Inferno Metal Festival 2023
By Federico Escobar
"Eyes wide open, wallet, keys and a half dead phone that needed a SIM Card, the mind focused on the horizon and a little MJ on the side."
The Festcampers on their way to Pumpehuset to start the journey together with a lot of metalheads filled with satanic smiles, horns, beers and music.
Weather is good, sunny but the shadows are getting longer and the cold wind is foreshadowing a chilled hell. Let us see; the line-up is good and filled with something for all tastes, from rock to black metal, old, new names, reunion and something special for the 10th edition of Copenhell!
The Darkness That Follows
The Rockefeller in once again opens up the Gate to hell, for another round of Inferno Festival in the wonderful, but quite expensive city of Oslo, Norway, for the around 1500 guest, plus artists, crew and various organisations.
This is Festcamper’s first attendance to the Norwegian festival which hosts bands in the genre from Trash, death, doom, even grind and the most obliviously, black metal and the line-up is once again fantastic. Headlining this year are bands as; Emperor, Dark Funeral, Wolves in the Throne Room, Odium, Watain, Nile, Abbath, Cannibal Corpse are among the band on this dark list of great bands! This is going to be an epic experience!
The Trip, the Arrival and The Cold city of Oslo
Once again, I went to my favourite weapon of choice, Flixbus and it doesn’t always work as a charm, but I do get there and back again. Except when I feel that I risk my life due to incompetent drivers.
Packed, ready and no bus. Not only 86 min delayed, but the guy also couldn’t even drive the bus out from the parking without crashing into the wall behind him and later de oversaw several things, that made the bus go bumping to such a degree, that people started to yell at them.
Always two there are, a fool and the fool who follows.
Arrival was done 2 hours too late, but fine. Found a friend whom I could crash with because the hostel I booked a room with, didn’t have check-in before 15:00.
Going alone to a city festival without possibilities for camping is not always easy and be sure to check out if anyone you know is coming to help out a little. For me, I crashed my things at a friend's hotel room, and we headed out for talk and beer. Seems like the thing done best in company.
The small problem with Oslo is, that it is cold and that day it started to snow a bit before I arrived. Which also made me want to get my stuff and myself in safety quick. Due to the holidays of Easter had come most things where closed. Even regular store, supermarket and restaurants where closed and forget about buying beer or alcohol. Note, bring from home is possible, everything else will kill your budget and trust me, this is a budget killing experience.
The Venues
There are several places that plays music during Inferno festival, one is Vaterland. A small bar with a small stage on the first floor, that can’t hold many people, which means, often the first bands of the day are heard from downstairs in the bar. Which isn’t bad since I can’t see much upstairs anyway. They are just a tat taller than me.
The Rockefeller is the main concert venue with 2 stages, Rockerfeller and John Dee, the larger one has a capacity of around 1350 people and the small one around 400, but it get’s packed really fast and not easy to get “in”.
Sound is good and the bands have their audience directly in their hands because it is much more intimate, and you can really feel the performers energy in this close packed crowed. A large bar at the end or other side of the room helps a bit. If you can reach it.
Once one performance ended the next started at the other stage and with a killer line-up at both stages, one had no choice but to wander forth and back all the time, or to lose a lot of good performances.
On the Inferno Festival program is also many other events under the Inferno Music Conference and these are held at Clarison Hotel The Hub, a 4 Star hotel in the mist of Oslo. From The Musical Journey of Ihsahn: From Black Metal Legend to innovating a genre to Drum sessions, talk about metal, from concerts and talk about open air festivals regarding Climate change. Believe it or not and cheers to that.
The Hub is also the main hotel and meeting point for many of the audience, crew and bands. The great hotel rooms that can be booked with discount code from the webpage, so be sure to look out for that.
For the less, like me, just find a hostel nearby, the price is okay compared to other capitals in EU, good standard and I enjoyed it.
Last but not least, the other venues were Kniven and Rock In, but I didn’t go to them. The only had 2 concerts and I at that point I choose what is most convenient and easy for me.
