Masters Of Reality and Godflesh among first 25 bands announced for Desertfest 2024

(Image credit: Desertfest 2024)

Masters of Reality and Godflesh are among the first 25 bands to be unveiled next year's Desertfest, which will take place across multiple venues in Camden, north London from May 17– 19.

Making their first appearance in the UK in almost a decade at the 12th staging of Desertfest, following their pandemic-enforced cancellation in 2020, Masters of Reality are among the headline attractions for 2024. The brainchild of legendary producer Chris Goss (whose CV beyond the trailblazing Syracuse band includes work on Kyuss' Welcome to Sky Valley, Queens Of The Stone Age's Rated R, and Screaming Trees' Dust), Masters of Reality have combined psychedelic blues, desert rock, prog and Beatles-esque melodicism to mesmerising effect across their six album career, scoring the front cover of Kerrang! magazine back in February 1989 for their Rick Rubin-produced self-titled Def American debut album, also known to fans as 'The Blue Garden'.

Following an acclaimed performance at the New York edition of Desertfest in September, industrial behemoths Godflesh are set to return to London in May to shake NW1 to its foundations. Justin Broadrick's band will warm up for the event with two shows in Ireland (May 11 at The Academy in Dublin, and May 12 in Limerick, at Dolans Warehouse) ahead of the weekend.

UK exclusive performances at Desertfest '24 come in the form of Swedish doom masters Monolord, California stoner metal heroes Acid King and Italian experimentalists Ufomammut. Ex-Kyuss man Brant Bjork is bringing his Brant Bjork Trio across the Atlantic, and the heavyweight bill will also showcase Instrumental sound shifters Maserati, the hard-hitting Mantar, introspective visionaries Cloakroom and heavy-psych rockers Monkey3.

Acts on the supporting cast include Blanket, Domkraft, Pijn, Sugar Horse, Stinking Lizaveta, Darsombra, Astroqueen, Wet Cactus, Sergeant Thunderhoof, Goblinsmoker and more.

Weekend tickets for the event are on sale now via the official festival site.

Artists

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.