INFERNO & BEYOND THE GATES FESTIVAL MASTERMINDS TALK FORTHCOMING HIGHLIGHTS AND NORWEGIAN CULTURE
On a fittingly black and bone-chilling night in late January, we at Team Dark Matter find ourselves in quite the most unique and uncommonly grandiose of historic settings: cosily ensconced in a luxurious, oak-pannelled reception room at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in conversation with none other than the esteemed founders of legendary black metal gathering Inferno and Bergen-based extreme metal fest Beyond the Gates. With our present company comprised of Lars Hansen and Torgrim Øyre, respectively, tonight sees us gifted with the rare and tremendously exciting opportunity to garner some exclusive information on both of the aforementioned events’ most noteworthy forthcoming highlights, together with an insight into the historic origins of these truly inimitable gatherings. From Inferno’s long and illustrious affiliation with such genre-defining heavyweights as Emperor and Satyricon together with Beyond The Gates’ meticulously selected roster of underground genre talent, suffice to say the 2025 editions of both festivals are shaping up to be nothing short of monumental. Backed by a rich and illustrious national heritage that’s only too perfectly evoked by the elegant and majestically expansive period confines of the Norwegian Embassy, Hansen and Øyre were only too happy to furnish us with all the essential information surrounding what’s guaranteed to be two of the most exciting festival events the extreme metal world has ever witnessed…
First off, it’s a pleasure to meet with you both here this evening. Maybe you could begin by introducing yourselves and who you represent?
TORGRIM ØYRE: My name is Torgrim Øyre. I founded Beyond the Gates together with my partner Silje Wergeland in 2012. So we've been running for almost 13 years and I do most of the the bookings and the content of the festival.
LARS HANSEN: And then it's Lars Hansen and I organise Inferno Festival together with Jan-Martin Jensen, who is not with us here today. We each organise slightly different matters. I deal with all sorts of major planning and we decide on which bands we want for the line-up.
Excellent. I'm excited to discuss what's coming up with both of the festivals soon and also this incredible event here tonight at the Embassy. What's the story behind how all of this began? It's such a unique way to promote the festivals.
LH: Yeah, I can speak a little bit about it. I mean, historically we've done some of these things in different places to promote. Sometimes on our own and sometimes through like projects we've had with different organisations and, in terms of this specific one, we have a corporation project that helps us promote not only the festivals, but also Norwegian music to try to bring people to the festivals to experience more when they're attending the festivals. So that is why we are here today.
TØ: Yeah, I mean, the UK is a big market for the both of us and we have this partnership with Inferno and also a travel organisation so we are sort of grouped together and the whole point of this is like a cultural exchange to create awareness about Norwegian music culture, obviously, but also local culture that sort of became a part of the festival. Maybe when foreigners travel to Norway to see concerts and festival bands, they’ll do other activities related to the community. Take a hike, go to a museum or visit cultural hotspots. So it's more about that. Promoting Norwegian culture to big markets.
Yeah, that's the unique thing about these festivals. They're situated in so much heritage and, speaking as a black metal fan, Norway is such an iconic place in that respect. And also, with Beyond the Gates, the sheer range of venues that you have too. Am I right in thinking there's a converted sardine factory that's one of the venues, and also an underground bunker that Watain performed in on one occasion?
TØ: Yeah, these days we use three or four different venues per festival and, during the course of the event, we actually move the festival from the sardine factory, where it usually is for the first two days, and then we go in and move it to Grieghallen, which is in the city centre and is a completely different kind of venue, which is like more known for ballets and classical music and stuff, so it's a totally different environment. So you kind of get some sort of a journey with different ways to experience the bands.
And obviously Inferno has a reputation for having a great deal of cultural heritage, of which music is just one dimension. What can you tell us about what fans can expect for this particular instalment?
LH: We always try to come up with some new stuff, but we also have some of the things that we've done a few times before that seem to be very popular. So we have the sightseeing on a bus and we will do that again this year and we'll try to add a few other things as well. We have hiking that we had last year and maybe the year before that, I can't quite remember. That was all quite popular and we’ll try to add a few new things too. We also have some exhibitions for different artists that will be showcased at the hotel.
Yeah, and I think that these different aspects of culture - be it heritage, art or music - are the things that together comprise a complete, multi-faceted experience for fans of this kind of music. The ‘Satyricon & Munch’ exhibition of 2022 is a classic example of that. I probably pronounced ‘Munch’ horribly wrong just then, but yeah, it all complements these different dimensions of heavy metal so perfectly, from the visual and historic to the music itself.
LH: Yeah, and I think in Norway that goes a little bit for the scenery as well, right? Because you have like, dramatic scenery of all kinds in our country, so that reflects in the art and again reflects in the music and so on. And regarding Munch, there's actually some originals of his in this very building in this one room of the Embassy, so if you want to check those out, you definitely should do that after.
Absolutely, yeah. And, in terms of the vision for Beyond The Gates, I remember reading a previous interview where you said that the emphasis was on a more underground, quite sort of intimate environment rather than the kind you get with huge summer festivals that tend to book more mainstream metal bands? Do you feel that a lot of that original ethos is still holding true for you today?
TØ: Yeah, obviously the festival has grown quite a bit over the last five years at least, but it's still about creating a different environment for the shows than… I guess when I said that I was probably referring to big outdoor festivals and stuff like that. Obviously it's bigger nowadays, but it's still intimate compared to the big outdoor festivals. There’s a focus on fewer concerts instead of a bunch of concerts and many stages. It's about getting bands that complement each other, and that work well together as a whole. So it's like four bands on the mainstage per day that really work well together and play to each other's strengths. Always trying to think a little bit more conceptually around this.
A few years ago, we did Mayhem and Emperor and Enslaved performing their 1994 albums in Grieghallen, the same building that they were originally recorded in. The goal is to try and find new ways to present the bands instead of just the same thing over and over again. To really narrow it all down and enhance everything around it, because a lot of the classic black metal albums from Norway were recorded in Grieghallen and you also have the producer Pytten walking around in the building telling stories from those recording sessions. So you get a new dimension to your concert experience, so you'd be able to get a little bit deeper behind the music and everything.
And what's been the overall concept behind the bookings that you’ve done this year for the festival?
TØ: I mean, King Diamond has been a key addition to the line-up. Even though he's more heavy metal-oriented, he's always been a very influential artist when it comes to extreme metal as well, because of his way of portraying himself in terms of the aesthetics and everything. He's always been a favourite and an artist we wanted to invite back after we had Mercyful Fate three years ago. So we sort of tried to build things around that and also, for the past few years, we've been very, very focused on Norwegian black metal. So obviously at some point you have to steer away from that for a moment in order to create some variety in the line-ups. So I guess this year is a bit different than the others because it's more foreign bands and it's not that black metal-focused, but it still is relevant to the black metal community in terms of the heritage and everything. It's still very much about making something that gels and works well together. So far, we have Friday - almost a completely Swedish day this year - with Opeth and Candlemass and other bands that complement each other well.
Great. And in terms of Inferno, what's going to be the highlights for you personally?
LH: For me personally, some of the things that I enjoy the most… because we've been around for a while dealing with the festival and travelling around and watching stuff and so on. Some of the most fun is that you get to see some of these up and coming artists that you haven't necessarily seen that much of on the live circuit so far. So I have some highlights in the mix in between things that are released, some really good things lately, like last year and some new stuff that I haven't yet seen. So I haven’t seen anything from... I'm actually not quite sure how they're pronounced, so that's a little bit difficult, but nonetheless, they're German, so it could be ‘Deus’? [Non Est Deus]. And also Blood Incantation will be very interesting, I think. Also, the new Gaerea album I think is very good, so yeah I'm eager to see some of those, although as an organiser I try not to plan too much because I don't know exactly if I’ll actually be able see all that much.
But then, of course, I also expect great shows from some of the larger bands. I mean, the last day we're finishing off with Behemoth, which I guess will be an interesting way to finish off the festival. We always try to get something very interesting for the last band on Sunday night, to just like, go out with a bang, so to speak. And if they do anything similar to what they did last time we had them, which is a long time ago, I think 10 years ago, then that should be very memorable for people indeed.
Excellent. So just in closing, would you like to wrap up by maybe leaving the fans with a concluding comment or two?
TØ: Well, for one thing, it always amazes me that people are making their way from the other side of the world to come to Norway and stay here for quite a long time. We figured probably the same for you guys, but people are staying out between five, six and seven days from when they first arrive, and it's a very expensive country. You have flights and you have expensive concert tickets and beer prices. And so it's really amazing that people are so dedicated that they make such a big effort in coming to Norway and we really appreciate that. Obviously it's probably like 50 countries represented and so we feel very lucky and fortunate to have such a good representation and loyal audience.
LH: Yeah, I really hope that we can keep on making things that people appreciate so they want to come back whenever they have the chance. Of course, as I said, it's very, very expensive so it's natural that people pick some years that they prefer more than others, but I also really hope that they see some more of Norway and I hope try to experience a bit more outside of the festivals as well in terms of what the local area has to offer. In Norway, I think there are some hidden gems all over the place and maybe not every everything is suitable to do exactly during the festival, but maybe you might discover things that you want to do at some other time of year.
I also hope that people have a chance to check out quite a few of the up and coming bands that we have playing in the daytime at the various clubs and venues we have. Since we started inferno, these are the bands that, over time, will graduate and develop and eventually come to the mainstages of the festival and all the other major festivals around, so there's always something to discover too. And I know for myself, at least, that you always remember the first time you saw a band that you discovered for the first time live. I think that's always memorable.
For more on Inferno and Beyond The Gates, visit the following official festival webpages:
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