Parental Advisory: Black Metal, a genre prone to hate speech? Ballade panel debate at Inferno Festival 2024

Inferno Music Conference and Ballade hosted a spicy debate on metal and hate speech in music during Inferno 2024. We delved into the current state both domestically and internationally regarding music as a political and social statement; what sparks hate speech in music? In what ways is hate speech linked to music's expression and message? How is music - and metal specifically - utilized by various organizations and groups? Is it 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? When do we pull the plug - if at all? Listen to founder of the American company Suspira PR, Katy Irizarry (US), podcaster, journalist and musician Harald Fossberg (NO), manager and booking agent Merle Doering from Catch 22 (DE), and podcaster Jackie Smit ("Into the Necrosphere", ZA/GB). Moderator: Guro Kleveland, chief editor of Ballade (NO).Debate in English.