You’ve never heard of this space rock band, but they just put on one of the loudest, craziest and most incredible festival sets I’ve seen in my life

Though French cosmonauts Slift are very much a cult prospect, it’s only a matter of time before their mesmerising live shows make them superstars

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By ( Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Louder ) published
Slift onstage in 2025
(Image: © Matt Mills)

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There are two types of people in this world: people who adore Slift, and people who’ve never heard of Slift. Don’t feel bad if you fall into that second category, though. The French space rock explorers formed in 2016, and despite them being signed to ex-Nirvana label Sub Pop, the way their long-running rocket rides dart between psychedelia, prog, jazz and metal means they were always going to be niche.

Slift may be small in the grand scheme of things, but they’ve cornered the market in routinely playing the best live shows I’ve ever seen. Today’s set on the Wednesday of Bristol festival Arctangent marks my third time entering their heady orbit, and they may have outdone themselves.

The trio’s concerts are transcendent, cosmic thrillrides. Their genre-jumping deviations are always erratic and exciting, anchored around the herculean drumming of Canek Flores. Meanwhile, the otherworldly aura emitted by singer/guitarist Jean Fossat’s distorted wails and echoing riffs, and his bassist brother Remí’s throbbing twangs, is hammered home by a huge video backdrop, playing what seem to be Doctor Who openings that were abandoned for being too weird.

Ummon opens the vortex to Slift’s sonic universe, but the most widescreen explorations come via the two songs from 2024’s Ilion album: the title track and Nimh. The latter is usually the standout moment, even from showmen as perfect as these, ending by revisiting the first verse and slowing it into a groove metal neck-snapper. Today, however, the extravaganza finishes with one of several as-yet-unreleased songs, called Secret Mirror. It dazzles with its brain-warping dynamics, blasting from synthy krautrock to immediate, unapologetic heaviness.

Jean ends the night by revealing that the Ilion tour is now over and Slift will return in 2026 – potentially with their best music to date, if tonight is anything to go by. Until then, this band have just given Arctangent what will surely go down as the greatest set of the weekend. But, for them, being this magnificent is simply the norm.

Slift onstage in 2025

(Image credit: Matt Mills)

Slift setlist: Arctangent festival, Bristol, UK – August 13, 2025

  • Ummon
  • Fantaz (unreleased)
  • A Storm (unreleased)
  • Day Of Ex (unreleased)
  • Ilion
  • Nimh
  • Secret Mirror (unreleased)
Matt Mills
Matt Mills
Contributing Editor, Metal Hammer

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Metal Hammer and Prog, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, NME and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.

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