There must be something about the 20 hour days of sunlight or its Viking heritage that makes Norway such a hotbed for extreme music. For a country of just over 5 million, a surprising amount of metal bands have made their way into the international spotlight. Since 2001, they’ve had a metal festival to call their own, the Inferno Metal Festival. This year, the festival will be taking place next week, from April 16th-19th in Oslo, and Metal Insider will be there. 53 bands from around the world will be playing, with Dimmu Borgir, Tristania, Rotting Christ, Sigh and Watain slotted to play what the festival is deeming a “black easter gathering of metal, gore and extreme.”
In addition to the music, there’s also an Inferno Music Conference, but even the business part of the Inferno is metal. Satyricon and 1349’s Frost will be presenting a drum clinic,while Satyr will be holding a songwriting conference. and members of Cadaver and Borknagar are on other panels. Rev. Moose, GM of Metal Insider’s parent company The Syndicate, will be speaking about the best ways that international bands can be promoted in the United States. If you’re already in Norway for the Inferno Fest, you can register for the Conference at a reduced rate. And if you’re at Inferno Metal Festival and you see a dude with a big beard, ask him if he’s Moose. If you don’t get punched, it’s probably him.
