Inferno Music Conference and Ballade are set to host a debate on metal and hate speech in music, where we will delve into the current state both domestically and internationally regarding music as a political and social statement, influences from abroad, and how hate speech is linked to music or is part of music's expression and message. Have we got a new, post-pandemic undercurrent of groups where music plays an identity- and culture-building role? How is music - and metal specifically - utilized by various organizations and groups? Is it solely about the music at all? What prompts expressions and statements to be claimed as hateful, as we have seen in cases within both Norwegian and international metal scenes, and how can we best address and handle them? Is it too easy to dismiss something as hateful or offensive? Where do the boundaries of censorship - and self-censorship - lie among organizers and bands within the metal genre?
Katy Irizarry // Suspiria PR (US)
Harald Fossberg // RadiOrakel/Hærverk Forlag/Turbonecro (NO)
Merle Doering // Catch 22 (DE)
Jackie Smit // Into the Necrosphere (UK)
Mod: Guro Kleveland // Ballade.no (NO)
Thursday 28. March
Clarion hotel the hub
