Friday at the Inferno Metal Festival had less symphonic and more black and death metal than the first day. This day was also the only day of the festival where there were still a few tickets left when the doors opened at 4 PM, but after a few hours the night was sold out, like the rest of the days. (Photo above: Jonathan Hultén from Tribulation)
Ragnarock
The first band Friday was the black metal band Ragnarock from Sarpsborg, Norway. With lots of pyro – constant flames on stage and flames shooting up on several songs – they presented a spectacular view, while also being formidable players. From a photographer’s perspective, pyro is always fun, but represents a challenge when shooting. There is also a security aspect, and with pyro on song one and three, we had one song in the photo pit for the band.
Peter Tägtgren from Hypocrisy
The Inferno festival is a popular festival among the fans, but also among concert photographers from Norway and many other countries. That is a great thing for the festival and for all the different publications that cover the festival. But the flip side to this is that giving all the photographers an equal opportunity to get good shots, the time in the pit has to be limited, so all of the almost fifty photographers get their chance. In many ways not ideal conditions, but you just have to live with it, and spend your time in the pit well.
MGLA
My favorite bands from Friday were MGLA from Poland and Tribulation from Sweden. MGLA is a really tight and well played band,. but not much fun to photograph because of their face masks. Tribulation have understood that a good show is a plus for a live concert. With Jonathan Hultén dancing and doing pirouettes while playing guitar, Tribulation was a fun challenge to shoot. Their music is also good.
Ragnarock
Tribulation
Vomitory
MGLA
Hypocrisy
Jonathan Hultén from Tribulation
All photos are © Per Ole Hagen and must not be used without written permission.
