DESERTFEST

VENUE VARIOUS, LONDON DATE 17/05/2024-19/05/2024 Normally, Desertfest is London’s annual celebration of all things woozy and doomy, spotlighting bands inspired by Black Sabbath, Sleep and so on. However, for 2024, the three-day festival has broken the mould, booking genre-mashers Masters Of Reality, speedsters Suicidal Tendencies and post-metal duo Godflesh to headline. There are also a host of forward-thinking bands across the weekend, starting with Pijn. The instrumentalists haven’t released a record in six years, but Dingwalls is crammed by the time they arrive. Half-symphonic, half-heavy, they use strings and keyboards to amplify the majesty of their post-rock crescendos. The setlist is sourced almost exclusively from their upcoming second album, From Low Beams Of Hope, and the beauty of the material alongside the enthusiasm of the audience suggests the cycle ahead…