Gig Review - Inferno Metal Festival, Counter Culture, Bangalore

Year: 2014

Because the venue was more than 27km away from my house, I left home very early and reached the venue so early that they didn't allow me inside. I had to roam around for an hour before the gates were opened and then people got busy in beer drinking and socializing. The merch stalls were being set up and I got myself a Theorized album, which I had pre-ordered.

The Drown Troddence went on stage first at around 6 pm and started their Indian folk metal with melodic death metal. This was the 5th time I was seeing this band. I think they were pretty relaxed and easy on the stage compared to their previous performances. They opened the first of the many circle pits that happened that night.

Then next band to play was Theorized. I had seem this band first few years ago at BOA and then they were on a break and had a come back gig with year ending gig on the 31st at the same venue, 'Counter Culture'. After that they have played a few more before coming back to this one . If you never heard of the name, they are a melodic riff based thrash band. These guys are getting better each time and this show was the best that I had seen of them. I think I won't regret buying the CD. The guitarist (Ankit) played some of the best guitar solos that I have seen in a long long time. I felt that the crowd was a more mature one than the one I had seen here the last time and there were a few who came from other cities of India and a few from outside the country too!

Next up were Nekromantheon. Now Norway for what I knew only had recognisable black metal bands. But death metal and thrash metal? Na, I was too busy with Sweden, UK, and USA!! Nekromantheon surprised me because they were one of the heaviest band that I have heard or seen live. I have got to mention here that I purposely did not listen to both these Norwegian bands before the show . Nekromantheon just brought the place down to rubble. One guy even attempted to stage dive, but I think it failed! Ouch! They had a pretty long set which satisfied all the hungry metalheads.

Next up were Inner Sanctum. These guys have opened for some of the biggest names in the business and I am blessed to have seen them 5 times before this show. You have to go to a Inner Sanctum show just to see the intensity they bring out and the dedicated fan base that they have created over the years. Now I have to mention that by the time these boys came on stage I was hungry and needed a break and had to recharge myself for the final mayhem of Obliteration. My friend and I stood back munching some burgers and damn, everything in the venue was costlier than my wallet would have liked! But Inner Sanctum kicked some serious arse for sure.

Next it was Obliteration and I managed to get to the first row, right in front of the guitarist. And boy they were good! These guys had a unique sound in them which contained doom metal, melodic death and even brutal death metal. I was surprised to find that some of the band members were the same from Nekromantheon. Every head was banged and every neck was broken beyond repair. As I had managed to stand in the front row, I was within 2 feet of the guitarist who brought out some of the most insane solos and riffs that you could imagine in this genre. There were no moshpits for this band though, but there was no lack of intensity. They had a long set and were brutal as hell! The drummer brought together some of the best blast beats that I have heard in a long time. Both the Norwegian bands didn't shy away from expressing their love for beer when on stage, doing "cheers!!" after every few songs. 

Like all good things the show came to an end , but it was a blast. Apart from getting a free entry to the show, the show for me was awesome because I happened to meet an old friend and I purchased a few CDs and came back home with some great memories. This show was badly needed for me because after the year ending show on the 31st right here at the same venue, I couldn't go to any other shows and even ended up missing Trend Slaughter Fest IV. An announcement was made by the organizers that this will be an annual event henceforth. But whether the fans will get such quality international bands for just Rs.500 every year needs to be seen. And as this was the inaugural edition of Inferno Festival in India ,the original organizers gave away a free booklet containing info about the main festival that happens in Norway. I for sure had a great time. If you were a lazy bugger, who sat in some couch in Bangalore, watching Ekta Kappoor serials, you will never know the true essence of being a metalhead, especially when you might have spent that 500 easily in a restaurant. Ouch ! My neck still.hurts!