Ten Bands You Should Check Out at Incineration Fest 2025

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! When black clouds roll in over London and extreme sounds ring out across Camden. It’s Incineration Festival, the 2025 edition, and once again those behind the one-day extreme metal fest have put together a line-up liable to make a nun blush and a priest grimace.

Taking place on Saturday May 3rd, 2025, across five iconic venues (The Roundhouse, The Electric Ballroom, The Underworld, The Black Heart, and The Dev) in Camden, the sold-out event promises to be one to , especially with a line-up that includes the likes of Triptykon (performing Celtic Frost), Decapitated, Blood Incantation, Batushka, Cryptopsy, Celestial Sanctuary, DeathCollector, Wormwitch, Bedsore, Cruelty, and many more.

So many great bands that choosing just who to see is challenging, which is where we come in! We’re here to give ten bands that we think you should check out if you’re coming to the festival. Get those muscles warmed up, especially the neck ones, and we’ll see you in the pit.

Naut – The Black Heart (1320-1350)

How do you want to start your Incineration Fest off? We recommend you start it in the darkness of The Black Heart with the stylish goth-infused post punk sound of Naut. An eclectic, but electric band, with a very unique sound that will hypnotise for the 30 minutes they’re on stage.

Copse – The Dev (1350-1420)

We’d suggest you get to The Dev a bit early if you want to see Copse up close as there is no doubt they will be a popular choice for many, especially this early in the day. Genre-bending, but emphatically displaying elements of black metal, shoegaze and post metal, it’s going to be an incredible experience and we can already tell you that you’ll be left wanting more come the end of their 30-minute set.

DeathCollector – The Dev (1500-1530)

We’re staying in The Dev for this next band, one we’re very familiar with, and one that never disappoints. It’s DeathCollector and this is going to be carnage. Their brand of death metal is going to draw in a crowd ready and willing to lose their mind and The Dev is one hell of a place for that to happen. It’s going to be rammed, it’s going to be downright dangerous, but you’ll love every second of it.

Celestial Sanctuary – The Underworld (1625-1710)

It’s over to the Underworld, where you can find those absolute noise-mongers Celestial Sanctuary, who always deliver a show that leaves you with ringing in your ears. A feral style of brutish death metal, they embody the word ‘extreme’ but do so in a way that is furiously fun. The pits in the Underworld will be absurd with they’re on, but guaranteed, there will be a lot of smiles on faces while the carnage is happening.

Blackbraid – The Electric Ballroom (1710-1755)

While black metal at Incineration Fest might not seem that special, Blackbraid is a unique prospect. Hailing from the depths of the Adirondack wilderness, the solo indigenous black metal project creates potent and raw music that has the power to captivate. This has the potential to leave many staggered by what they see and hear.

Grief Ritual – The Dev (1755-1845)

The Dev is hosting some genuinely brilliant bands, in case you haven’t noticed already, and another unmissable one is the mighty Grief Ritual who are still riding the high of their album, ‘Collapse’. An album that isn’t just brilliant on record, but brilliant live and these songs are going to sound immense in the confines of the pub. Expect to be enamoured, and rightfully so, they’re getting to really showcase the depth to their vitriolic intensity with a 50-minute set. Trust us, it will fly by.

Cryptopsy – The Electric Ballroom (1845-1935)

Do the Canadian death metallers need an introduction? They’re iconic and will wreck plenty of necks with a thrilling showcase of virulent heaviness and violent intensity. The Electric Ballroom plays host to many great bands, and Cryptopsy are unmissable.

Healing Wound – The Dev (1935-2025)

Stepping in at the last minute as Underdark can no longer play, Healing Wound might have big shoes to fill, but will delight all those with a hunger for blackened deathcore that has the power to make your eyes water. The Dev is a great venue for them to play and they do know how to bring the noise, If you’ve never seen them before, make this the moment you change that. It’s going to be chaos.

Decapitated – The Electric Ballroom (2025-2125)

We love a bit of Decapitated, and see them as a worthy headliner for this stage and (potentially) the end of the night for many. An hour of technically sound death metal is one thing, but over their many years, they’ve evolved and a set from them can be incredibly varied. While we can’t quite guarantee what you’ll hear here, we can guarantee that you’ll be banging your head hard regardless.

Five the Hierophant – The Black Heart (2215-2300)

We started in The Black Heart, so let’s end in The Black Heart with one of the most unique bands on the festival line-up. A hallucinatory experience, their sound is near indescribable, and combines elements of black, doom, and post into a psychedelic instrumental experience that is more ritualistic than anything else. You’ve not lived until you’ve seen this band live, and we can’t think of a better way to end your night.