FESTIVAL PREVIEW: DesertFest London 2025
Words: Matt Noble
Photos: Tim Finch
The UK’s premier festival for doom, stoner, sludge and heavy psychedelic riff worship is back in the capital for another year, offering three days of music in five different Camden venues this coming weekend. There is a whole host of talent on the bill, and it can be hard to navigate through the clashes, so here’s a few that could be worth turning your attention to, taken from all corners of the lineup. Of course, there are far more than ten bands I’d like to shout about here in an ideal world.
Earth
Seattle’s Earth really offer a treat for Desertfest this year on a rare UK appearance. This is elegantly slow, minimalistic music to lose yourself into at The Electric Ballroom, where each trippy, spacey note is carefully thought out and considered. Their sets these days tend to draw from their 21st century output, which has a wider range of musical influences than what is generally considered their most seminal work. Nonetheless, this closes out the weekend with a touch of serious class. You wonder how many more times you may get the chance.
Conan
‘Violence Dimension’ is hot off the original caveman battle doomers’ press, with Desertfest London likely most readers’ first chance to hear the songs the way they are meant to be played. However, the integration of bassist/bellower David Ryley into the permanent lineup, who’d previously stood in as needed live for a few years, offers an interesting evolution. He felt more intrinsic to Conan than ever by the time of their most recent live run around the UK last autumn, having been a full member for a few months by then. His influence is also really felt on the new Conan album, with some juicy bass fills littered across ‘Violence Dimension’, and of course some killer secondary vocal lines. The next chapter of Conan is here, and it’s glorious.
Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol
In the country for their first ever UK shows, the wonderfully named and wonderfully fuzzy Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol have made waves on the other side of the pond with last year’s ‘Big Dumb Riffs’ (that’s an album title, not a comment) and ‘Doom Wop’ a couple of years before that. Taking a pop-inspired sense of hooks and catchiness, but played with super-detuned guitars and the attitude of a noisy sludge metal mob, they are quirky, groovy and loads of fun. With plenty of acts on the bill to stroke your beard to this year, RBBP will offer you a prime chance to dance and shake your heads. Set to be explosive.
Zeal & Ardor
Arguably a more left field choice for a Desertfest headliner, but on the other hand… why not? The Swiss avant-garde metallers are one of the most exciting and innovative acts of the last decade to have hit the heights that they have. Stoner, doom, sludge and heavy psych, which embody the Desertfest vibe best, are often seen as outsider genres even in heavy music as a whole, so in some ways Zeal & Ardor’s auditory wackiness makes perfect sense for the festival. Last year’s ‘Greif' may not be quite as in your face as previous efforts, but experiments more than ever. This could go down as a very special moment for them.
Famyne
Your Sunday night headliners at the Black Heart, rising Canterbury quintet Famyne are really making a statement this year, opening the Bloodstock main stage this summer - but for now, we can look forward to an hour of well-written, emotive, and multidimensional doom as the weekend grinds to a halt. They never seem to disappoint live, bringing exuberant stage presence and energy to the stage that can be felt whether you are on the barrier or by the sound desk. Even in their heaviest, dirtiest moments, they never lose the sense of grace that binds everything together and creates their unmistakeable, refreshingly original sound. Get down early.
Hippie Death Cult
Portland, Oregon power trio Hippie Death Cult are riding the crest of a wave, having just released a live album in the middle of a European tour that’s taken them to Desertfest Oslo, two Heavy Psych Sounds festivals in Italy, and soon - Desertfest London. They’ll bring a noisy psychedelic racket to the Black Heart late on Friday night that bleeds musicality, atmosphere, and powerful vocals. Hippie Death Cult have had a hectic touring schedule over the last few years, but it’s clear why Europe keeps having them back over. Their performances are full of electricity and enthusiasm, wearing their influences proudly on their sleeves while still bringing something unique. Join the cult.
Froglord
Froglord seemed to come out of nowhere after the pandemic, but now five albums in following this month’s ‘Metamorphosis’, the amphibious doom squad look unstoppable ahead of their debut Desertfest London appearance. Their efforts have not only been felt in the live arena, but also in their environmental charity work over the last few years. Nonetheless, these riff worshippers bring a groovy, psychedelic version of doom metal with them up and down the country, that’s turning heads and moving necks everywhere they go. They balance laid back tracks with heavier moments well, building a monster of an atmosphere. The Dev will be a swamp by the end of it.
Torus
Stoner/grunge trio Torus have gone from strength to strength after emerging post-pandemic, with a stream of singles, an EP, and a Bloodstock appearance preceding last year’s eponymous debut album. Their tunes are catchy with an infectious youthful energy, with plenty of bite to make you want to bang heads, but enough rhythm to have a genuine dance-ability as well that will surely go down a storm in a festival setting like this. Torus will be first on come Saturday afternoon, when most weekenders will likely be groggy or hungover. Music to wake yourself up to.
Verminthrone
Milton Keynes-based quintet Verminthrone will bring punishing hardcore hooks and sludgy riffs to The Dev on the Saturday. With a watertight live sound and thunderous stage presence, it’s no wonder they’ve made the impact they have on the UK underground, sharing the stage with the likes of Eyehategod and Raging Speedhorn in the last couple of years. Last year’s acclaimed ‘The Cull’, as well as having some fantastic song titles, showed them off in a more focussed and polished light than ever before. It’s going to get nasty.
Bile Caster
Negative sludge metal trio Bile Caster offer The Black Heart something seriously bleak and dismal on the Sunday. Their doom/sludge packs the weight of a ten ton hammer, with a guitar/bass tone as thick as a bowl of treacle that’s been left out in the desert, led by a frightening vocal roar. Recent months have really seen them break out of their region and pick up some impressive support slots in all corners of England. Last year’s ‘Writhing Between Birth And Death’ had just three punishing tracks that created a hellish atmosphere, the shortest of which coming in just short of eight and a half minutes long. It’s an acquired taste, but worth getting on board with. No smiles.
Photo credits: Tim Finch Photography
