DESERTFEST ANTWERP

Second to none and always in for an absolute celebration of live music and heavy metal, Orange Goblin embark on their last sonic ride in 2025. We are beyond thrilled to welcome them back for one final blast to forever embed their legacy in the foundations of Desertfest Antwerp. 

Known to many, loved by all, Sweden’s Graveyard come back to Desertfest Antwerp after 8 long years. A lot has happened since then but our affection for Graveyard’s music has remained and grown as time went by - that’s why it’s high time for a reunion! Psychedelic blues rock at its finest.

No strangers to our festival, Bongripper returns to Antwerp to drown us all in smoke and misery. Defined by slow pace, unbearable weight and feelings of pure despair, the music of Bongripper leaves a mark on one’s soul. A mark not easily forgotten.

After 6 long years the masters of YOB return to grace our festival once more and we are already trembling with excitement! Hardly any act in the doom metal world brings out such raw and hard-hitting emotions as YOB does. Having been around for almost 30 years now, they mastered their heavy ways to utmost perfection with the shows being an absolute testament to that very achievement. YOB is love ❤️

Can you hear the fuzz roaring over the horizon? That can only be Acid King gearing up for a very special appearance at Desertfest Antwerp 2025! For two appearances in fact, one celebrating a 10-year anniversary of their highly acclaimed album titled "Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere" and another showcasing the band's entire discography. Deep cuts and core memories are imminent so get the motors running and see you in the pit!

Can you hear the fuzz roaring over the horizon? That can only be Acid King gearing up for a very special appearance at Desertfest Antwerp 2025! For two appearances in fact, one celebrating a 10-year anniversary of their highly acclaimed album titled "Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere" and another showcasing the band's entire discography. Deep cuts and core memories are imminent so get the motors running and see you in the pit!

Oranssi Pazuzu is a Finnish band that fuses black metal with psychedelic and experimental soundscapes, however doing it in a way that is hard to match or copy. Known for their signature eerie atmospheres and the cosmic chaos they conjure, Oranssi Pazuzu constantly push the boundaries of extreme music. If you’re into otherworldly heaviness with a lethal edge, them Fins surely got you covered.

After a fantastic display of classic doom metal showmanship at our 2023 edition, The Obsessed return to Antwerp for another round. It’s a class act whose cards are stacked with some genre-defining cult tracks. Heavy blues, sabbath swagger and that sweet distortion all coming together in perfect alignment. 

Known to many and admired by all, My Sleeping Karma is not only a band but a world of its own. All for the right reasons as their signature, mantric style of instrumental psychedelia puts the listener in a state of introspective equilibrium perhaps only matched by meditation itself. Having recently gone through a tragedy of losing their longtime drummer and friend Steffen Weigand, My Sleeping Karma managed to rise above and came back to playing live only last December.

Monkey3 are an unstoppable force of introspective space exploration. Their take on instrumental psychedelic rock is nuanced and carries the listener through progressive soundscapes that together form a captivating spectacle that must be witnessed to be fully understood. Monkey3's music is the perfect soundtrack for a journey into the deep unknown, with each song taking the listener on a trip through imaginative landscapes.

Mondo Generator is the brainchild of none other than Nick Olivieri where he and his close pals, Mike Pygmie and Mike Amster, run completely wild by unleashing rock and roll bonanza in its purest forms. Born in heat, blood and sweat of Nick's post-Queens of the Stone Age era, Mondo Generator is the realest of deals and we cannot wait for what they got in store!

We welcome Sweden’s desert rock pioneers of Lowrider and the magnitude of the riffs they bring along. You can expect a barrage of classic desert rock goodness intertwined with psychedelic and often crushingly heavy compositions that will make everyone groove along in sync.

Masters at their craft, Colour Haze will grace our grounds to cast spells all over and especially those of mind-altering potential. Hardly any band brings out the best of both the stoner and psychedelic realms in such an organic way as Colour Haze does. Their live performance is considered by some experts to be the 8th Wonder of the World - we completely agree.

Mars Red Sky is a French stoner/psychedelic rock band known for their dreamy take on heavy music. Formed in Bordeaux in 2007, the trio blends thick, fuzz-laden riffs with ethereal, reverb-drenched melodies, creating a fascinating contrast between absolute weight and hypnotic, almost fragile atmospheres. However, no words can truly convey the live experience, so you just need to hear and see this for yourself.

Desert Storm are an Oxford-born band steeped in grit and gravity, fusing the weight of sludge and doom with a bluesy foundation that goes real hard. Over a decade deep and with 6 LP’s under the belt, they’ve built a reputation not just for riffs that rumble like a freight train, but for songs that carry heart beneath all the heft.

Italy’s finest, Mr. Bison are no strangers to the Desertfest scene and so with the utmost pleasure we welcome them back to Antwerp for yet another killer ritual! Channeling the wild spirit of the Italian coast into a whirlwind of psychedelic rock, heavy prog, and desert-drenched fuzz, they blur the line between heaviness and harmony. It's not just riff worship—it’s a full-blown trip.

Hailing from the Lone Star State (a.k.a. Texas), High Desert Queen bring some classic stoner rock riffage to the table with clean vocals to top it all off. Committed and with a relentless drive forwards, their sun-baked formula is as hypnotic as it is juicy and all for you to discover later this year in Antwerp.

Neptunian Maximalism hail from Brussels, Belgium and bring about a sonic dimension that’s nearly impossible to describe. Pushing jazz, drone, and ritual psychedelia into stellar overdrive, they’re quite frankly an unexplainable cosmic phenomenon. This is music for the end of the world, or whatever comes after.

Over the course of the last 6 years Psychlona has been gradually making waves in the English underground with their gritty, saturated riffs and an unrelenting appetite for groove and distortion. With influences from Kyuss, Fu Manchu, and classic heavy rock, they deliver anthemic jams perfect for hitting the open road or getting lost in a haze of sound. Join the ride!

Fantasy metal is back in the underground baby! With a twist of glam and classic doom, Castle Rat ravages the stages of the world and pays Desertfest Antwerp a much anticipated visit. Don your armour warrior, there’s a dungeon to clear!

San Diego’s Negative Blast delivers an explosive fusion of hardcore punk and feral energy, channeling raw aggression with a sharp, uncompromising edge. Known for their chaotic and visceral live shows, prepare yourself for total sonic destruction.

Guiltless is a brand new project born in the cloudy realm of Seattle, USA that encompasses all things dark and undefined. Blending doom, noise and industrial, the band effortlessly navigates these hefty waters with experimentation in mind. Ready to make a lasting impression on the Antwerp crowd, Guiltless are bound to wreak some havoc.

Wren are a UK-based noise band that sculpt bleak, monolithic soundscapes from post-metal, sludge, and industrial grit. Their music unfolds with tectonic patience—drenched in despair, tension, and a sense of creeping unease.

Drum and bass has many faces and one you definitely need to know is Alber Jupiter! This French duo emerged from the local underground scene in 2017 and released their debut album two years later. Minimal, mantric and entirely instrumental, Alber Jupiter walk the cosmic path and invite everyone to tag along.

Please welcome Witchorious, straight from the Paris catacombs! With a sound steeped in the occult and live shows enfolding like an arcane ritual in slow motion, the band blends all things known to a doomer into one addictive brew. Come to the sabbath!

The Miffs are a chaotic blast from Australia’s underground—sharp-edged, noisy, and unapologetically raw. Fusing punk energy with scuzzy garage rock and a healthy dose of feedback-drenched chaos, they thrive on unpredictability. Their sound is jagged, tense, and wired with a restless energy that never sits still.

Liverpool’s Requiem Blues carve out a sound that feels both ancient and immediate—where shadowy blues licks meet the weight of doom and the stark edge of post-punk. There’s a worn, cinematic quality to their music, like a half-lit road through desolate towns and ghost memories. Sparse but heavy, haunted but grounded, they don’t follow trends—they trace echoes.

Surrounded by endless horizons, Blue Heron formed in 2018 out of a compulsion to fill the vastness with massive volume, saturating their piece of desert with rolling, thunderous riffs, drums that pummel and swing, deep, thrumming tones and vocals that rip and roar. Think of Kyuss, Clutch and Valley of the Sun. Or just think Blue Heron!

Hailing from Sardinia, Black Capricorn conjures slow, ritualistic doom laced with fuzz, feedback and occult atmospheres. Their sound is raw and hypnotic, like a pagan rite stretched over ten-minute riffs. For fans of Electric Wizard, Saint Vitus and sonic darkness that creeps under your skin.

French band Huracán builds towering walls of sound somewhere between sludge, post-metal and atmospheric hardcore. Their music is stormy, cathartic and emotionally charged, like Amenra and Isis caught in a thunderstorm. Dark but elevating, brutal yet graceful.

Fomies plays gritty, high-octane stoner punk with a raw edge and killer groove. Fast, fuzzy and full of fire, they channel the spirit of early Queens of the Stone Age and skate-punk energy into compact blasts of heaviness.

Belgium’s Gros Cœur thrives in noise, distortion and boundary-pushing chaos. Their music blends post-hardcore, noise rock and raw punk energy, with a live show that feels like an exorcism of sound. Furious, fearless and refreshingly undefinable.

Mephistofeles deliver some of the darkest, sludgiest doom riffs in modern heavy music. Think Electric Wizard‘s grit channeled through a relentless, groove-heavy machine. Their sound is filthy, hypnotic and utterly devastating. Unique within the last decade, and unrivalled in sheer weight.

Formed in Greece, in late 1989, Nightstalker managed to meld their heavy rock influences with funky rhythms and grungy melodies. With all these elements in place they released the first EP in 1994 entitled "SideFx." With the release of their first full length album "USE" in 1996, the band established themselves and their own trademark brand of dark heavy sounds. 2000 saw a slight shuffle in membership as well as a new EP, "The Ritual," which found Nightstalker treading further in to the realms of deepest, darkest Psychedelica. Line-up fully entrentched the ensuing pair of albums, 2004's "Just A Burn" and 2009's "Superfreak" garnered the band a new and loyal following across the world.

Which sets the stage for their dark masterpiece, "Dead Rock Commandos." Another albums worth of raw rock 'n roll simplicity, filled with stunning riffs and electric haze. More heavy sounds, groovy rhythms and intense bass playing all merging with the power of Argy’s vocals, which is the secret of Nightstalker and has kept the band going for more than 20 years. This solidified their place in the history of the European Hard Rock scene. Call it whatever you want, but do so at your own risk.

In 2019 the band has signed with the cult label Heavy Psych Sounds Records and released the new album GREAT HALLUCINATIONS !!!
Their new release in the spring of 2025 brought them touring to Trix for the second time now, with the first passage as closing act on Saturday for Desertfest ’25. Don’t miss their RETURN FROM THE POINT OF NO RETURN tour!

Scott Hepple & The Sun Band explores the vast landscapes of psychedelic rock with warm fuzz, hypnotic grooves and a cosmic atmosphere. Their music flows als een open road: dromerig, meeslepend en doordrenkt van zonlicht. Een perfecte mix van introspectie en vrijheid, gevangen in gelaagde gitaren en pulserende ritmes.

A heavy doom father-son collab! Chris Babalis Jr. and Sr. join their twin-guitar forces with family friends Dimosthenis Varikos and Marios Louvaris to create a stoner sound that is dark, heavy and fuzzy. Their third full-length album "Caravan" was conceived and recorded during the height of Corona, and presents a heavy, sublime and pitch black journey into the vast unknown.

Elephant Tree is a London-based band that effortlessly blends heavy stoner riffs, dreamy psychedelia, and atmospheric doom. Their sound is both dense and layered, with warm vocals contrasting the weight of the fuzz. Think a mix of Sleep, Elder, and All Them Witches — but with a rare emotional depth for the genre. With each album, they expand their own universe: immersive, melancholic, and loud.

From the depths of Rome comes Fvzz Popvli, a power trio mixing garage rock filth with vintage psych and stoner fuzz. Their sets are loud, chaotic and drenched in 70s energy, like The Stooges jamming with Nebula after too much Italian espresso.

Under the watchful eye of Ambiorix, three seasoned musicians crossed paths. With roots in various bands and a shared love for fuzz, tension and groove, something inevitable emerged: MARX. Their music takes you on a wild ride through dusty canyon roads — fuzzy, hypnotic and charged. Rough-edged riffs with a bluesy aftertaste. Expect the unexpected.

Ter Ziele channels grief, intensity and beauty through a blend of doom, black metal and post-hardcore. Their music is raw and poetic, with themes of mortality, introspection and transcendence. For fans of Deafheaven, Amenra and emotion wrapped in distortion.

Telepathy crafts crushing instrumental post-metal that balances cinematic beauty with massive sludge dynamics. Their sound shifts from delicate ambiance to seismic riffs, drawing comparisons to Russian Circles, Pelican and Cult of Luna — without ever saying a word.

Hedonist, a hard rockin', hard groovin' power trio from Genk, formed in the summer of 2010. Since then their credo has been: no nonsense, no bullshit, no fancy gimmicks, just pure, honest, kick-ass rock-n'-roll. Get ready for an exciting, energetic and compelling Belgian mix of Motörhead, High On Fire, Karma To Burn and Monster Magnet.

Truly a band that escapes straightforward categorization, Neànder is yet to stun us all with their impeccable take on heavy music. Emerging from Berlin’s underground, they craft towering instrumental epics that fuse post-metal weight with ambient depth while intertwining it all every so often with a twist of doom and herbal groove.

Get ready for the one of hottest collaborations of the recent years with Mars Red Sky and Monkey3 joining forces to push the boundaries of heavy psychedelia as we know it. Both bands are longtime veterans of the scene and we are dying to see what is the fruit of this cosmic labour!

Known for their fusion of heavy blues rock, psychedelic influences, and early desert rock vibes, Masters of Reality have played a key role in shaping the contemporary stoner rock movement we know today. Led by the legend himself Chris Goss, the band will take us back to the roots and we're all in for it!

Messa emerged on the first day of 2014. The extreme diversity of their musical background immediately proved to be essential in the construction of the band’s sound: Prog, Black Metal, Punk, Dark Ambient, jazz, Blues and Doom… all those influences have been channelled into a sonic cauldron that the band defines “Scarlet Doom”.