Day Two – Thursday 2nd April 2015
After the hugely enjoyable first night it was difficult to perceive how things could get better but they did with each passing moment it felt as Thursday got underway with a trip to a record store about 20 minutes walk that is located virtually next to the infamous Helvete shop. The original has been replaced by a Chinese coffee shop and bakery, but the cellars under the place have been left largely intact and the owners allow anyone to go there and soak themselves in black metal history which I did via some very steep stairs from the Neseblod record store which had some incredibly rare items on display, like shirts owned by Euronymous or Jon Nödtveidt (Dissection) plus priceless releases of Mayhem, Emperor, Burzum and other Norwegian cult black metal acts from the early 90s and late 80s too. The selection of records, tapes, CDs, shirts was ridiculous and I could have blown all my money in this shop but restricted myself to a few items I have on my buying list from the 80s that I wanted. My shooter bought a rare Emperor vinyl which I was very jealous about I must say. After signing the book of tributes in the cellar, taking photos and buying stuff, relocating to the hotel was needed to drop them off before venturing to watch bands.
Arriving at the larger Rockefeller venue, which is directly above and in the same building as the John Dee stage, a visit to the official merchandise area was necessary to see what was on offer but especially to try and get a shirt for some of the bands playing later on and to avoid stuff selling out. Apart from the two stages mentioned, two others were in operation as well called Revolver and Kulturhuset with the former hosting Doomraiser in the early hours and Virus and Vulture Industries playing the latter during the evening. I decided to stick to the main stages for the evening and technically if you wanted you could catch every band that played in the evening on the Rockefeller and John Dee as they alternated, which is exactly what I did but it did mean leaving bands early to get a spot for the next band as the place really did become packed at times.
Opening on the John Dee stage was Italian filth mob Haemophagus whose scathing death metal tinged with a touch of US grind berated the crowd who I must admit are very different to the UK ones, being much more restrained overall with very few pits over the four days seen. Their short crust laden riffs were as subtle as a sledgehammer to the groin and had song titles to match such as “Choked On A Cadaver’s Dick” and “Viscera Pie”. Subtlety was absent from this band’s repertoire preferring to blast and groove the audience with a relentless foray of sewer gargling deathliness. “Swollen With Parasites” was dedicated to the audience, nice touch guys, as it was apparent that a lot of the punters here weren’t too taken by their old school death metal grubbiness but I loved it.
Leaving the Italians to wallow in their own sonic muck the Rockefeller stage beckoned for Norwegian band Execration. The Norwegians plastered their songs with unadulterated doom dismalness yet still possessed a polish like the surface of a pool of molten tar. The lengthy opener “Cosmic Mausoleum” set the scene for a set of dripping death gutter trawling where an old school vibe of fetid malignancy was blended with more modern style death metal, especially the lead work. Stripped back tunes offering nothing but villainous violence was why I got into death metal in the 80s especially the baneful doom death of “Tribulation Shackles” which was utterly crushing and left me wandering to the merch stand to fight for the bands last vinyl copy of “Morbid Dimensions” that my shooter beat me to but kindly let me buy it instead plus a shirt.
There is a tendency when one looks at the Inferno line up over the years to hone in on the black metal bands such is their dominance on the line up it feels like but the festival adds bands from far and wide with Inner Sanctum from India being a prime example. Their set was delivered with gusto and reverberating enthusiasm as the guys on stage created their own wind tunnel of flailing hair. Their tunes were steeped in groove, a power riffing nihilism that bands like Kataklysm, Vader and Deicide have used to incredible effect as the crowd gorged themselves on innately engaging songs like opener “Agent Of Chaos” and mid set tune “Legions Awake”, the title track from their recent album. Announcing that they had travelled from India was greeted with a cheer, well I cheered anyway, as the singer asked and I quote, “How do you say fuck off in Norwegian?”, to which the place replied with “Fuck Off” to much sniggering I must admit. As their set continued I was extremely mindful that a key band was playing next on the Rockefeller stage so gathering my stuff during “Quarantine” I reluctantly left the band to continue their head caving beastliness.
Key band indeed was Septicflesh, who I have followed since their humble doom death days in the 90s; this Greek outfit has shattered the boundaries of death metal over their last three releases resulting in the 2014 aptly named album “Titan” and even more relevant to their performance which was apocalyptic in every respect. Striding on stage the confidence exuding from all the band members was electric and if ever there was a guy who looked and breathed like an extreme metal rock star, it was Spiros. His considerable frame and perfectly made stage costume was eye catching as he flexed his sonic muscles on bass and his fabulous death metal voice which is still one of the best I have ever heard. Kicking off the show was “War In Heaven” the power and hurricane like arrangements erupted forth like an exhalation from hell summoning dark and occult forces within their charismatic and truly breathtaking set of symphonic death. The backing arrangements of keyboards and choirs were excellent and appropriate for their set and if ever a band needed to play with a choir and orchestra live then it is Septicflesh without doubt. “Communion” was executed with monstrous elegance, an elaborate assault on the senses where the bands visual and aural performance was one to behold in awe as the crowd looked mesmerized as I glanced around me whilst stood at the barrier, trying to write notes yet enjoy their pristine symphonious incantations. The guys in Septicflesh oozed class during every millisecond of “A Great Mass Of Death” and “Prototype”, their bombarding complex song arrangements were delivered with effortless aplomb, as even the backing tracks were overflowing with ideas that amalgamated with every nuance of the bands set which flashed by, but with another band I really wanted to see up next downstairs I took my leave and was disappointed, even sulking, as Septicflesh had no merchandise with them.
Being weaned on thrash metal in the 80s meant I had to catch the scathing Swedish act Antichrist as I have been waiting a while to see them. Decked out in traditional thrash wear the band put in a blistering performance of high velocity speed and thrash that was extremely loud with high tonal guitars shredding the ears of all present. The guys were a maelstrom of action on stage and despite it being a tight squeeze they still managed to pull off some cracking headbanging acrobatics when their show opened with “Dark Sorcery” from their “Forbidden World” full length. The scathing sound was murderous, like diamond tipped blades powering through the audience their set was as ferocious as they come with barely a seconds break as tune after tune was callously performed. Very little stage banter was heard, the guys just ploughed through their set mercilessly on “Burned Beyond Recognition” and “Necropolis” to note a couple of guillotining tunes that were total ear splitting savagery.
Wow, after the aural skinning of Antichrist the blasphemous awakening of 1349 summoned everyone to the Rockefeller stage, and I mean everyone as standing space was now at a premium as I took to the balcony to watch the Norwegian’s mete out a carnally nihilistic set that began with a pyro detonation and an eruption of black metal corruption from the stage as “Cauldron” started the set. The flame cannons were in full force which meant no one was allowed in the photo pit and probably wise as they would almost certainly have gone deaf from the detonation or had their cameras melted. With small fires burning ceremoniously at the back of the stage near the drum riser, the manifestation of hell was right there in front of the thousand or so minions worshipping their devilish onslaught. Garbed in a cloak Ravn exuded revulsive deviltry with his vomiting vocal delivery on “I Am Abomination”. With a terrorizing assault the band immersed the crowd in uncompromising ruthlessness, the ferocity was unparalleled on the day as the show was being streamed as a pay per view and what a spectacle it was. With the band airing all of “Massive Cauldron Of Chaos” this was indeed a special show as the band tore through each song like an approaching firestorm where utter sonic befouling on “Slaves” or “Exorcism” was thrust forth with emotionless ruination.
Awaiting the jiggery of Ensiferum at the John Dee stage left me with a feeling of anticlimax as my past ventures with this band have been varied over the years. The bands well established folk like Viking metal was greeted like the funeral of a dead warrior on his way to Valhalla. After the intro piece of “March To War” the band went into “Axe Of Judgement” from their latest album “One Man Army”. The room was absolutely packed for this band and as I was at the back I couldn’t see anything except the bobbing of heads as the crowd revelled in their folk metal glory which I just found too sickly to stomach so decided to leave and let someone else in as the one out one in policy had been implemented.
Taking a well earned break to grab another ale and check out the merch stand again as every time there seemed to be new stuff being put out as the bands brought their gear with them. More importantly however was the requirement to get a decent viewing spot for the main headliner Behemoth which I did from afar but with a perfect view from the second balcony. So like a squatter I decamped to the floor and awaited the Polish demons with great anticipation. As the lights dimmed, a roar broke out as by now the place had swelled to epic numbers as Nergal with flame torch in hand blew fire forth to signal the start of their set which began with “Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel”. With two fires stage left and right of the drum kit, the theatrics were appropriate as a smoke cannon fogged the venue in an eerie atmosphere as the guys stood by their ornate microphone stands about to give their diabolical sonic sermon to the gathered mass. As Nergal kneeled before the audience the band blasted into “Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer” from “The Satanist” release. The chanting was immense as flare cannons lit Inferno with ungodly ferocity on “Decade Of Therion”, a personal favourite of mine. Closely following this was another favourite, “As Above So Below” as the band powered through the set like a sabre through flesh. “Slaves Shall Serve” was fittingly obeyed by the crowd who chanted continually at every opportunity as two inverted crosses were set afire before playing “Christians To The Lions” which was preceded by a great intro. “Ov Fire And The Void” was greeted with eight flame cannons shooting high in the air at every opportunity afforded and visually it was a sight to behold, gulp down the lump and stare fixatedly as Inferno (drums) was joined on drums by another guy for some uniform beating before leading into “Chant Of Eschaton 2000” a tune that is one of my top 20 tracks of all time; I never tire of hearing it, it’s a classic and never off the setlist since I’ve seen the band and ended their triumphant blasphemic sonic assassination. With an encore due I took my leave to vacate before everyone else and so ended day two of Inferno and what a day it was. Two more to go and I couldn’t wait.
(Review Martin Harris Photos © Andy Pountney)
Part 3 http://www.avenoctum.com/2015/04/inferno-festival-oslo-norway-3rd-april-2015
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