FESTIVAL REVIEW: Desertfest 2018
Desertfest has quickly become one of the most popular genre focused metal festivals in the UK, now having had its seventh iteration. Desertfest 2018 has been able to boast a large number of artists, spread across six venues over the weekend. Not only are they growing quickly, they are THE place for pure, unadulterated stoner and doom metal. With an impressive line-up featuring HAWKWIND, WEEDEATER, NAPALM DEATH, MONSTER MAGNET, and GRAVEYARD as some of the bigger names, the festival was sure to attract die-hard fans and lovers of metal. Not only that, but the weekend tickets sold out entirely, ensuring that Camden Town was flooded with metalheads and rockers. Distorted Sound had boots on the ground for the festival, so let’s commence the coverage of our review and photo collection. Here is our lowdown of Deserfest 2018!
Friday
PLANET OF ZEUS – Koko
As one of the first bands to play on the Friday line-up, PLANET OF ZEUS really got things going for the Desertfest crowd. Opening with Unicorn Without a Horn, the atmosphere started with melancholic, blues dripping riffs before exploding into an electrifying mix of heavy, catchy southern rock choruses and perfectly executed solos. PLANET OF ZEUS brought with them a beautifully mixed set of their best across their last three albums, including Leftovers, The Great Dandolos, and Your Love Makes Me Want To Hurt Myself. Rising above the energetic instrumentals was Babis Papanikolaou’s impossibly animated vocal performance. Using his entire body and face to convey the lyrics of each song, the singer managed to bring an emotional element to the performance that appeared to rub off on members of the band and crowd alike, with each band member having a fantastic rapport with the others on stage throughout the entire set. Overall, PLANET OF ZEUS gave the audience a live experience that was just as flawless as on album and set the tone for Friday as a highly energetic one.
Rating: 9/10
Words: Chloe Leonard
THE BLACK WIZARDS – The Underworld (PHOTOS ONLY)
BLACK MOTH – The Underworld (PHOTOS ONLY)
MORASS OF MOLASSES – The Devonshire Arms
MORASS OF MOLASSES were the first band to perform at The Devonshire Arms for Desertfest, and attracted quite a crowd. Being a small pub venue, the set was very intimate and sweaty, but MORASS OF MOLASSES dense, hearty stoner tunes were catchy enough to get the crowd of loyal fans and newcomers dancing and get the airflow moving again. The Reading outfit played a mix of songs, from the doomy, sludgy Serpentine to the Greek mythological references of Wrath of Aphrodite; a song that starts like a ballad but suddenly kicks into a frenzy of heavy, dance-worthy chords that the crowd found impossible to stand still during. Bones ‘The Beard’ Huse’s interaction with the crowd was fantastic, and really made the entire performance feel like watching a band you have followed and loved for years, even if you had only listened to them once before seeing them at Desertfest. MORASS OF MOLASSES feel a lot more raw live than on their album or EP, and it translates brilliantly into a performance that really is worth being a part of if you want to listen to lively, heavy songs to move to.
Rating: 8/10
Words: Chloe Leonard
JEX THOTH – The Underworld
JEX THOTH are steeped in a little bit of mystery, and this translates to their live performances as well. Suffering from a slight delay in the beginning of their set, JEX THOTH is at once the band, the voice, and the experience. The dark underground venue of The Underworld was the perfect setting for the eerie performance of this band, in which the set begins with the groups frontwoman faced away from the crowd on her knees in a huge, hooded cape. JEX THOTH’s voice is strong and clear through the heavy yet ethereal instrumental sounds of the set, but also possessed a sense of feminine occultism that was hard to ignore – it was difficult to not just focus on the almost unhuman body movements of the singer during the songs. Watching JEX THOTH felt like passing through an intimate experience of a spiritual woman, and left the crowd feeling like they had just witnessed something really special. The hour-long performance of JEX THOTH was dark, eerie, and held onto a psychedelic atmosphere that was a perfect interlude between other more upbeat bands of the day.
Rating: 7/10
Words: Chloe Leonard
GRAVEYARD – Koko
Gracing the stage in the late evening, GRAVEYARD have certainly earned the right to headline the Koko stage. Their sound throughout the performance was solid, never once wavering through the set. They started off with the very chill Slow Motion Countdown, setting the mood and scene for the rest of the show. Their setlist was a gob-smacking 17 songs long, each one high quality, high energy rock and roll through and through. Featuring such gems as Magnetic Shunk, Uncomfortably Numb and The Siren, GRAVEYARD pulled out the stops for this show, playing banger after banger all show long. Their sound quality and energy from start to finish was just the right amount of relaxed and energetic to round off the night, one cracking way to close the Koko stage for the weekend.
Rating: 9/10
Words: Christopher Harding
DOPELORD – The Devonshire Arms
DOPELORD’s performance at Desertfest was a powerful one to say the least, and the acoustics in The Devonshire Arms are surprisingly good for such a small venue, it really helped to amplify the drudging bass notes. The fact it was a pub was a recurring problem across the weekend. With the limited space, the atmosphere was claustrophobic and uncomfortably intimate, having to wait outside and queue to see many of the acts if you weren’t there early. Aside from that, the show was cracking, booming and droning guitars clung to the air like a miasma of sickening riffs. There was not a single song that didn’t get the crowd going, from Addicted to Black Magick, and Children of Haze, to Reptile Sun and Preacher Electrick. DOPELORD played incredibly well and captured the essence of doom. In spite of the slight issues with the venue, it was one of the top performances of the day.
Rating: 7/10
Words: Christopher Harding
NAPALM DEATH – The Electric Ballroom
Featuring the most songs on a setlist, with 24, albeit ranging from two to five minutes long each, also a historically controversial, yet wildly popular band, is NAPALM DEATH. They headlined The Electric Ballroom, commanding the stage and audience with the most intense and guttural performance of Desertfest. Brutal, hyperfast aggression on all fronts, immense and powerful vocals, dominating and meaty basslines, crunchy oppressive riffs, this performance had it all. NAPALM DEATH’s stage presence was incredibly intimidating, but in the best way, much like an audience with a king. For the duration of the show, it was one crushing song after the next, never once retreating from the sound that brought them to the heights they have reached today. To summarise, NAPALM DEATH are simply titans of their music, destroying all usurpers in their wake, both on record and live, a true monster of metal.
Rating: 8/10
Words: Christopher Harding
Saturday
ADMIRAL SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVELL – The Electric Ballroom (PHOTOS ONLY)
CHURCH OF MISERY – The Electric Ballroom
CHURCH OF MISERY are known for the SABBATH influenced riffs inspired by the bands favourite grim serial killer icons. This four piece from Japan really got the evening started in true Desertfest style by punishing anyone who was daft enough to stand close to the front without any ear plugs. The Electric Ballroom was packed to the rafters despite the band having just come off a UK tour several months ago and with good reason. From the get-go CHURCH OF MISERY‘s distinct sound was nothing short of gruesome, like watching an eighties horror B movie with vibrations that could shatter bones.
Throughout the set the sound was pretty flawless with no hiccups other than the bands sole surviving original member Tatsu Mikami falling over midway through the set, still without missing a beat! This could be put down to one of two things, the fact that he plays with his bass so low he may as well be sat on the floor, or his signature 70’s style bell bottoms that were as big as our hopes and dreams. Add to those flares hair that looked like it had come straight out of a Herbal Essences commercial it only added to how effortlessly cool the band looked as they sent out frequencies so low and sludgy dogs would even have trouble hearing it.
Vocalist, Hiroyuki Takano, played to every single inch of the venue, running from one end of the stage to the other consistently. No one was left out at this performance, he wasn’t going to allow it. He made sure everyone was up on their feet having a good time. Beers were held high and roars of applause were made when they stopped to talk to the crowd. They brought us a deafening psychedelic experience with songs such as Make Them Die Slowly and Brother Bishop. Who needs drugs when CHURCH OF MISERY exist, aye?
Rating: 8/10
Words: Stephanie Beswick
DEAD WITCHES – The Underworld
The atmosphere was far from dead in The Underworld on Saturday for the second day of Desertfest with a packed room waiting in anticipation. DEAD WITCHES took to the stage and the room came alive. New vocalist, Soozi Chameleone, had everyone hooked under her spell. Her vocals were enough to awaken the dead from a deep dark slumber. They were rich and full of ferocity, she held her own on the stage and showed us she would refuse to be tamed.
Whilst Soozi captivated the crowd into a trance like state, Oliver Irongiant (guitar) and Carl Geary (bass), brought us riffs that were so heavy it felt like your face was melting off. With BLACK SABBATH-esque riffs it’s clear to see where they draw some of their inspiration from, but they turn it into their own unique sludgy sound. Mark Greening (drums), a well-known name within the doom scene being mostly known for his time in ELECTRIC WIZARD, from this day forward, he will surely come to mind for bringing sickening drum solos and deafening energy to DEAD WITCHES, showing us that he hasn’t lost it yet!
The crowd were given the pleasure of hearing some new songs that they’d been working on. The Goddess of the Night was heavy from the get-go and had everyone banging their heads back and forth and in seconds. Church by the Sea had a very psychedelic vibe to it, 70’s occult horror springs to mind. With deep riffs and skin tingling vocals it kept the electrifying atmosphere alive. It had everyone excited for what is still yet to come them, no doubt it will be as mesmerising and seductive as this performance. No more need for Ouija boards to summon the spirits, just spin a DEAD WITCHES track and let the horror unfold.
Rating: 9/10
Words: Stephanie Beswick
WEEDEATER – The Electric Ballroom (PHOTOS ONLY)
HIGH ON FIRE – The Electric Ballroom
Twenty sunless years since HIGH ON FIRE began gracing this earth with what some describe as the heaviest riffs on the planet, and although Camden was anything but sunless on Saturday, it certainly felt like all light had ceased to exist when they took to the stage in the Electric Ballroom. Chances are if you’re at Desertfest you’re into leaving a show feeling like you’ve been exposed to a flurry of weighty riff-fuelled punches to the face and a shirtless Matt Pike did just that. There were no shortage of riffs in this performance!
Opening with Sons of Thunder from their 2005 release Blessed Black Wings, crowds in the Ballroom whether they were veteran fans or only hearing the band for the first time, they instantly knew they were in for an hour of monumental riff sorcery. As you could imagine, wherever Matt Pike goes a dense cloud of smoke follows and that was definitely the case this night as the band continued to thrash out ear rupturing tracks spanning pretty much every ruthless album the band ever released. HIGH ON FIRE seemed to experience a brief moment of technical difficulty during Bastard Sammurai but this didn’t seem to phase the crowd and most definitely not the band as they soldiered through like lifetime professionals.
Whilst Matt Pike provided the ear shattering and forceful vocals, Jeff Matz (formally of ZEKE) provided the earthquake inducing bass riffs with his aggressive style and riled up the crowd whilst performing the monolithic task of playing alongside the riff lord himself. Along with face melting drums from Des Kensel it’s a surprise the venue remained standing by the end of the night. Their performance did not disappoint with a set list that would be held in high regard by any fan, even with little crowd interaction from the band everyone still lapped it up and crowd surfers were constantly being pulled over the barriers. HIGH ON FIRE‘s blistering heaviness really does speak for itself.
The set was ended with Snakes for the Divine and the crowd reacted how you would imagine, wild! The venue erupted as if the riff gods just plucked the heaviest riff imaginable out of a cloud of thunder. The set was over but would still be ringing in our ears for days to come.
Rating: 9/10
Words: Stephanie Beswick
Sunday
MONOLORD – The Roundhouse (PHOTOS ONLY)
ELDER – The Roundhouse
Taking Sunday afternoon on a journey down masterpiece lane, was ELDER, bringing progressive stoner-rock to the Roundhouse, with spades of talent at their disposal. Kicking off their performance strongly with Sanctuary, you could feel the atmosphere suddenly shift, knowing that this would be a no holds barred show. You couldn’t really ask more from a band playing at the biggest stage of the weekend, with fantastic acoustics and mind-boggling expertise, ELDER had outdone themselves, with insanely crisp solo’s and deafening drums. Their performance as a whole was outstanding and mesmerizing, controlling the ebb and flow of the room, waves of people moving to the rhythm of ever song. They ended on a slightly calmer note that their previous tracks with The Falling Veil, a cracking way to bring everyone back down to earth on a mellow level.
Rating: 8/10
Words: Christopher Harding
LO CHIEF – The Devonshire Arms
And now for something a little different…LO CHIEF, a vintage rock and blues inspired band, with just as much character and stage presence as any of the greats. Their sound is so unique compared to the rest of the line-up, bringing a slight grungy, hard rock attitude, with their stellar guitar duels and keyboard accompaniment. Their music transports you to another world, and as a live performance they really are something special. Smiles and head bobbing all round, charisma emanating from the stage, LO CHIEF put on one of the best shows of the weekend, with a completely different flavour to anything else seen. While not in a massive venue or accompanied by a mental light show, it was their music that captured the intrigue of many with a breath of fresh air from the intoxicating stoner-rock that surrounds them.
Rating: 8/10
Words: Christopher Harding
HAWKWIND – The Roundhouse
It’s not very often you get the opportunity to see the true titans of psychedelic space rock, but when you do it’s one hell of an experience. We don’t say that lightly either, you don’t simple listen to them, you experience their music. HAWKWIND really brought the thunder with Sonic Attack, followed by Damnation Alley, another absolute monster of a track, transcending time and space. Of course, they finish with the high energy, hard rocking Assassins of Allah, accompanied by a stage performer. The sound quality of the gig was near album quality, and despite their age (both as a band and members) they still performed as if it was their golden years. The trippy visuals and lightshow, on top of speeches over a distorted megaphone really added to the atmosphere and utilised the full acoustic potential that the Roundhouse has. HAWKWIND is yet unrivalled in their genre, and continue to produce albums, nearly 50 years after their inception!
Rating: 10/10
Words: Christopher Harding
MONSTER MAGNET – The Roundhouse
Finishing on an extremely high note of the weekend, was MONSTER MAGNET, featuring a comparatively condensed nine track setlist, on top of three, yes THREE encores! Blasting onto the stage, opening with Dopes To Infinity, you could tell that this was going to be one hell of a performance. The intensity through the entire set was immense, so much energy and enjoyment from both the band and the audience. Riffs galore and solo’s aplenty, MONSTER MAGNET brought their A-game, producing basslines thick as custard, reverberating throughout the venue shaking the foundations with every strum. The setlist itself was a goldmine, including the likes of Mindfucker, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, and finishing of with the highly acclaimed Powertrip. If there’s one thing that should be taken from this performance, it’s that MONSTER MAGNET are in a league of their own, and will rock your socks off at any given opportunity.
Rating: 9/10
Words: Christopher Harding
Our photographer Jordan Darby was on the ground at the festival snapping away, so check out her photo gallery of the weekend’s action here:
