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- pictures - day 1 (club day) - day 2 (Thursday) - day 3 (Friday) - day 4 (Saturday)







Day 1 - Wednesday 04.04.12

Chton

(H. B.) I remember last year, or perhaps the year before, that watching a band at Blå, in that case Blood Red Throne, was one of the drawbacks with smaller stages than the ones we know from the main area, namely Rockefeller and John Dee. It was packed. However, this time around there was plenty of space and I could concentrate fully on the music. Concentrate? Well, to these ears the Norwegian band's music sounded like death metal like you've heard it before. Not bad at all, yet not classy. Just death metal. The brutal way. That the band had one song with Kjetil of Enthral fame on guest vocals did spice it up, but didn't save the lack of power due to a drumsound that wasn't up there. They were simply too hollow.

www.chton.com

Nekromantheon

(H. B.) Another thrash metal feast by a press-praised Norwegian band. Great sound, packed venue and metal. What more can you ask for? Nekromantheon know the drill and they are just as tight as a virgin's ass.

www.myspace.com/nekromantheon

Kirkebrann

(H. B.) Norwegian black metal, of course. Churchfire = Kirkebrann, so there you go. At Revolver, a small venue where you had to be right in front of the small stage to see anything, the band did a fine gig. Don't we just love underground black metal with the Norwegian attitude? If course we do... The sound wasn't too much to write to the elders about, but people seemed to enjoy this bit of trve extremity. Corpse-paint and all...

www.myspace.com/kirkebrann

Viðr (Vithr)

(H. B.) Norwegian songtitles, presented by the good folk behind Norwegian heathen black metal band Viðr. If this performance was something to judge by, the full-length album ("Hedensk Skikk Og Tro" out by Demonhood Productions) in May will be something noteworthy. Loads of great riffs, breaks, songs and blood. Real? Fake? Who cares? Keep your ears open for another great Norwegian act. So few people, so many great band. It has to be the oil-filled soil, don't you think? People had a great time at the small venue in Oslo. Revolver. Bang bang. But let me assure you that Viðr's is not as cheap as my horrible mistake of a joke.

www.myspace.com/vithr

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Day 2 - Thursday 05.04.12

The Konsortium

(H. B.) The men behind the masks. But since the sound was a bit muddy, the details in the songs didn't come forth as they do on album. I'd like to see them for real, with proper soundchech and all. But luckily they managed to keep the intensity to a necessary degree, which made the performance OK. Better sound next time around.

www.myspace.com/konsortiummetal

1349

(H. B.) Let's throw in a flame or two. But what would a 1349 gig be without the opening? Flamethrowers? Nah, flame weeding, that's the real thing. And off we go into fast and furious black metal. Great sound, insane drumming (as usual) by Frost and intensity from beginning to end, even when they slow down here and also there. But I think Ravn's vocal have been better and wilder. It could be that his voice was mixed too low in the production. 1349 is never dull, and in my book a better choice than Aborted, which had to abort their appearance. 1349 is never a substitute only, it's a band that stand firmly on 10 feet. Black metal. Nothing fansy pansy, just Norwegian black metal the way it should be! 

www.myspace.com/1349official

Triptykon

(H. B.) Welcome darkness. Sadly the sound was improper and Tom's vocal was... ...quite not there. I mean, you could hear it but compared to the impact he did at Hole In The Sky 2010 this was a drawback. And we couldn't see that much due to the fog on stage. Great with Ravn from 1349 on stage for one track, but that wasn't enough to lift it.

www.triptykon.net

Church Of Misery

(Ms Freezing North) Last band on stage at John Dee on Thursday was Church Of Misery. I don’t know what you think of when you hear “hurch Of Misery, but my first thought was that it’s probably just another band with corpsepaint... So I have to say that when they entered the stage I became very surprised! Flared trousers and a very 70’s inspired style, especially the singer Hideki Fukasawa looked cool with his hat and fancy glasses! According to their website, the Japanese doom/psychedelic rock band was formed in 1996 by the bassist Tatsu Mikami. It also says that most of their songs are about serial killers and mass murders, which I find very cool. Well, cool in an interesting way... If I haven’t heard the band before I go to a show, I usually get very bored very quickly, it’s not often an unknown band charms me, but these guys really pulled it off. The music was extremely catchy and different than what I usually listen to, in a very good way! They were so emotional on stage, everyone could tell that they really wanted to do a great show, they even did some great poses in front of my camera, and I definitely don’t get THAT every day!
Best gig at Inferno, for me. I think I’m going to buy an old Black Sabbath sweater plus some cool flared trousers ASAP, and of course a record of Church Of Misery! I’ve been listening to them a lot the past few days and my favorite is the album “Houses Of The Unholy”.

www.churchofmisery.net

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Day 3 - Friday 06.04.12   

Velnias

(H. B.) From the US of A came this year's Inferno biggest surprise. And there were surprisingly many attendees at the concert down at John Dee. The result was that the Americans seemed to have a jolly good time with their doom death metal and the audience seemed to enjoy this as well. The songs were long. Perhaps it was just one song, since those acoustic pieces could be part of this one song or interludes between the various songs. Or perhaps there were two songs. Whatever. This was great. The sound was all fine and the musicianship on a necessary high level. Once you got into the songs, you could not get out.

www.facebook.com/VelniasCult

Dead Trooper

(H. B.) Birger has quit the curse. This was his last but one show, and boy did he and the band seem to have a great time on stage. The sound was good, the music was filled with energy and the audience, though a bit reluctant, gave in for their hooks every now and then. When it's death thrash metal on the plate, make sure you're info for a headbaning time. I, for one, is sadly too old for this but I still enjoy a great performance.

www.deadtrooper.com

ABSU

(H. B.) When you go to an ABSU show, you must expect a lot of drums. Not necessarily by the number of elements in the kit, but more that there is so much drumming during the performance. Yes, you could hear the guitars, the vocals, the bass. But the drumming... I'm glad for the older songs, I do like the newer as well and since the sound was great the result was that the show was super to an old fan such as myself. That the sound was too low for a powerful gig was all fine by me, since I then could concentrate in full on the music. And especially the drumming.

http://absu.bandzoogle.com/mythologicaloccultmetal.cfm

Autopsy

(H. B.) Death metal in the rotten to the core manner. Classics from "Severed Surivial" and the peak "Mental Funeral" blended with newer hits from the recent releases, wrapped in a dirty yet clear sound. Just as with ABSU, the main vocalist is a drummer. Personally I don't care who does what in a band, since it is the music that counts. But I must admit that I'm impressed by such a performance. Tight and deadly, just the way death metal should be.

www.autopsydeathmetal.com

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Day 4 - Saturday 07.04.12   

Ancient VVisdom

(Ms Freezing North) Next band at John Dee on Saturday after norwegian black metallers Svarttjern, was Ancient VVisdom (two V's) from USA, could be mixed up with another band called Ancient Wisdom from Sweden. The band was formed in late 2009, they have no drums and they also use acoustic guitars.. The music didn't exactly "blow my mind", but the gig was different, and different is good. Their songs were dark and the whole atmosphere was very "gloomy", they had (røkelse??) on stage, but unfortunately that smell made me kinda sick so I had to leave before the show was over. From my point of view, it looked like the audience enjoyed listening to them. But, maybe the band should consider using a little less "røkelse" next time? Just a thought.

www.ancientvvisdom.com

The Monolith Deathcult

(H. B.) Newly signed to Season Of Mist. That bears promises of something great to come, having their former "Trivmvirate" in mind. Great death metal, groovy and brutal with loads of exotic elements (read: ambient, techno, soundscapes). The band's appearance is great, three vocalists and great sound. And it seemed that the audience did enjoy themselves, especially those 10-15 headbangers in the pit in front of the band at John Dee.

www.monolith-deathcult.com/

One Tail One Head

(H. B.) Norwegian black metal with a more brutal touch. This is pure musical violence, blood and great songs. A packed John Dee (ca. 600 capacity) enjoyed the show. Perhaps not the smell of blood (fake/real?), but the appearance was visually all fine. The band's prime advance is the vocalist. He's all over the place, his voice is strong and the variation between shouting and screaming with an added dose brutality is great. One Tail One Head is onto things, and make sure you'll be there when they do their black magic next time around.

www.facebook.com/onetailonehead

Arcturus

(H. B.) The rise or fall of an Arcturus performance lies in the voice of ISC Vortex. And he did succeed. That he exceeded the theatricals in the songs is not a bad thing. You know, "Painting My Horror" is far out already from the start but when Vortex exaggerates the ups and downs, it worked surprisingly well on stage. That he didn't hit all tones throughout the show was just a minor drawback, and didn't subtract from the totality. Great musicianship, some fireworks and a fine sound. That Vortex acted like a kindergarten teacher in between the tracks is a win/loose battle depending on the single viewer's point of view.

www.myspace.com/arcturusnorway

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Pictures (click on thumbnails)

1349 (by Heidi Bakland)

1349 (by Ms Freezing North)

Anaal Nathrakh (by Ms Freezing North)

Ancient VVisdom (by Ms Freezing North)

Church Of Misery (by Ms Freezing North)

One Tail One Head (by Ms Freezing North)

The Konsoritum (by Ms Freezing North)

Triptykon (by Heidi Bakland)

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www.infernofestival.net