Desertfest storms Camden for another superb year of heavy riffs.

As festival season and a very long awaited summer are nearly upon us, it’s time to loo back at month in Rock. One of the best moments in the May rock and metal calendar was surely Desertfest 2023. A beloved staple of the metal scene in London, Berlin and Antwerp, Desertfest was back for it’s annual takeover of Camden this May.  With a lineup that included Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, Swedish doom rockers Graveyard and Stoner metal icons Corrosion Of Conformity, the festival has a rich history of providing up and coming artists a serious platform to play and gain exposure.

New Orleans Sludge Metal pioneers Crowbar brought their swampy, hardcore sound to the Electric Ballroom on the Saturday. Vocalist/Crowbar main-man Kirk Windstein is still in fine form and songs like I Feel The Burning Sun and Self-Inflicted still come down with the force of a sledgehammer.

Corrosion Of Conformity walk out to a packed Electric Ballroom and start by brilliantly acknowledging the other major event of the weekend. “Hi London, we’re Coronation Of Conformity” says a smirking Pepper Keenan to a chorus of laughs and applause from the crowd.

Still sounding crushingly heavy and gloriously old school, Corrosion Of Conformity play a wonderful, life affirming set of heavy music. From the hard and fast riffs of Vote With A Bullet and Clean My Wounds to the thunderous riffs Wiseblood and Albatross, the band sound superb. Guitarist Woody Weatherman is still serving up the tastiest heavy licks that should make many a djent/core guitarist hang their heads in shame and return to the drawing board – this is actual heavy metal. Pepper Keenan is in fine voice too chatting to the crowd and pounding beers between every song.

As the night comes to a close many people rush across the street to try and gain entry to an overflowing Church Of The Cosmic Skull gig while other fans mingle and trade war stories over beers and street food. One thing for sure, we eagerly await Desertfest 2024.