The UK's premier doom/stoner/sludge/psych-metal festival took over London's Camden Town once again from May 16-18, offering those in attendance the opportunity to turn up, tune in, and trip out with some of the world's heaviest, freakiest and fuzziest Purveyors Of The Riff. And as ever, it was a fucking blast.
Here are seven bands who defined the weekend for us.
Stoned Jesus (Electric Ballroom, Friday)
Respect to Stoned Jesus, they can take credit for what is surely the first and only time a Lady Gaga riff has found its way into Desertfest, with their much-loved Electric Mistress littered with a medley of notable melodies, including The White Stripes’ Seven National Army and Gaga’s Poker Face. A band unafraid to get a little silly, the Ukrainian stoner rockers’ performance is an all-out riff riot from start to finish, prompting endless moshing, beer-lobbing and crowd surfing. Then, towards the end of their set, the trio announce that funds raised from their appearance will be donated to the people of their war-torn homeland, which rounds out their superbly energetic performance with a unifying message.
Amenra (Roundhouse, Saturday)
Intense. Beautiful. Devastating. There are many ways you can describe Amenra, but few can capture the sheer magnitude of what the Belgian post-metallers bring forth with each live engagement. Plunging the Roundhouse into darkness with minimal lighting and stark, haunting imagery displayed on a giant screen behind them, their set is an exercise in extremes. From the rhythmic grind of Razoreater to the abyssal howls of Plus Prés De Toi and Terziele, or even serene, lurking threat in Silver Needle, Golden Tail, by the time Amenra are through, vocalist Colin H. van Eeckhout panting and shirtless, there’s a palpable sense of awe in the room.
Zeal & Ardor (Roundhouse, Saturday)
Zeal & Ardor at Desertfest doesn’t sound like an obvious match, but Manuel Gagneux’s genre-splicing metal mavericks yet again proved that no matter what setting you put them in, they’ll excel. And how. Topping a day of crushing despair and walls of sound, courtesy of Conan, Pallbearer and Amenra, Zeal brought that most sacred of elements back to the Roundhouse: riffs.
From the combustive black metal of Gotterdammerung to the bluesy licks of Ship On Fire and Gravedigger’s Chant, plus swerves into prog metal territories on Erase and Fend You Off, the set is a veritable buffet of styles, anchored by stunning, soulful vocal performances that elevated the sound to something near spiritual. There are even concessions towards desert rock itself, the decidedly QOTSA-ish Sugarcoat eliciting sing-alongs to what Gagneux conceded was “a ridiculous melody”, as swivelling lights cast a halo around the frontman. Like Suicidal Tendencies last year and Shellac at this venue in 2022, Zeal & Ardor might’ve been a wildcard booking, but their biggest London headline show to date proved they remain an irresistible draw.
Castle Rat (The Underworld, Sunday)
Desertfest revellers bore witness to quite the spectacle on Sunday afternoon at The Underworld. Between a bloodied on-stage resurrection, a burlesque sword fight and a hefty helping of groove-loaded stoner doom performed by a band garbed like fantastical D&D buffs, New York newbies Castle Rat made their first ever UK show an unforgettable trip.
Gloriously nerdy and somewhat batshit, the fantasy doom metallers united galloping Sabbathian hooks with epic storytelling, fronted by the chainmail-clad Rat Queen alongside a thespian heavy metal troupe , including a bassist who wore a terrifying plague doctor mask and an ‘all-seeing’ druidic drummer. Heavy-handed their sense of world-building might be, Castle Rat’s animated, riff-blazing performance swept them instantly away from novelty territory, and were undoubtedly one of the most uniquely fun bands of the weekend.
Divide and Dissolve (Electric Ballroom, Sunday)
Although Divide and Dissolve are listed as being a Melbourne, Australia-based band, Takiaya Reed, their only full-time member, is currently lives in Leytonstone, East London, the former 'manor' of Iron Maiden's Steve Harris. And while she might be a relatively new resident in this wonderful city, her two-piece band are welcomed like homecoming heroes. Reed's stated intention with her instrumental project is to "create music to decolonise, decentralise and destroy white supremacy": that she rolls out crushing, all-enveloping, room-shaking riffs with a calm, beatific smile on her face only enhances the intensity of the experience. Looping eerie saxophone melodies, then overlaying them with reverberating, droning chords on the aptly-titled Monolithic from new album Insatiable, Reed makes music that is haunting, beautiful and unique, evoking a sense of freedom, and a refusal to bow down to anyone, ever. Wonderful.
Slift (Electric Ballroom, Sunday)
Slift opened up Desertfest 2022 as the opening band at the Electric Ballroom, and it's a measure of their growing, and well-merited, reputation as one of the finest live bands on the planet, that they draw an impressive crowd to the same venue on Sunday evening playing below headliners Earth.
The Toulouse trio - brothers Jean (vocals, guitar, synths) and Rémi Fossat (bass) with drummer Canek Flores - take listeners on powerfully hypnotic , psychedelia-infused post-rock trips, with Nimh, from last year's Ilion album, and Ummon, the title track of their second album, launching pads for mind-blowing excursions into deep space. Their cosmic soundscapes pulse, contract and expand, drawing listeners in without telegraphing the route ahead, and then explode in myriad directions, elevating the faithful to new horizons. This is the fifth time I've seen Slift live in London in the past five years, and quite honestly they've never been less than astonishing.
Earth (Electric Ballroom, Sunday)
Anticipation for Earth’s first UK show in five years has been growing since the Olympia, Washington drone-metal overlords were announced in November, and tonight Dylan Carlson's cult heroes do not disappoint. Once upon a time, Earth seemed forever doomed to make headlines only in connection to the ill-fated purchase Carlson made at Stan Baker's Gun Shop in Seattle in April 1994, but now - alongside fellow travellers Sun 0))) - they can lay claim to having inspired an entire generation of post-metal experimentalists, and there's a healthy audience at the Ballroom for their Sunday evening headline slot, the opening night of a rare UK tour.
Flanked by Londoner Jodie Cox (Narrows, Markers) on guitar, Carlson doesn't concern himself with trivialities such a 'banter', but focusses on erecting slowly oozing, overwhelming waves of oppressive distorted riffs, swamping all before it. Like his former room-mate Mark Lanegan, Carlson has a way of creating beauty from pitch-black darkness, and surrendering oneself to Earth's transcendent noise is a perversely blissful experience, washing away all worldly concerns for 90 minutes. It turns out that Belinda Carlisle was right all those years ago when she said that heaven is a place on Earth.
