APRIL 17th, 2025
INFERNO FESTIVAL 2025
DAY 1
Photo Gallery: http://www.metaltitans.com/concertpics/inferno-festival-2025-day-1/
Review/Photos By: Polina Kulikovskikh
It’s yet another Easter – a traditional time for Norwegians to take a mini vacation at some remote skiing resort. But if you like metal, your choice would clearly be Inferno. The festival’s main venue is the Rockefeller/John Dee club (plus a few smaller clubs nearby), located in the city center. The streets, which would otherwise be very empty, are taken over by cheerful crowds of people in black, migrating between the venues and the official festival hotel, Clarion The Hub.
The story of the Inferno Metal Festival began in 2001, making it the oldest metal festival in Norway and one of the most famous extreme music festivals in the world. It gathers metalheads from all over the globe and is a great way to kick off the festival season early. Over the years, Inferno has grown into more than just a music festival – it also hosts a conference, an art exhibition, a tattoo convention, and this year, even a small fashion show took place on one of the club stages. In other words, there’s no shortage of entertaining activities to complement the great gigs.
If you're attending as press, it's something like an annual marathon – the most important thing isn’t to win, but to participate, as the saying goes. This is my third Inferno, and I’m excited to see (and photograph) this year’s lineup. There are many familiar faces I’ve had a chance to see recently – like Abbath and Behemoth – and some I haven’t seen in a while, like Tiamat.
Dødheimsgard (or DHG) opened the festival this year. You could tell from the very first notes that it was going to be something special – vocalist Vicotnik jumped out on stage covered with a sparkling veil. The signature Holi powder blowing followed, making Vicotnik look like a mad sadhu. The band delivered a true avant-garde experience, with an extended lineup and guest appearances, such as Kvohst (Hexvessel, Grave Pleasures, etc.) performing vocals on All Is Not Self and The Snuff That Dreams Are Made Of. Despite the crowd not being at its fullest, the show was warmly received by everyone who showed up.
Next up on the main stage was Necrophobic – a Swedish band formed in 1989. Their studio albums sound great (check out their latest, In the Twilight Grey), and I was looking forward to seeing them live. They certainly didn’t disappoint – the performance was just as energetic and high-quality as the recordings, with a strong stage presence featuring all the classic black metal moves and facial expressions. The sound was awesome too. By this time, the club was getting more and more crowded, and the jolly atmosphere had settled in.
Tiamat was one of the bands I was most looking forward to seeing at this year’s Inferno. I’ve been listening to their music since the early 2000s, when they shifted from raw doom/death metal toward gothic metal – a move that divided their fans into "before" and "after" camps. Looking back, you can see how things have changed over the years – now we’re served almost pop bands as "metal" and nobody bats an eye, but back in the day, such changes were a big deal (for better or worse). In 2012, the band released their latest album so far – The Scarred People – and things gradually went into decline to the point where, in 2014, vocalist Johan Edlund announced his departure from the band (luckily, it seems he changed his mind, as he’s still there). So, seeing Tiamat announced as part of the Inferno lineup was exciting news – although I had some questions: would it be as good as before? I’ve seen the band live three times previously, the last being in 2012. The current setlist caters to both types of fans, but mostly leans toward earlier material from Wildhoney, Clouds, and The Astral Sleep, with a few songs from the later albums mixed in. The songs are often stylistic opposites, so unfortunately, the set didn’t sound very cohesive. The current lineup features some great musicians, including Simon Johansson (Soilwork), and everything was played at the highest level. Sadly, I can’t say the same about Johan’s vocals. His voice is Tiamat’s signature, but this evening wasn’t his best performance – though things improved toward the end of the set. I hope the band continues and that we’ll hear new material soon.
Batushka – a blend of atmospheric black metal and liturgical elements of Eastern Orthodox Christianity – brought their unique performance to the main Rockefeller stage next. The band was formed in 2015 and became famous for its unusual stylistic mix and live shows that include elements of Orthodox rituals and paraphernalia. Clearly, every part of the performance was well thought out, making it something very special. A few of us in the audience were from countries where Orthodoxy is a state religion, and our only comment was – not enough gold – but take that as a joke, not a complaint.
The headliner of the first day was Abbath, with an awesome setlist of Immortal classics. The show featured lots of smoke and pyro – though sadly no fire-spitting this time. The famous “crab walk” was there, along with great sound and excellent playing. If you didn’t get the chance to see Immortal live before they split, Abbath has you covered. Mountains of Might, Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark), All Shall Fall, Sons of Northern Darkness, and much more – what a treat for any black metal fan. For me personally, this was the strongest performance at this year’s Inferno.