2012-04-07 NO – Oslo
 
 

Arcturus - Witchery - Decapitated - Einherjer - Throne Of Katarsis

One Tail, One Head - The Monolith Deathcult - Ancient Wisdom - Svarttjern - Aggravator

I guess I need one week off after the festival *laughs* Okay, tonight’s the last stand. And there is ARCTURUS. Yes, I’m much curious and thrilled, highly anticipated. Though, I don’t really know what to expect. Let’s see if they go for a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”

:: pics ::

By the time I get in AGGRAVATOR is already done and :: THRONE OF KATARSIS :: enter stage to celebrate a satanic black metal mass. Inverted crosses get inflamed, and then candles and decent red lights offer some sight on stage, if smoke clears every now and then. As for the atmosphere it’s great. Later a fire-breather appears and accompanies old school black metal furiousness. Truly a hellish inferno ;)

Right after I wanna see :: SVARTTJERN :: but have no chance to conquer me a place anywhere close to the stage. They must be an insider tip, or something like the new black metal hopefuls. I don’t know…. The John Dee club is crowded as hell and the fans going wild. Same procedure… ;) I climb the stairs up, get me some tasty food and save me a place for :: EINHERJER :: a little later. With epic Viking hymns they get the audience under their spell, seeing raised fists everywhere. Of course the guys play songs from the brand new record Norrøn. Bloody good I’d say!

In consideration of the fact that I have no photo pit pass I first take a break and then keep me the place I found in the first row of the Rockefeller stage. So next up for me is :: WITCHERY :: And the Swedes appear in a new outfit. There is ex Dark Funeral singer Emperor Magus Caligula now fronting WITCHERY. Still in full corpse-paint and typical clothes but singing the thrash style now. On guitars there is Patrik Jensen and Rickard "Richard Corpse" Rimfält, Martin Axenrot on drums and now Entombed’s own Victor Brandt on bass. Blackened thrash metal as its best. Yep, awesome!
Setlist: Witchkrieg, The Storm, The Reaper, A Paler Shade Of Death, Omens, All Evil, The Reaver

Okay. Time has come. The place gets vehemently defended, while… um… an international fan club gathers around, which all get to best friends to each other, for the time of this one band *laughs* There is a slit in the curtain and we can peer onto stage. Hmm… great things to come. Exciting! Finally… with some pyros the curtain opens and :: ARCTURUS :: set in with Evacuation Code Deciphered from the Sideshow Symphonies. ARCTURUS play songs through their entire history back to the debut EP Constellation. I miss Tore Moren on guitars, besides it’s the classic line-up. I have seen ARCTURUS many times back then and knew what generally to expect from their shows, but still remember the last ones with a drunken ICS Vortex falling into the drum kit and not able to sing. He in fact stumbled out of the spaceship but did not seem to be drunk and did a great job as singer. Even the higher parts he mastered well. His gesture and his announcements and narrations again were lame as the performance was itself. An ARCTURUS show is always keyed up, but tonight it was more clownery than avant-garde. I missed some pep, esprit and wit. Seems it got lost over the years.
Setlist: Evacuation Code Deciphered, Ad Absurdum, Nightmare Heaven, Deception Genesis, Alone, The Chaos Path, Deamon Painter, Painting My Horror, Hufsa, Master Of Disguise, Hibernation Sickness Complete, Shipwrecked Frontier Pioneer, To Thou Who Dwellest In The Night, Raudt Og Svart

ARCTURUS bow and say goodnight at around 3am. So the INFERNO FESTIVAL 2012 ends. It was an exhausting one. Again. But also one with a lot of fun, new impressions and new bands. Highlights I’d say were AUTOPSY, SÓLSTAFIR, CHURCH OF MISERY, ANAAL NATHRAKH, UNDYING INC., EARTH & Ô PAON, MERAH and… somehow ARCTURUS. Can’t help… ;)
The thing with the photo pass, well, next time I’ll be smarter. Sleep is for wimps. At sunrise I check out and head towards the airport. A little nap and then back to work for a nightshift. No rest for the wicked and back to reality.

 

story & pics © Dajana