Live Review : Inferno Metal Festival @ Brewgata, Vaterland, Rockefeller, John Dee in Oslo, Norway on April 18th 2025

After a fantastic opening day, I couldn’t wait to get back into the music and day two began with a dilemma for me with two bands I was keen to see playing at the same time. Thankfully the venues were very close so I decided to try to catch both, starting at Brewgata with Italians Nel Buio and their distinctive blackwave. Brewgata is a great little venue that is essentially a bar with a small stage in one corner giving a great atmosphere. The trio played their soundtrack to armageddon in front of a screen projecting futuristic images, and the enthusiastic crowd were drawn into their world of sorrowful atmospheric black metal. 

I was thoroughly enjoying their set, but I had to draw myself away to go and see Kirkebrann at the nearby Vaterland venue. The Norwegians have been tormenting the black metal underground for almost twenty years, and I’ve enjoyed their live shows. Today was no exception, and as I made my way into the packed room, I was greeted by a confrontational, aggressive black metal barrage. Visually the band played the part with corpse paint, spikes and bullet belts, and the vocalist had blood spilling down the front of his shirt as well as a big inverted cross, as he aggressively engaged the front rows. After a taking a few photos, I found a spot and stood back soaking up the violent offerings culminating in ‘Lange Netter’, ‘Når Alt Dør’ and ‘Den Som Hater’. This was raw and nasty, exactly as Norwegian black metal should be!

There was no time to waste so I headed over to Rockefeller for the opening band, Gaerea. The band last played at Inferno two years ago when they were downstairs in John Dee and delivered one of the most intense sets ever witnessed within the confines of the small venue, one that is now part of Inferno folklore. Since then, the band have been on a massive upwards trajectory and today’s set was to be another step on that path. Taking to a stage adorned with their bisected Sigil sitting either side of the drum kit, the band were wearing their trademark black clothes and masks giving an air of mystique as they unloaded their dense and yet epic melodies which swirled around the venue. The vocalist writhed and contorted around the stage as he conducted his troupe, in front of en ever increasingly energetic crowd with the prowess of an assured future headliner. Glorious!

Downstairs, there was a change in atmosphere for the angry young trio collectively known as Rosa Faenskap. Opening with ‘Paradis’ and ‘Klarhet’, the band unleashed a hard to define blend of hardcore, punk and extreme metal as they flailed around the stage delivering their righteous messages. The crowd lapped up the direct battery as the band made themselves a lot of new friends.

Next up were Blood Incantation and their blend of progressive death metal. This was the Americans’ first time at Inferno, and the show was part of the current ‘Absolute Elsewhere’ tour, which was reflected in the setlist. The set swung from pulverising death metal to ambient, atmospheric, progressive interludes, perhaps even with a “cosmic” hint in places. This all worked really well and a packed crowd took up every single vantage point soaking up the dense and claustrophobic set, not to mention the impressive shredding guitar work. 

Turin’s Ponte del Diavolo followed downstairs with their Norwegian debut and a change of pace as their epic doom laden melodies swirled around John Dee. Vocalist Erba del Diavolo cast a spell over the crowd with her hypnotic voice as she spent large portions of the set crouched down engaging with the front row, making this a very up close and personal affair. The set understandably drew heavily from the recent “Fire Blades from the Tomb” album and was well received by the receptive crowd.

The atmosphere remained claustrophobic upstairs in Rockefeller for Kylesa and their heavy sludgy, stoner metal. The band went on a hiatus in 2015 but have now returned to celebrate their 25th anniversary, and the Inferno set is to be their only Scandinavian show. As always, Laura Pleasants and Phillip Cope led from the front with their guitar work and vocals, running through a memorable set with tracks such as ‘Don’t Look Back’, ‘Clutches’ and ‘Nature’s Predators’ shaking the building’s foundations before the set was drawn to a close with ‘Running Red’.

A capacity crowd gathered early in John Dee for Germany’s Non Est Deus, who were playing at Inferno as part of the Summer Breeze - Inferno exchange programme. The black metal act have a reputation for ferocious live acts and I was not alone in looking forward to experiencing this for myself. Playing behind three foliage covered crosses and dressed in white robes with their faces covered, the band unleashed an aggressive barrage with tracks such as the magnificent ‘Burn it Down’. The capacity crowd were mesmerised, realising they were witnessing something special. There is no doubt we will be hearing more from Non Est Deus. 

Following that would be a challenge for many bands, but Greece’s Septicflesh were more than up to the job. Their epic symphonic death metal was majestic as its irresistible galloping rhythms rang out in Rockefeller with one classic track after another including ‘The Vampire from Nazareth’, ‘Neuromancer’, ‘Portrait of a Headless Man’ and of course the irrepressible ‘Communion’. A decent sized pit opened up and crowd surfers kept security busy as the crowd reacted to the intricate yet abrasive melodies. The sound was dense and oppressive at the same time as being gloriously symphonic. This was one of the highlights of the weekend for me.

John Dee was once again at capacity for Aeternus and their blackened death metal. Having been founded back in 1993, Aeternus are respected elder statesmen of the scene, and as many as possible squeezed into the cramped confines of John Dee to bear witness to this set, the first one at Inferno since 2013. The set opened with ‘Raven and Blood’ followed by ‘There's No Wine Like the Bloods Crimson’. Their dense sound was claustrophobic, but felt more like a familiar embrace than anything else, and hidden with the barrage were sublime melodies. All too soon, the set was brought to a close with ‘Sworn Revenge’. I sincerely hope I get the chance to catch Aeternus again before long. 

It fell to 1349 to bring the day to a close, and this was one of the sets I was most looking forward to, having been very impressed their most recent album “The Wolf & the King” and our previous live encounters. As is tradition, the set began with Archaon fire breathing, before the rest of the band took to the stage bathed in red light, aggressively unleashing their aural hellfire upon the packed crowd. ‘Slaves’ was an early highlight, with ‘I Am Abomination’ and ‘Striding the Chasm’ coming mid set. This was completely ferocious as each track ripped into the crowd who were lively in their response. This was pure Norwegian black metal at its finest - It was relentless in its brutality and its purity, and was everything I love about black metal. A perfect close to the day. 

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
1349 + Aeturnus + Septicflesh + Non Est Deus + Kylesa + Ponte del Diavolo + Blood Incantation + Rosa Faenskap + Gaerea + Kirkebrann + Nel Buio