The Formative Years – Inferno
When it comes to Teutonic hardcore punk bands that made a significant splash on the global stage in the 1980s, one cannot go past Inferno from Augsburg.
Inferno was light years ahead of its peers and seemingly effortlessly created its own lane from the get go, which in this furious and fast form was unheard of in Germany. Founded in 1981, songs that were penned during their first rehearsal became instant classics and were eventually covered by bands like S.O.D., i.e. the track "Ram It Up" on their album Speak English or Die.
All of their releases up until 1987 are bonafide classic and should be fun in the collection of any hardcore punk aficionado, including their first demo tape Gott is tot.
It did not take long for the new world to take notice and via Maximum Rock’n Roll and Inferno’s appearance on the Welcome to 1984 compilation, a direct line of communication with Pushead was established, who created the artwork for their fantastic debut album Tod und Wahnsinn, which is to this day the only artwork Mr Brian Schroeder created for a Germanic band and eventuated to Pushead featuring them on the fantastic Cleanse the Bacteria compilation released through his Pusmort label.
The album was frenetically celebrated around the world and not only lead to invitiations to contribute to international samples but resulted in a split LP with the Japanese band Execute.
Their last album It Should Be Your Problem unfortunately paled a bit compared to their previous emissions as the songs departed into thrash and speed metal territory.
Inferno were true pioneers and truly innovative, intense and musically tight band with fantastic song-writing abilities pushing the boundaries of what was thought to be possible in their time. With their oeuvre, they expanded my musical horizons and revisiting their early recordings is never not a pleasure.
