Few Norwegian music festivals can equal the international status that the Inferno Festival now holds. In its ninth consecutive year, the festival, that was voted as one of the 10 best in the world by the readers of Terrorizer magazine, continues to grow and is now the Norwegian metal community’s most important gathering.
For four days during Easter, people are flying in from England, Sweden, Germany, Italy, the USA and even India to experience extreme metal in Norway’s capital. Not that strange, since Norwegian black metal is known all over the world and is Norway’s largest music export abroad.
No other Norwegian music festival can equal the international media attention subjected to the Inferno Festival. 2008's Inferno drew hordes of foreign journalists representing niche publications such as Metal Hammer but also larger TV networks and radio stations chose to focus on the festival.
The festival was started in 2001 by Borknagar guitarist Jens Ryland who wanted to gather the Norwegian metal community for a celebration of extreme music. On the poster for the first ever Inferno were black metal bands such as Cadaver Inc., Borknager and Enslaved. With Dimmu Borgir as the main attraction the following year, Inferno was doomed to be an ongoing hit.
When: 8 - 11 April 2009
Where: Oslo
Venues: Rockefeller, John Dee, Sentrum Scene, Garage, Rock In, Blå, Victoria and SubScene
Age limit: 18 years