Inferno Music Conference 2026 Pt.1
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To kick off the 20th anniversary of Inferno Music Festival and Conference, things start in style with the exclusive Delegate Mingle at SALT Art & Music. We grab a quick glimpse (and pint) in the new metal bar, Hellion, on Storgata, beforehand (with Mr Metal Malta, Nick Grima), and we head on down to the waterfront. The smell of wood fuelled saunas, fire pits and the sweet salty air of the fjord make SALT the perfect spot to reconnect and meet new faces.
After a successful mingle and random heavy discussion on z-list horror movies, we make our way through to catch live sets from Strangerous, Anal Kanal, Anchors, and Pastelljudas. A fantastic opening night and lovely to see some Inferno’s behind the scenes movers, up on stage and performing. The next day, we are bound for the heavy music industry panels at Clarion: The Hub…
Inferno Music Conference 2026 Pt.1
Showcase Festivals: Are They Worth It?
Many of the biggest showcase platforms still lean heavily toward pop, indie, and hip-hop, often sidelining heavier genres. That raises a fair question: is it worth the significant financial investment if you’re not getting in front of the right audience?
The first of this year’s Inferno panels made a strong case for the continued value of showcase festivals within the heavy music ecosystem, with speakers highlighting how these events are increasingly becoming important platforms for exposure, connection, and long-term career development. The discussion was a real eye-opener, sharing space with like-minded individuals to Slowdragon Music, and our own showcase-adjacent fest, Hordes X, centred on how a growing number of initiatives are actively carving out meaningful space for the genre inside the wider industry circuit.
Rather than treating metal as an afterthought, figures like Trine Ulrich, through MONO Goes Metal, are building focused platforms designed to elevate metal artists, pairing live showcases with masterclasses, mentorship, and strategic industry networking that extends far beyond the stage. As Ulrich explained, MONO Goes Metal invests heavily in its showcased artists, creating an environment where they can develop, learn, and adapt within the scene.
Similarly, Robin Werner has introduced a dedicated heavy strand at Reeperbahn Festival, arguably one of Europe’s most influential industry events, a move that both legitimises extreme music within a broader professional context and ensures metal artists and delegates are placed directly in front of the right industry decision-makers.
Elsewhere, Celine Høie, senior project manager and A&R at Indie Recordings / Sounds Like Gold, (whose roster includes acts such as Kampfar, Gaahls WYRD, Jordsjuk, Eradikated, and Djerv, amongst others) continues to expand and strengthen heavy representation through the by:Larm Black programme, building a consistent and visible platform for rock and metal within the Nordic showcase circuit.
Mattias Tell then speaks of fostering an international exchange through Viva Sounds, blending live performance, conference programming, and industry networking into a tightly packed environment, all built on connectivity, collaboration and discovery.
Moderated by Pål Dimmen, the discussion ultimately circled back to a shared conclusion: showcase festivals are only as valuable as their intent and execution. When heavy music is properly integrated, rather than tokenised, they become more than networking hubs or industry meet-and-greets, something our team finds indispensably prolific at Inferno; a tribe with complimentary skills. Showcase festivals function as genuine career accelerators, capable of connecting artists with the right people, the right opportunities, and the right momentum at exactly the right time.
Inferno Music Conference 2026 Pt.1
The Rise Of The Independent Label
With major labels increasingly absorbed into larger corporate structures, the industry continues to shift, and we are seeing more independent labels, distro, promoters and press. With so much restructuring and widespread change, are artists choosing indie – or starting their own indie labels – to navigate away from the overly commercial to artistically organic?
The answer to this is far from bleak as this panel makes clear. An exciting, seat-of-your-pants panel discussion ensued, with definitely no tips on how to evade the tax man! Moderated by John Giulio Sprich whose work spans management and the Euroblast Festival the discussion reinforced a simple truth: independent labels are not only surviving, but they are very much thriving.
Corporate constraints are out the window. Industry veteran Otto Egil Sætre embodies this spirit, having worked across multiple labels including Karisma & Dark Essence Records, co-owning and co-running Apollon Records, all whilst running his own Gymnocal Industries since 2004. His experience has shaped a more flexible, artist-conscious approach to business, meanwhile, Roger Andersson and Suicide Records represent the long-game: two decades of uncompromising releases driven by passion over profit or trend.
A stronger sense of identity can be upheld for those daring to go small, or even alone. Similarly, JJ Tartaglia (Skull Fist, Thunderor), has built Boonsdale Records into a multifaceted operation, expanding beyond releases into management, touring, events, and even video directing – whatever a band needs – all while maintaining a strong DIY backbone.
We are in a world where artists can create without even leaving their house. Creating art and music in your own time constraints and publishing to whoever (and whenever) one feels, just with the click of a button feels unfiltered, liberating. It can also be isolating, and this panel emphasises that there are many like-minded artists doing things their own way, but that can offer guidance and lived experience. I mean, new ventures are also pushing forward but it’s not always a case of reinventing the wheel, just adaptation. After decades in the industry, Philipp Schulte launched Vesperian. Vesperian is focussed on sustainability and better artist-label relationship, an intentional move away from what Schulte sees as outdated industry models.
Major labels may dominate the landscape but as this panel showed, there’s real strength in staying small, adaptable, and true to your vision. Simply put. Start your own, build your own network, and define your own terms.
Inferno Music Conference 2026 Pt.1
Career talk: Shane Embury (Napalm Death)
Having just published his new book, Life…? And Napalm Death, Shane Embury, took some time out from family life, and about a million bands. Appearances at Inferno’s Conference Career Talk panels often humanise and demystify their subjects. However, few appearances carry such weight and raw honesty as that of Shane.
Delivered in conversation with his Brujeria bandmate, Jessica Pimentel (also known for her role in Orange is the New Black), the session offered a rare, unfiltered look into the life of one of grindcore’s most enduring and prolific figures,
For more than four decades, Embury and Napalm Death have been synonymous with the evolution of grindcore, setting a near-zenith benchmark worldwide. As the band’s longest-standing member and most prolific songwriter – across a staggering number of projects – Shane spoke candidly about the balance of touring v’s homelife, fearless experimentation (both musical and otherwise), and a steadfast refusal to stagnate. But as the panel made clear, his story stretches far beyond a single band, offering a rare glimpse into the man behind the persona.
In a candid and would-be intense discussion, had it not felt like we were listening to two old friends catching up over coffee, (hang on, we were!), Embury spoke openly about mental health, sobriety, and the personal battles that have run parallel to the music. Life on the road, the pulls of both Shane Napalm Death and Shane the family man, and the toll of covid and social isolation, all laid bare, gave the audience a deeply human portrait behind the noise.
Conversation touched upon his recently published memoir – a white-knuckle ride, personal story, that doubles as a history of Napalm Death’s role in pushing extreme music from its chaotic beginnings to its modern form. Shane extended the panel in true British hospitality, chatting in the hotel foyer, sharing thoughts over breakfast and naturally, signing copies of his books and taking lots of photos – a true gent!
Inferno Music Conference 2026 Pt.1
Selling a Product, Not a Passion: AI As a Disrupter in Music and Art
This panel could have been quite a feisty gathering but it ended up being one of the most thought-provoking panels of the conference.
Kim Diaz Holm was a clear standout. His perspective felt honest, slightly rebellious, and firmly rooted in artistic freedom rather than fear. What really hit home was how he spoke about his own practice. Kim is a pillar of the Inferno community and we’ve witnessed him painting in the moshpit, drawing and interviewing 1349’s Ravn on the panel last year and the truly emotive portrait of the late Jan Martin, to name a few. Kim’s built a massive audience through TikTok and YouTube, where he’s posted daily ink drawings and storytelling videos since 2020, reaching millions whilst remaining fiercely independent.
He shared how even as someone thriving online, he actively chooses to opt out of increasing layers of AI-driven filtering, recommendations, and automation. With an audience visibly split on the pros and cons of AI, this conscious effort to keep his work human, raw, and intentional is something we can all agree is meritable. Releasing his work under Creative Commons, Kim has always treated art as something communal, something meant to be shared and explored rather than locked behind ownership.
This philosophy tied directly into the panel’s wider theme: perhaps that the real issue isn’t just AI, but the suffocating grip of platforms and copyright structures that risk limiting our artistic freedom.
Joining Kim was Kjetil Manheim, original drummer of Mayhem, turned tech consultation CIO/CMO. He argued the case that the tidal wave of “slop” might actually press for an increased calibre of organic creativity. A self-fulfilling filter, if you like. It’s an interesting view to put forward, amongst an industry which is currently reeling in a bit of a panic about a robot uprising. It was certainly not something we were expecting to be addressed, and leant an optimistic turn to a subject which tends to feel increasingly oppressive and doom-laden.
The panel didn’t deny that the industry is changing and even the audience votes leaned into it more than we expected. It left us thinking less about AI as a threat, and more about how artists can take back control of their own narratives within a world where AI is becoming increasingly unavoidable.
Inferno Music Conference 2026 Pt.1
The Witch And The Wizard
We weren’t really sure what this panel was going to be about, to be honest. Apparently, neither were the hosts, pitching it off the cuff as a palette cleanser, to round off the first day of pretty intense discussions. Jessica Pimentel (Brujeria, Alekhine’s Gun, Orange Is The New Black) and her partner, Meshuggah drummer, Tomas Haake, nestled in for an intimate chat.
We’re told it’s a tale as old as time, but it seems a few more transatlantic flights, infectious diseases (raining sweat – we’ll save you the details!), and some less than hardcore audience questions thrown in for good measure, makes this love story a little more memorable.
This session flips the script on the usual panel format, but catching up with the NY / Sweden based couple at a previous Inferno, we knew this was a must. Jessica takes the reins interviewing Tomas, who looked rather uncomfortable and a little fearful of the whole affair, in a way only your other half can. Equal parts playful and teasing, revealing, and completely unpredictable. It was nice to hear typical road stories, such as a favourite gig, were shared with the Slowdragon team – Royal Albert Hall, (not Prince Albert Hall, as Tomas unwittingly referred to it) and balancing film and plays with world tours. What it really takes to make a relationship work across continents, pandemics and wildly conflicting schedules
It was the questions sent prior by the audience that were the real curve balls. But let’s be honest, how often does one get the chance to ask the important questions? What’s your favourite cheese? How many sandwiches do you eat in a week (20 feels like a safe estimate – wtf!)? And the ultimate debate: Star Wars or Star Trek? (Wrong – it’s Alien, obviously.)
The tone stays light, a little chaotic, but very human, indeed offering a break from some tough topics previously and before the first night of the festival. Thus endeth IMC 2026 day one…
Read Pt.2 here.
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Inferno Music Conference 2026 Pt.1
