Live Review: DesertFest London 2025 (16th – 18th May)

Well now, that was pretty damn good, wasn’t it?

Unlucky for some, DesertFest London reached its 13th edition this year, and put on an event that will be ed for a long time. All because of its varied line-up, multi-venue location, the strong sense of community surrounding it, and the overall organisation that left me feeling at home, and I am not a DesertFest regular at all.

In fact, my only experience of this sort of event comes from the extreme side of metal, namely Incineration Fest. However, while that event shares the multi-venue in Camden approach, it is only spread over one day, whereas DesertFest is three days. A monumental task to organise, but one that worked so well.

Taking place May 16th to May 18th, the 2025 edition of DesertFest London saw a lineup of bands from a wide array of alternative genres take over multiple venues in Camden. The Roundhouse, the Electric Ballroom, the Underworld, the Dev, and the Black Heart, with the latter becoming a hub for all things DesertFest London thanks to the street outside being closed off and available only to ticket holders. Where, not only could you enjoy a drink or two at The Black Heart, but attendees could relax, hang out with likeminded people, do some shopping at some of the independent stalls, get a tattoo, and enjoy the reverb coming from the venue above the bar! I didn’t spend much time here, far too many bands on, but each time I popped in, it was full of life and a nice break away from the busy streets of Camden.

I arrived just after 2pm on Friday, itinerary in hand, and had my weekend wristband on within minutes. With the sun shining on my head, it was time to see my first band and I had grand ideas of getting over the Electric Ballroom quickly, watching 20 minutes of the excellent Elephant Tree, then dashing over to The Underworld in time to catch Wallowing. Grand ideas that fell apart immediately with the late opening of the Electric Ballroom resulting in a queue that was stupidly long. I tried to get in, but after queuing for 25 minutes, I gave up and went over to the Underworld, where happily, I was able to walk straight in and get a good spot on the floor for Wallowing.

Look, I’m not going to criticise DesertFest for the Electric Ballroom’s late opening, but the exact same thing happened at Incineration Fest. The venue needs to get its s**t together. I walked past the front doors at 2:20 PM and they were only setting up the barriers then. Elephant Tree were due on at 2:30 PM!

Anyway, while that was disappointing, Wallowing quickly made up for it. A band that continues to unmissable, and I think I’m on a bit of mission to see them in every venue in London now. After all, this isn’t my first rodeo with the extreme experimental metallers, which might make you think I would be getting desensitised to their sound now, except that’s impossible. I stand in awe of this band and what they do, not only on record, but live and this set was staggeringly good.

I think they’ve just become so tight, and stages like this fit them perfectly. The air is thick with fog, the lighting makes everything feel so alien, and the noise emanating from the stage is as disturbing as it is captivating. I found myself looking around at others, enjoying the reaction of those who were experiencing the band for the first time. Unsurprisingly, it’s mix of shock, horror, intrigue, and delight. I suspect Wallowing earned themselves some new fans here.

Now, one of the biggest problems about a multi-venue event that uses venues of varied sizes is that smaller ones get packed out quickly. Get to a venue and find it full, you’ll be queuing outside until someone leaves, and you can squeeze in. It’s one of the drawbacks of this kind of event, but like Incineration Fest, it works well enough. If you really want to see a band in one of the smaller venues up close, you best get there early. Planning is a necessity, but sometimes, you can get lucky and find yourself able to slide your way into a packed room when you really shouldn’t have been able to. Which is what I was able to do with the progressive rock band Yetii in the Black Heart for around ten minutes. I can’t see anything, but they sound great.

The next band on my radar is Sea Bastard over in the Underworld, whose riff-drenched heavy doom ways is the perfect soundtrack for the dark and gloomy Underworld. You’d never know the sun was beaming down outside as this band create the kind of soundscape that sends the mind spiralling into darkness. It might not be much fun, but it’s mighty.

The belly is beginning to rumble at this stage, but before food can be consumed, Lowrider is on the cards, and the stoner rock band put on one of the best sets of the entire weekend. Their groovy ways are so addictive, and they brought their best to the Electric Ballroom. Who doesn’t love to see and hear a band enjoying themselves on stage? Lowrider seemed to be having fun and that resonated with a very willing crowd.

Following a food break (Blues Kitchen never disappoints), the plan was to go back the Electric Ballroom for a bit of Stoned Jesus, before heading to the Underworld and catching Årabrot. Unfortunately, there’s a queue to get in, so once again, I made the decision to get into the Underworld early so I could guarantee a spot for an array of unusual sounds. Årabrot are a band everyone needs to hear, and see, to understand, and their eclectic ways are certainly polarising, but they command a dedicated fanbase which is why the Underworld is nice and packed for their set. A set that sees the experimental noise rockers grow in confidence as the crowd responds to their varied music. It doesn’t always hit for me, but when it does, it can be really compelling.

Which leads me to, what should have been the last band I saw on the Friday of the festival, Elder. However, I ended up seeing one more, Hexis, in the Underworld, and here is why.

I watched 25-minutes of Elder, not knowing anything about them apart from their progressive and psychedelic rock genre placement and found myself so bored. I wanted to like it, the band’s abilities are staggering, but my mind was wandering and rather than force myself to watch something I wasn’t enjoying, I left. I know I am in the minority though, as the Ballroom was packed to the rafters, and so many people seem to be having a blast. I am glad, it just wasn’t for me, but Hexis was. Blackened hardcore with sludge tones, they bring the heavy, and it is fantastic. Even if a strobe light they are using on stage becomes really irritating after a while. They are an unexpected highlight of the day.

, all good plans go awry, but sometimes it can mean better results.

To Saturday then! The Roundhouse opened, and my itinerary had me spending most of the day there. First though, it was a visit to the Black Heart and the exciting possibility of seeing Indica Blues as my first band of the day. Except the queue to get in was snaking its way through the actual pub, so that plan went out the window. Disappointing, yes, but it’s great knowing the stoner rockers are playing to a packed room.

The sun is shining, Camden is packed with tourists, and the darkness of the Underworld is calling even though a band like Scott Hepple & the Sun Band seem better fit for outdoor stages in the Summertime. Their rock and roll ways are very likable though.

I do enjoy my heavy more though, so my first trip to The Dev was in order, where Verminthrone are hanging out and creating heavy, groovy, stoner and sludge metal noise. I’ll tell you now, The Dev’s sound was on point all weekend, and Verminthrone sounded immense here.

It’s a flying visit though as the Roundhouse is calling and a band that never lets me down is due to take the stage, It’s the doomy, sludge sound of Conan, and the three-piece are on immense form, looking so at home on a stage of this size. The Roundhouse isn’t exactly packed (a theme for the day), but everyone there is banging their heads to the noise Conan make. I love this band, and once again, they satisfy.

Speaking of satisfaction, my most anticipated band of the weekend came next, and ended up being my favourite band of the entire weekend. It’s Pallbearer, delivering beautiful doom that is downright emotional at times. An hour set flying by in the blink of an eye, leaving me wanting so much more, but glad for what we actually got. Seeing as they barely made it to the venue in time. Yes, this was a wholly unprepared Pallbearer, and it was still that good.

Food break! Check out The Imperial Palace of the Big Red. It’s right near the Roundhouse, is an alternative bar, and serves fantastic Mexican food. Their nachos and chicken burrito filled a grumbling belly, quickly too, which allowed me time to get back and watch the majority of Amenra’s set. Post metal with blackened edges, they sound incredible, and do a great job of banishing the Pallbearer post-set blues.

Which brings me to the last band of the night, Zeal & Ardor. A band I’ve seen countless times before, in various states of growth. It’s hard to believe that a band that once played the Underworld, is now headlining DesertFest London in the Roundhouse, a fact that is not lost on frontman, Manuel, who genuinely seems in awe of the experience. Although that applies to us, the crowd too, as Zeal & Ardor smash their way through a set that focuses on the new album but still delivers classic hit after hit. Götterdämmerung, Blood in the River, Death to the Holy, Devil is Fine… I will never tire of hearing these songs live. This was the favourite time seeing them live, that’s how good they were.

Now, I will it that I had a few more drinks on the Saturday, so once Zeal & Ardor had finished, I decided to head back to the Black Heart and have a nightcap. Finding the place rammed but filled with people in good spirits. Even late into the night, the good vibes are there, and everywhere you turn, people are talking about their day and the bands they saw in positive ways. For me, Saturday was the best day, even if Friday had Wallowing.

I know, I know. I’ll stop banging on about them for now.

To Sunday! Where, an unfortunate change in circumstances (a very early Monday start at work) meant I had to change my plan as I would not be staying past 8pm. Such is life, eh?

How freaking good where Kahn though? I started the day at the Ballroom out of curiosity and found a heavy stoner psych band kicking all kinds of ass. Honestly, I’d have stayed and watched all of their set, except I needed to get to the Dev early so I could get a good spot for a band that has been on my live radar for some time. It’s This Summit Fever, the fuzzy rock two-piece, and it doesn’t take long for The Dev to pack out. Get there early, ?

It’s worth it to as the duo are on fire, not just filled with vigour and delivering their groovy head bangers with aplomb, but showing off personality and showmanship. I can’t speak for previous This Summit Fever performances, but it feels like they’ve probably grown as live band, especially now the debut album is out there, and people are becoming more familiar with the songs. A sign of a good show is when you don’t find yourself looking at your watch, and I am pretty sure I forgot I was wearing one during their brilliant set.

On any other day, they’d be the band of the day, but Slump are up next and in a party mood, not only celebrating seven years of existence, but celebrating the fact that they’ve packed out The Dev. Which isn’t hyperbole, there’s no room left and all because Slump’s infectious desert rock crossed with groove, sludge, and stoner sounds so good. An outstanding display that will have people asking in the future… where you there when Slump smashed the Dev?

My feet are beginning to feel a bit sore at this stage, but there’s not time to rest as Divide and Dissolve have started in the Electric Ballroom, and I was very curious. I had no idea what to expect and I was still surprised. The instrumental doom and drone band is led by the sole full-time member saxophonist and guitarist Takiaya Reed, and delivers highly political music, even without vocals. A fascinating watch with polarising sounds, they are one of the weekend’s most unexpected watches.

Food break, and following another yummy meal in Blues Kitchen, it’s back to the Ballroom for some rock music, courtesy of Slift. Another band I was mostly unfamiliar with, but another band who thoroughly impressed me. I didn’t initially plan to end my DesertFest London experience with this band, I even tried to get into Castle Rat in the Underworld, but it was so packed inside that I gave up, but that was it for me. Do I regret missing out on Earth? From a review perspective, yes, but I’m not a fan so I didn’t really care about seeing them anyway. Calligram and Famyne though are two different stories altogether.

Regrets aside, what a weekend it was. I didn’t know what to expect from DesertFest London, and while I can compare some aspects to Incineration Fest, they are wholly different events, so it could have been a bit of a disaster for me. It wasn’t even close to that. I had a great time, I felt safe, I felt part of a community, I got to some of my favourite venues in my home city, I got to meet new people and hang out with old friends, and most importantly of all, I got to see a ton of bands from a wide array of genres absolutely killing it across the weekend. I can’t wait for the 2026 edition already.