Forest

And finally another classic Norwegian Black Metal band. I'll admit I've never really listened to them, and honestly this show didn't change my mind. Too bad the last band was a bit meh, but alas.

And that was that! Over all I'm really happy with this festival. The good bands delivered shows I'll remember for a long time I think. And while a lot of bands were unknown to me, I did get some new discoveries as well to explore further. Definitely worth returning to this festival!