First, we'd like to thank Mona Miluski for the invitation and the entire organizing team for putting on this fantastic festival. We also thank the technical staff, who created both outstanding sound and fantastic lighting.

Desertfest is a festival for nostalgics. Either young bands play retro music, or bands from the era are invited to take us on a journey back to our youth. I speak for a large portion of the audience, who were between 50 and 70 years old. The festival should really be called the Oasis Festival, because the nostalgia oasis created by SOL and Greyzone is a gathering place for those who enjoy being transported back in time. The audience also regularly meets similar bands at similar festivals, which also contributes to this special atmosphere of familiarity and curiosity, because we, too, are constantly getting to know and love new bands and people. We're happy to be part of it.

Just like at last year's Stoned from the Underground, the Bismuts manage to breathe tension and dynamism into the essentially static post-rock groove without getting carried away on stage. It all looks so light, so organic and unforced, and it's quickly captivating. I found them even better in the intimate atmosphere of the Columbia Theater than at Stoned, because unlike an open-air concert, the enclosed space doesn't distract from the music and the band.

My anticipation for the band was at least as great as the disappointment afterwards. You could actually tell by the band's body language, as they entered the stage rather listlessly and without any excitement, and then seemingly played the same riff endlessly.
Then, after the second song, the bass, drums, vocals, and percussion all went down. Okay, it happens. Their compatriots Kvelertak also lost their entire drum kit at Hellfest 2019. What normal bands might interpret as a disruption of the flow was Kvelertak's opportunity to deliver arguably their best performance ever. So, unfortunately, the concert here mutated into "The Defect and the Almighty Boredom."

After two songs at the latest, the concept and basic structure of the songs became clear: a high, breathy vocal underlines a clean guitar, then a distorted riff acts as a bridge, ushering in the transition to the grooving, instrumental, headbanging part, which then returns to the clean, calm beginning. This can be interpreted as a dynamic, which is too transparent for an entire concert, but is perfectly fine for 2-3 surprising songs on a personal Spotify playlist.

We love Dozer because they were one of the first bands to introduce us to stoner rock around 2006. However, it seems to me that the band's best days are behind them, at least live. It's a shame that neither Fredrik's voice nor his stage presence have improved since Desertfest 2023 or Rock im Wald 2023. There's no question that the band, with Johann and Basse (Greenleaf), has one of the tightest rhythm sections and presents a coherent setlist spanning 25 years. It was fitting. When you compare them to 2007, 2014, and 2015, it's a shame that one of our favorite bands is constantly fighting for its future.

Texans RBBP delivered 45 minutes of groovy and heavy '90s time-capsule madness, featuring an 8-string guitar, sustained chords on the bass, and fantastic drumming. The two-minute songs completely exaggerated the '90s; it was as if Weezer met Pantera and Primus for a merciless jam. There was pop, punk, and power, garnished with a dose of self-deprecation, making this concert one of the best of this year's Desertfest.

We've seen EyeHateGod live more often than we have their records at home. We're always impressed by the fury and energy with which this band celebrates this fusion of Southern rock, blues, and hardcore. EyeHateGod have been at the forefront of sludge for 30 years now, and they haven't lost any of their power. Quite the opposite. This almost contagious pissed-offness on stage made even the last sleepyhead freak out.

Belzebong's instrumental, murderous doom isn't really our thing. Yes, it's all brutal, slow, and torturous, but it's also very simple, repetitive, and therefore boring. So we took a break and indulged in the black death'n roll of Bloodfang, which makes Midnight sound like choirboys.

Then we caught the last 10 minutes of Slomosa, or rather, the cross-generational jumping, singing along, and grinning to the hottest teen band of the moment, where partying prevails over revolt.

Kat, Karoline, and Marie caused quite a ruckus on the stage, which briefly came close to being torn down. Somehow, as the evening progressed, the crowd found it too much, and the turnover between in and out was quite high, probably also because people still wanted to rock out to the Hellacopters.

The Hellacopters then demonstrated how rock 'n' roll in all its facets works, especially frontman Nicke and his congenial guitar partner L.G. Valeta, as well as the rest of the band: poses, joy in playing, sufficient self-irony and a setlist that spanned their entire career. This was not necessarily to be expected after the rather disappointing performance at Hellfest 2018. Judging by the bruises on my back, all hell was boiling over behind the front row. Yes, the music had less to do with desert rock than with the soundtrack on the drive to Desertfest. The band isn't necessarily one of our favorites, but this performance easily makes our top ten ever, because 90 minutes flew by like 90 seconds.

We were so relaxed that we almost missed our new favorite band, "Turbo Moses" from Bischofswerda, Saxony. And that would have been a real shame, because this band has found the perfect dose of sludge, doom, and death metal. They add a touch of Pantera to the mix, and you have a perfectly oiled, all-crushing machine with a truly amazing frontman in Leon. So it was no surprise that the audience was already up to speed shortly after breakfast at 3:30 p.m. A fantastic concert by a perfectly rehearsed band with plenty of musical potential and their own style, who deserve a permanent place at both metal and stoner festivals.

If Jethro Tull steps down anytime soon, we've already found an ambitious successor. The band name will be more of a problem in English-speaking countries than the progressive, rocky, and playful songs. With Marius as a charismatic singer and frontman, paired with a first-class band, musical evolution seems only a matter of time. Live, a lot of things are really right, especially the timing and enthusiasm for playing. And next time, the band will write their songs down on paper and then present them as a setlist on stage, so the audience won't have to shout the songs across the stage.

The Brooklyn band knows how to impress visually, offering doom and melodic doom inspired by Black Sabbath, The Obsessed, and Pentagram. Visually, the band seems to have stepped out of 70s and 80s fantasy comics like Taar, Storm, and Warlord, which fits the band's concept. We found the performance musically limited and choreographically over-the-top; the balance was off. And the musical skills the plague doctor demonstrated during his bass solo also showed that he seems rather underwhelmed by this band.

The Mexican trio also played at Desertfest as part of their European tour. And yes, even in the macho country of number one, there are angry women who need to vent their anger musically. Understandable. In any case, the numerous women in the audience felt strongly about the band.

After four songs by Margaritas Podridas, we left and watched the Finnish band "Skyjoggers" in the courtyard. The trio seemed to have overdosed on speed, chasing each other at supersonic speed through a quasi-instrumental psych space rock. It was amazing. The band had already made its way onto our playlist with a few songs beforehand, and after this performance, there will certainly be even more.

For many spectators, this was THE concert of the festival, which is why the theater was packed and the queue in front of it was very long. This left time for a cigarette and for Lowrider's upcoming performance.

Lowrider is the band within the stoner scene that you can recognize by the fact that they don't look like the stoner scene. The band seems to come from either the office or, as this time, from a children's birthday party. They even placed the kids right on stage. The sound was perfect, Peder's vocals boomed with plenty of reverb over the low frequencies, and the songs rolled along. Everything was fine, right?
If you look at the concert from the perspective of "children speak the truth," the kids were headbanging during the song "And the Horse You Rode in On" and teasing each other during the mostly slower songs because they were apparently too boring. If Lowrider had songs with a bit more tempo, the band would be featured more often on our playlist. Otherwise, it was an impressive combination of perfect lighting and sound. Wow!

The nervous blues punk seemed to be a welcome contrast after the roar of Lowrider, but unfortunately the band from California couldn't hold a candle to their obvious idols from The Gun Club.

The audience was actually waiting for My Sleeping Karma's performance. What was already apparent at the SOL-Sonic Ride in Cologne was that the band, with André on drums, had become a harder, straighter, yet groovier band. While the soundcheck with the song "Ephedra" was perfect, too much bass inexplicably boomed in the balcony during the set. This didn't dampen the mood. Yes, Steffen was also there on stage in the form of a candle and would certainly have liked the new direction of "his" band. With so many actual gigs, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse will have little time to create a new setlist, or possibly even a new record. What struck me was the stronger unity on stage, the better integration of Matte's bass and André's drums, and the resulting confidence that transferred to the rest of the band.

We were lucky enough to get into the almost full theater to see the Norwegian band Daufødt. And to further expand the already wide musical range of this year's Desertfest, there was D-beat hardcore at its finest. The raucous blasting was underscored by Norwegian vocals. At times, it sounded like Kvelertak, only with half the crowd on stage and a female voice roaring through all genres from brutal, hard, fast, and doom. I was reminded of the years 1982-1987, when I heard bands like Kafka Prozess, So Much Hate, Mob 47, and Teervät Kädet. Daufødt also got half the theater pogoing, and I'll remember that band.

After a coke and cigarette break, we went to the final concert by Dinosaur Jr., who I saw supporting The Gun Club in Stuttgart in 1987. In between, I listened to Dinosaur Jr. in the background and couldn't really get into anything. 10 years later, things were different, because this band's pioneering work could be found in the sound of stoner, noise, alternative, and grunge. As is the case with key groups like Motörhead and Dinosaur Jr., there hasn't been much success, just countless successor bands that reference these as their main influence. John Mascis's voice still sounds like a teenager and still doesn't really fit with his walls of guitars. Just like John Mascis doesn't really fit on stage. It's astonishing how consistently this inconsistency is carried out. But as a spectator, you can sense - with all due respect - that some things don't fit together and that the entire band's performance is rather reluctant.

Darsombra describes their sound as "trans-apocalyptic galaxy rock" – a blend of: drone, Psychedelic rock, Progressive rock, Stoner metal and Krautrock. Their performances are immersive audiovisual experiences, combining heavy, hypnotic riffs with surreal video projections. The music is mostly instrumental with occasional vocals, often long-form and meditative, yet intense. Think of a cosmic trip with a doom-y soundtrack. It was beautiful to watch and exhausting to listen.

We could only endure two or three songs of Elephant Tree because the musical concept was already repetitive. I understand that as a band you want to create a certain mood, be it epic, dark, or even melancholy, but it doesn't fit the band on stage.

The band's name, Stinking Lizaveta, is derived from a character in Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov. Lizaveta is a mentally ill, homeless woman who is pitied by the townspeople.

The band has been playing with the same lineup since its founding in 1994, and you can tell that all the cogs, such as rhythm, groove, fun, heaviness, and variety, mesh effortlessly together. The concert flew by in 20 seconds, and it was a joy to dance to this music, to marvel at the small interactions between the members.

GMFTPO's sound is a fusion of progressive rock, psychedelic rock, and experimental elements. Their music often features long, intricate compositions that blend heavy riffs with ambient passages. Influences range from Pink Floyd and Can to Sonic Youth and Miles Davis, resulting in a unique and unpredictable sonic experience. It was astonishing what a brutal and fragile sound the Japanese trio produced on stage. Until now, I had only heard it from their fellow countrymen Mono, who, however, needed five more members for that. An impressive concert, as their musical ability was also close to perfection.

Hippie Death Cult from Portland, Oregon, forgot their slow, drawn-out doom and psych songs at home and—thank goodness—had to play short, fast stoner rock songs. And with frontwoman Laura in top form, no less. It worked. In contrast to last year's performance at Stoned from the Underground.

The car is the Russian car GAZ-13 "Tschaika" (Gull), produced for the Russian and former East-German high society between 1959 - 1981 and 21/16 is a beat. Yes, a beat and not a gun or whatsoever.

So you can´t expect 4/4 beat and rock´n roll. No, you get filled with madness, jazz, noise and fun an anarchism, concerning in music and announcments. Very funny to listen some 20 minutes.

Yes, it was partytime again; FATW offered us a wild rollercoaster ride through different 90s genres, some proto-punk, a bit psychedelic and gragerock, spiced with quirky sounds and no real frontman. The band made the legs swing and the heads bang. 

The Canadian band Wine Lips were musically in the same vein as FATW, which was enough after five songs. And while everyone waited for Elder, who would be playing their entire album Lore, we preferred to leave while things were still going. We discovered numerous bands, met up with all our friends and favorite bands, and enjoyed the perfect technical work over the three days. We've seen Elder five times since 2014, each time with a new album. We both like the guys and their technical skills and the complexity of the songs, but we're both far from being smitten. It was a fantastic festival, what the organizing team put together. So far, they've managed to top last year's standard time and again, and we're already excited about next year's lineup.