This was the fourth installment of the already pretty famous metalfest among foreigners, in (sound of wind blowing through spooky trees) Nooorway, for it was here that infamous things have happened, namely the notorious black metal scene of (two) murders and some church torchings. The image has caused many to travel to Oslo, the welcoming and low-key capital of the Kingdom of Norway, to enjoy a well-organized metal event and to mingle and take pictures with black metal superstars. Luckily we did not stay at the official Inferno hotel, but the Scandic “Byporten”, where the Easter deal cost us a mere 450 crowns a room with a delicious breakfast buffet (HINT HINT!).

Thursday

The festival takes place in the jointed venues of Rockefeller and John Dee. The Rockefeller held the main stage, and could accommodate approximately 2,000 heads, more or less. The John Dee was down a flight of stairs, and only the first 400 in were lucky enough to see the band because that’s all there was room for! Thursday’s Rockefeller bands were Rotting Christ, Khold, Konkhra, Gorgoroth, and My Dying Bride. The bands at John Dee were Maze of Torment, Dimension F3h, Manifest, Helheim, and Mercenary. Unfortunately I was so tied up with my schedule that I MISSED Rotting Christ! Maybe next time…. Honestly though, I only caught Gorgoroth and My Dying Bride. As for Helheim, there was not enough room for us! Gorgoroth, whom I have never particularly cared for before, put up an AMAZING show. They had a row of artificial “candles” in front of them and a baphomet in the background, but it was of course their hellish getup and genocidal music that made them so good. The fact that they had white makeup accidentally smeared over their gauntlets and clothes made them look “dusty”, like they just arose from the grave, and with Gaahl’s stature it further contributed to the “frightening” ambiance. It was quite funny though as the curly-haired guitarist was sporting his Scandinavian reflective work pants. Maybe he didn’t have time to change after work. After some booth-browsing we went back to see My Dying Bride. Needless to say they put on a very emotional show, which featured quite a few of their new songs. If you have seen them live you would agree that Aaron puts everything he has into the performance. Our hearts were full of dread and mourning and eyes were filled with tears! Okay not quite but close. It was the perfect environment as the Rockefeller is such a great place for intimate shows with a large audience. You weren’t 300 feet away in a crowded tent with bad sound. Everything was perfect and it was a wonderful way to end the night.

Friday

Friday was quite special as Aeternus, Susperia, Zyklon, Enslaved, and Sadus were to play, along with the John Dee bands: Tonka, Sinners Bleed, Pawnshop, Manes, and

Àsmegin. DJ Fenriz spun pleasant tunes in the Rockefeller between bands. Pictures anyone??? Aeternus was really good although the audience was just short of being sparce. Perhaps it was the early drinking, or the early-“morning” hangovers that kept them. I wondered how much sweat was absorbed by Ares’s leather trench during the show. Next up was Susperia. We decided to give them a chance so we stood there for three minutes. And after that did nothing we left for the town and it’s delicious kebabs. We were back in time for a little of Zyklon though I remember nothing spectacular from what I saw and heard. Our minds were elsewhere.

Next we strolled to the packed Møllers Pub next door and watched some punky metalheads play pool. We were back in time for Manes whom I’m familiar with only through an early black and white “cult”-type album I own. They seemed to have changed completely since then. They are now electronic black metal fronted by a big man with a bald head. His appearance would not seem at all out of place if he were situated in America. After that segment we headed back to the booths to browse morbid paraphernalia, “gothic” clothes and jewelry. There were some CDs but the prices weren’t to die for, and the selection was sparse. We people-watched to pass the time between bands. There were many amusing getups, and quite a few who seemed to think this was some kind of fetish festival. My best dressed award goes to the short & curly-haired kid sporting glasses, red lipstick around his eyes, a black poet shirt, and a red kilt. “Sexiest” goes to the girl wearing pants that laced up the back revealing her ass and the thin red g-string between it. Congratulations!

The almighty Enslaved was next. People gathered as the band set up their gear, and before long the room was dark and a huge screen filled the back with the Enslaved logo and psychedelic scenes throughout the whole set. Enslaved was most definitely the best band that night, full of energy and raw emotion. They kicked off with “Slaget I Skogen Brotenfor” and the fury took off from there. Towards the end Grutle said in English “Thanks to all the people who came from all over Europe… and America, just to see us.” You’re welcome! Then he took a dive into the crowd after the show. Sweet!

We attempted to go descend to John Dee for Àsmegin afterwards but it was crowded to the top of the staircase. It was already 12 and people were starting to get drunk and tired so Sadus was a great soundtrack in which to end the night. It was laid-back beer-drinking thrash with the denim to go with it. A great line from the set was “Some of you may remember this, it’s from our first album, side B.” The second night of Inferno ended it in a sweet, headbanging frenzy.

Saturday

Saturday’s mainstage bands were Disiplin, Decapitated, Aborym, Holy Moses, and Mayhem. John Dee bands were Urgehal, Mindgrinder, Forgery, Defiled, and Myrkskog. Disiplin played a surprisingly short set as we didn’t catch any of it even though we were only a little late! Urgehal was packed and Decapitated satisfied many with their death metal tunes, the vocalist projecting a tough image with his head-nodding throughout their entire set. That kid has been working out! The lighting stands out in my mind with its many green hues. Aborym’s show was more like a rave than anything else. The vocalist had a glowing/flashing inverted cross around his neck and the entire band had a lot of “trippy” things on different parts of their bodies. The drums were triggered and they sounded completely synthetic. Baard Eithun (Faust) came out and guest-drummed for a song. He played wonderfully and dynamically, especially for someone who didn’t have access to physical practice at his disposal. Whether he did or didn’t, it was good. Some of the music was pretty good but they seemed to play for such a long time. The lights and repetition just wasn’t doing it for me.

While Holy Moses played we went back and looked again at the morbid clocks and ashtrays, and bumped into some friends from the states. We had a few drinks with them and just hung out for a while. I had never heard of Holy Moses before and yet they had the main stage. Perhaps it is the craze for female growlers that got them there. Myrkskog was a nice grounding experience in contrast to the previous bands. A few unmentioned superstars were in attendance to this as well. They also seemed to play for a long time so I was relieved to catch the words “sista låt” before their last song.

Mayhem was the final band of the night. It started to get so packed you had to squeeze your way through. It was surprising how many people were out partying while most of these bands played. I didn’t even bother to go up to the photo booth as they had pigheads on poles. Sick. It was hard to focus on what songs they were playing and what was going on on stage as people were shoulder to shoulder trying to look over each other. I caught glimpses of Maniac in his new corpsepaint style which seemed to be inspired by Marilyn Manson. What went on seemed to be a freakshow or Mardi Gras of some sort. It wasn’t full of darkness but instead, lots of light, as the bright explosions were reminiscent of New Year’s Eve. It didn’t go with the pigheads at all. Later someone placed a pighead on one of the platforms where people sat, and a few people were taking pictures with it. But it was one hell of an end to a three-day festival. People started emptying out of the concert hall when they were done and it was hard to believe it was over. The cozy Inferno environment cultivated during our three days was now dispersing, not to occur for another year. Everyone was still here though, around downtown Oslo and probably filling up every corner of Elm Street. I was too tired at this point and just retired to the comfort of my hotel bed.