Live Review : Inferno Metal Festival @ Vaterland, Rockefeller, John Dee in Oslo, Norway on April 17th 2025

While Easter is a time for religious worship for many, or perhaps overindulgence in chocolate, for the extreme metal community it is the opportunity to make the annual pilgrimage to Oslo for the unrivalled Inferno Festival. Set over four days, the festival always delivers a line up of the best extreme metal has to offer with an enticing mix of big names rubbing shoulders with the best of the underground. Of course, black metal is central to this but in truth, all extreme metal genres are covered and this year was to be no exception.

The main portion of the festival is set in the Rockefeller/John Dee complex with both stages (separated by a staircase) alternating so there are no clashes between the bands, allowing the discerning fan to see every minute of every band if they wish, but in truth the smaller John Dee stage reaches capacity very quickly and often becomes “one in, one out”. The festival also offers matinee shows in clubs across the city giving the chance to get up close and personal with bands during the early afternoon, but make sure you turn up early as these are very popular and usually reach capacity quickly. 

Away from the venues, the festival is centred around the elegant Clarion Hub hotel which is the official festival hotel and caters brilliantly to the needs of the festival goers, creating a real sense of community, with fans and bands alike sitting down together at breakfast, and drinking together in the bar. The foyer is decorated with festival posters, the information screens show the bands’ stage times, the hotel PA system blasts metal for the duration and the famous breakfast buffet runs until later than usual. The hotel also hosts the Inferno Music Conference which offers the opportunity for delegates to attend seminars and debates and more including a guitar clinic with Nergal, Orion and Seth (Behemoth), a drum clinic with Kerim “Krimh” Lechner (Septicflesh, Dååth and Krimh), a fashion show, an art exhibition, a yacht cruise and the annual metal auction. 

There was also the opportunity to go on a “Black Metal Bus Sightseeing Tour” with Anders Odden (Cadaver, Satyricon, Celtic Frost, Order) or a Munch tour around the city, attend the tattoo fair and a metal market. Away from the festival, there was the opportunity to visit Neseblod, which is a must for black metal fans. Neseblod is the nearest that there will ever be to a black metal museum with the walls and ceilings covered with demos, test pressing and rare items from the formative years of Norwegian black metal when the building next door was home to the infamous Helvete store. In fact, an essential part of the pilgrimage to this shop is a visit to the basement where even more old memorabilia is stored (piled up on the floor!) and the “black metal wall”, which has become a shrine for black metal fans. There is also a vast array of rare vinyls, CDs and tapes for sale for the collectors, which always proves too much of a temptation for me. If that isn’t enough, Katakomben records is a “must’ and of course there are all the other “tourist” things to do in the city. During the review I’ll focus on the music as we’d be here for hours if I rambled on about all the other bits, but take it from me, there is plenty to do and you won’t be bored!

It would be remiss of me to not mention that this year’s edition of the festival was tinged with an air of sadness as one of the festival’s founders and organisers Jan-Martin Jensen recently passed away, and in fact during the traditional “warm up” event the night before the festival, the SALT venue was given over to a tribute to, and celebration of, Jan-Martin and is life. 

The main festival began for me at the Vaterland venue, a few minutes walk from the hotel. Vaterland is a great bar and pizza restaurant that has an intimate gig venue in the space upstairs. During Inferno this room always reaches capacity quickly so I made sure that I was there in good time for YR nor. Taking to the stage to an ominous intro tape, with the obligatory corpse paint, spikes and stage props, the band wasted no time launching into 'Kvessa Tunger’, with their raw Norwegian black metal soon reverberating around the venue. Although the band are early in their career, the room was packed as they delivered a venomous set further building their rapidly growing reputation. There was brief respite during the midset ‘Intermezzo’ before things built up again with ‘Svartkratt’. The band looked humbled by the response afforded to them, and all too soon the set came to an end with ‘Doed og Begravet’.

Keeping the momentum going were Malum, another relatively new Norwegian black metal band, who took the opportunity to show a packed international audience exactly what they are about and why there is a real buzz in the underground about them. Eschewing corpse paint in favour of hoods and face masks, the band brought a more sinister atmosphere to Vaterland as they opened with ‘Into The Vast Horizon’ and ‘Futility of Denial’. The music was razor sharp yet oppressive and with a majestic feel as epic melodies swirled around the venue. The tracks all merged into each other creating a rampaging celebration of Norwegian black metal as attested to by the queue outside the venue waiting to get in as there was a one in, one out policy due to the venue being at capacity. This had been a perfect start to the festival, and with the black metal tomes still ringing in my ears, I headed over to the Rockefeller/John Dee complex for the main portion of the festival to begin.

The opening band on the Rockefeller stage were the legendary Dødheimsgard, who had been given a lengthened slot to allow them to deliver a special set, and they did not disappoint. Covering six albums from their back catalogue, the band fused their avant-garde black metal with epic soundscapes, incorporating keyboards and a small choir to augment their sound. Three tracks were aired from the latest album, with the smouldering ‘It Does Not Follow’ being an unexpected highlight for me. The band were in a playful mood, interacting with the front rows, as their sublime, hypnotic set built, culminating in previous vocalist Khvost joining the band towards the end of the set. I’ve seen Dødheimsgard numerous times before and this was without doubt the most impressive. 

As soon as the final track was closing, I made my way down the staircase to the much smaller John Dee venue for Syn. Although they are a relatively new outfit, with only one album to their name, I had heard a lot of good things and was looking forward to their set. The hooded vocalist was the centre of attention with his tortured howls as the band opened with ‘Groregn’ from their debut (and only) album. It was raw, frantic and frenetic, as one track after another agitated around the packed room. There was atmosphere and aggression in equal measure as the set pummelled the crowd until things were brought to a close with ‘Drømmen ved bålet’. One of the things I love about Inferno is the opportunity to discover new bands and Syn was another one to add to my list. 

In contrast, Necrophobic needed no introduction, having been going since 1989 and with ten albums under their collective studded belts, including latest album “In the Twilight Grey” which was well represented tonight. Opening duo ‘Stormcrow’ and ‘Mark of the Necrogram’ laid down a marker for their pummelling blackened death metal. The band have all of the cliches down to a tea with the studded leather, corpse paint and poses but it works well and complements the music perfectly. Personal favourite ‘Blinded by Light, Enlightened by Darkness’ came towards the end of the set and had every head in the room was banging to its galloping rhythm. I’ve seen them many times, and they keep getting better. 

Downstairs, bathed in red light and opening with ‘Bakenfor Urskogens Utkant’, Udåd took to the John Dee stage in front of a packed crowd. The name may have been new to many in attendance, but the distinctive figure of Thomas Eriksen (best known for his role with Mork) was easily recognisable, and once again he was appearing at Inferno delivering some top quality black metal. The band delivered a set of burzum tinged desolate yet atmospheric black metal to the entranced crowd until the triumphant set was brought to a close with ‘Kald Iver’ and ‘Antropofagens Hunger’. 

Back in Rockefeller, Sweden’s Tiamat returned to Norway for the first time in ten years with a special set focussing on material from the early 90’s. Opening with ‘In a Dream’, ’Clouds’ and ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ from the ‘Clouds’ album, the gothic metal set grew in stature with each track. The band were in a playful mood interacting with the relatively sparse crowd as they ran through their set before they focussed in on the “Wildhoney” album for the majority of the second half of the set. For me, these two albums were the band at their peak so it was fantastic to be present for this set. 

Downstairs there was a complete contrast in style as Canada’s Spectral Wound brutalised John Dee with their old-school black metal. The band are currently one of the hottest names in the extreme metal underworld with a fearsome reputation and this was to be their Inferno debut, and only their second time in Norway. The band delivered a no nonsense set of abrasive black metal focusing on their most recent album “Songs of Blood and Mire”, with the tracks all merging together to create one brutal, delightful barrage. Tonight’s set showed why the band are taking the world of extreme metal by storm, and they will undoubtedly be playing bigger stages than this in the near future. 

In recent years, there has been a lot of well documented controversy surrounding Batushka, not least the acrimonious split and arguments about ownership of the name and for a while there were two bands going under the moniker. However, this appears to have been resolved and Krzysztof Drabikowski's Batushka made their debut at Inferno with a mesmerising set of captivating black metal interspersed with chanting and religious material, all backed by orthodox imagery. The hooded sect opened the show with a long ritual lighting candles around the stage, which also had a central altar and various other pieces of “religious” paraphernalia, before their hypnotising, atmospheric black metal washed around a packed Rockefeller. The crowd stood transfixed, lapping up the cathartic outpourings as one track merged into the next delivering a masterclass in immersive, atmospheric black metal. Outstanding. 

Following on, there was another change in atmosphere downstairs in John Dee as In The Woods… closed the stage for the day with a more relaxed atmosphere and their avant-garde metal, swinging between rock and metal at times. Focussing on their later material, not least the recently released album “Otra”, the band swung between rock and metal. The crowd was thinner than earlier in the day, with many choosing to stay upstairs to keep a good spot for Abbath, but those that were present were given a real treat, and as the set was being drawn to a close with ‘…In The Woods’, I found myself thinking that this had been an unexpected highlight of the festival for me. 

The day was brought to a close with a true legend of black metal, the one and only Abbath Doom Occulta. Abbath spent his formative years as the frontman of the exalted Immortal, before the split and Abbath went his own way, culminating in his eponymous band and the current Return to the Raven Realms tour, exclusively playing older Immortal material. Setting up behind a curtain adorned with the frontman’s face, there was a loud roar when the curtain was drawn revealing a stage adorned with two giant axes. The band were wearing the usual corpsepaint but Abbath was inevitably the focal point with his trademark corpsepaint and body armour. Opening with ‘Withstand the Fall of Time’, ‘Sons of Northern Darkness’ and ‘All Shall Fall’ was perfect for me, as the icy, Norwegian black metal rumbled around the cavernous Rockefeller to an absolutely rammed crowd. Although Abbath playfully interacted with the crowd, he also seemed more focussed and serious than in past years, giving the music a more incisive edge as the set progressed. A magnificent ‘One by One’ was followed by ‘Damned in Black’ with impressive pyros adding to the visual impact of the show as one bona fide black metal icon was followed by another before the evening was brought to a close with ‘The Sun No Longer Rises’, more pyros and a smoke bomb, before the band disappeared from the stage with no fanfare, leaving the crowd to head out into the Oslo night. This had been an outstanding opening day and I couldn’t wait for three more days of extreme metal. 

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Abbath + In The Woods… + Batushka + Spectral Wound + Tiamat + Udåd + Necrophobic + Syn + Dødheimsgard + Malum + YR nor