Does Dortmund Deathfest Dominate UK Festivals?

Does Dortmund Deathfest Dominate UK Festivals?

2026 Festival Reaction and Review
Words: Oli Gonzalez
Photos: Tim Finch

A new challenger emerges!

After just celebrating its fourth birthday, Dortmund Deathfest (DDF) has been creating a lot of noise lately… and for all the right reasons it would appear. Growing in international respect for their impressive lineups, DDF is upholding the fierce reputation festivals on mainland Europe have held for years; a stellar experience that is seemingly only available on the continent!

Is this really the case though? Using DDF as a case study, how does this compare to what we have on offer in the UK?

Having dipped my toes in the waters of European metal festival life, grabbing my ticket for DDF would give me a chance to compare this experience to the regular fixtures on my UK festival schedule. Whether that be Damnation, Fortress, Incineration, or Offal Fest, all would provide a good frame of reference for this.

Let’s discuss the venue, the line up and stand out bands,  as well as the experience as a whole to act as an answer to this.

The Venue

The Junkyard was home to this weekend’s festivities. Step inside and you’d be greeted by scenery that made the title Junkyard as literal as it could get! With used tyres scattered about the place doubling up as seating, with the ‘walls’, outdoor bar, and general infrastructure propped by empty shipping containers, this made for a unique venue with plenty of character. Rustic was well and truly the vibe.

Getting here was very simple, with either a thirty minute walk from our hotel or a short ride on the tram, which also acted as an unofficial meet and greet with other festival attendees.

The event was sold out, a mark to the trust patrons put into the young festival! Though this made for a fairly uncomfortable experience at times, especially outdoors when hugely popular bands took to the stage. Though not a lot could be done about that, other than sell a few less tickets which would make little sense for the organisers.

Also, the weather. Watching bands in 30°c heat and above was testing, with the ground becoming particularly dusty and any kind circle pit would temporarily engulf Junkyard into a mini sandstorm. Nothing they can do about that right? Wrong!

Picture the scene. Cryptopsy are leveling the venue, with crowdsurfers flying towards the stage like missiles, whilst the circle pits are fully in motion. The crowd and band are being baked in the intense mid-afternoon sun, and then it begins to rain! Yep, you read that right! With a network of pipes designed to bathe overheated festival attendees in a gentle stream of sweet sweet H2O, to say this was welcome is an understatement! This was an absolute godsend! Even if it felt strange seeing t-shirts soaked in ‘rain water’ whilst the sun was still very much a constant. Something I’ve never seen in a UK venue or festival before; such a simple yet brilliant idea. Fair play to the venue for doing this! Though did they really need pyro for bands at this time too? Especially during the daylight when this was not as effective from a visual perspective. Who knows. It looked pretty awesome later at night though!

Drink prices seemed reasonable, as well as food options. As is common in Germany but alien to the majority of Brits, the venue employed a deposit scheme where you’re essentially charged an extra Euro per drink but can get this back if you return a token and your empty bottle or cup. A venue selling glass bottles? That would never happen in the UK. Having been to countless shows in the UK and seeing the venue floors being smothered in a layer of empty plastic cups, this deposit scheme adds a welcome by-product of a cleaner venue and not running the risk of slipping on someone else’s empty cup. How can we implement this in the UK? Would this work?

Returning to the subject of food and drink, a convenience store and fast food joints could be found within a stone’s throw from the venue, so you had a fair few options.

The same cannot be said about seating though sadly, leading to a few aching bones and backs later in the day. A patch of grass with a few benches outside presented the only ways to get the weight off your feet for a few minutes. Good job the venue dropped the ridiculous €3 re-entry fee to permit this, as this really was crazy! At least they listened to their fans. Festivals like Damnation are investing more in this infrastructure to add more seating for their aging fan base whilst Fortress Festival’s unique seaside location means there’s plenty of places to gain some respite from the noise and chaos. At DDF, it felt like there was no escape leading to a fairly uncomfortable experience at times. Though their hands are tied really. Adding a small seating area on the grass patch outside is the only real option (IF it is an option). Still, we’re sure they’ll figure it out.

The Bands

Let’s talk about the star-studded line up, shall we? Featuring a two stage set up with the indoor catering for the underground and up and coming acts, headlined by Pighead and Stillbirth on their respective nights. whereas the outdoor stage was home to the international heavyweights for 2 days. Including the likes of Benediction, 200 Stab Wounds, and Beheaded, with the mighty Asphyx and the demonic Deicide topping the bill on their respective nights.

So, who were the stand out performers then?

Cryptopsy: Despite having seen the same set in January of this year, it would be rude not to check out a celebration of the seminal album “None So Vile” once again, right ? The intense heat of the August sun could not have been any more different from the frosty bite of that Thursday night in January. Though the ferocity in which the Canadians delivered genre defining hits like ‘Phobophile’ and ‘Crown Of Horns’ was a constant across both of these shows. The ferocity matched by the speed and aggression by those in the pits! You could perhaps forgive Cryptopsy for maybe being bored of essentially playing the same set every night for 8 months, but they left everything on that stage and did justice to the legacy of “None So Vile”.

Deicide: It’d be hard not to mention one of the seminal acts of the genre and the closing main stage act to the festival. Look in any direction and you’d see an ocean of Deicide merch, whether it be a baseball cap, tshirt, or patch! It was clear who people had paid their money to see. The 45 minutes or so after Immolation’s set was abruptly ended by the iconic riff to ‘When Satan Rules Is World’. Within mere seconds, this resulted in the portal to hell being opened with a circle pit which would grow exponentially as the set progressed.

“I’ve never seen such a sad face” frontman Glen Benton commented as he carefully handed a guitar pick to a fan in the front row.  A seemingly off brand act of kindness from a man who has been speaking of his profound hatred for Christianity for well over 3 decades now! Despite this, his voice sounded as sharp and as demonic as ever, showing no signs of wear and tear. Deicide peeled off classics from this vast VAST discography including ‘Scars Of The Crucifix’, ‘Dead By Dawn’, and ‘Once Upon A Cross’. Many of which provided opportunities for a communal sing along (would you expect a Deicide concert to be described in this way?).

There’s no denying fatigue was setting in, physical and mental. Though as the German sun began to set, Junkyard was slowly becoming engulfed in darkness. This amplified the lighting display and magnified the intensity of the pyrotechnics, adding fresh stimulus and an injection of energy to the set. Not that Deicide’s set lacked it! Definitely not. This was another clinic from one of the true pioneers of death metal!

Immolation: After unleashing a true monster of a record in the form of “Descent” earlier in the year, the anticipation couldn’t be any higher! They delivered though! Resoundingly. With no fancy walk ons, they just calmly took to the stage and began peeling off many of these fully qualified slobber knockers from this album. Starting with the bruising “These Vengeful Winds”

Each of which being characterised by the thunderous groove, pummelling low end and demonic guttural vocals coming from frontman/bassist Rob Nolan alongside some piercing blistering leads from Robert Vigna. Despite some aching and tired bodies out there, it was well and truly worth the pain to push through and be rewarded with an old school death metal clinic!

When discovering death metal as a teenager, bands like Decapitated and Deicide were heavily in my rotation, as well as seminal New York death metal acts Internal Bleeding and Suffocation, where Immolation also originates. Somehow they got lost in that shuffle. How I regret that!

Sanguisugabogg: The North Americans can seemingly do no wrong in the world of death metal! Representing a wave of exciting new breed of bands in the genre, they brought a youthful energy and hunger mixed with a solid old school death metal sound. Operating in the slower realms of the genre and priorising meaty grooves over rapid pace, this still resulted in many heads banging in gruesome unison (and some sore necks later on)! Appreciated by those stroking their grey beards at the back as well as being adored by the young pups in the circle pits!

Surprises

Brat: In all honesty,  watching Brat wasn’t really planned. What a mistake that would have been! Presenting more as an instructor for a spinning class than the vocalist for an extreme metal band, Liz well and truly dominated with her relentless energy and demonic vocals! Mixing pop classics from Britney Spears and Cascada provided a sense of nostalgia and resulted in many attendees bopping and dancing along. Perhaps ironically. This wouldn’t last long though as their songs that were dripping in raw primitive rage resulted in our first pits of the day. A couple of these songs acted as a preview for their upcoming album “Manslayer”, with today’s performance surely leading to some preorders or new followers on social media at the very least!

Jungle Rot: “JUNGLE ROT! JUNGLE ROT!”
When the crowd is roaring your name like this between songs, you know you’ve won as a band! Jungle Rot won today. Despite the early set time, they pulled a very respectable crowd who were very much locked in and engaged from the very first note. Their sound fused the pace and retrograde nature of thrash with the venomous bit of death metal in a delightful package! Opportunities to catch Jungle Rot in the UK are few and far between hence some thanks to DDF are in order for showcasing bands like this!

Vibes and Experience

Rather than being a strictly all German affair I had imagined it to be, DDF offered the antithesis in the form of a welcoming international community. Warm conversations with an Italian gentleman, meeting two French travellers on the met, and a wholesome moment with a German attendee debating the complexity and lack of logic within the English language sums this up. As well as finding many fellow Brits along the way, who I’m sure I’ll cross paths with again! All of which added to a true cosmopolitan feel, like a gathering from the wider metal family.

Let’s talk about value too. The hotel economy in Dortmund seems to be very fair. A rather lavish hotel (by my standards) set me back a measly £102 for 2 nights, whilst an early bird weekend festival ticket was around about the same. Whether that’s due to Brexit or the challenge of getting to the UK that has always been there, it’s hard to think of any festival or major city here that can offer that value for money! It’s hard to argue with the band for the buck that DDF offers.

Wrap Up and Verdict

DDF is a young festival, still learning and making a few minor mistakes along the way, but mistakes that are very much fixable. They’ve proven they’re willing to listen to and act on feedback too. A trait that will earn respect and loyalty. They’ve well and truly capitalised on the opportunities to intercept bands from outside of Europe looking to fill out their calendar before hitting the likes of Brutal Assault and Party San. Yep, they’ve certainly found their place in the market as a smaller, more affordable option, as compared to Wacken or those other larger festivals.

Perhaps the venue lacks some of the home comforts that some UK festivals have. Though UK festivals could learn a lot from DDF.  Also, look at any one of their 4 lineups (including this year) and you can’t deny the ridiculously stacked bills DDF have put together over the years, with the value for money being crazy!

If DDF continues in this positive upward trajectory, we’re going to have a serious player on the summer festival circuit. A highly coveted slot for bands to fiercely compete for that will represent a true rights of passage for any respecting death metal band!

Photo credits: Tim Finch Photography

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