Desertscene London & DHP proudly present:

Artist: SLIFT

+ special guests : Hey Colossus

Date: Sunday 13th December 2026
Venue: Islington Assembly Hall
City: London

Tickets on sale Friday 24th April at 10am.

Standing Tickets: £25 advance

Balcony (unreserved seating/standing): £28 advance

Doors: 7:00pm

Ages: 16+

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Every previous album by the radiant and heavy French trio SLIFT—brothers Jean and Rémi Fossat and drummer Canek Flores, a friend since high school - has been a fantasia—a composite of genres and forms that allowed the band to improvise, to jam on themes until they seemed to spiral together into space. But, in a bit of intentional irony, SLIFT’s fourth album is called Fantasia without actually being one. It is, instead, their leanest and most direct record, a pointed saga about overcoming international upheaval delivered by a band bearing down without wasting a second. SLIFT didn’t want to lose the message by playing too much. They’re preparing for a battle they think we can still win.

As Jean Fossat wrote the core of Fantasia, he thought a lot about Jorge Luis Borges, the Argentinian author whose fiction deftly wove elements of magic and surreality into places and plots that almost felt real. (SLIFT even borrowed the song title “Orbis Tertius” from Borges.) Fantasia, then, is an imagined town plagued by a sense of unknowing and xenophobia, of trying to eliminate anything that disrupts the accepted order. The town comes into focus on “Corrupted Sky,” where Fossat’s narrator tries to dodge doom upon arriving there. Hope starts to emerge during the record’s back half, as people start to remember that they are more than their society’s oppressive uniformity. These eight songs, then, are about trusting in the power to fight back, however hidden it may seem.

Artist: ELDER
Support: Rezn & Temple Fang
Date: Tuesday Tues 23rd February - Saturday 27th February 2027
Advance Tickets on sale 12th June 2026 HERE

23.02.27 Trinity Centre. Bristol
24.02.27 Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
25.02.27 The Garage, Glasgow
26.02.27 Manchester Academy 2, Manchester
27.02.27 Electric Brixton, London

Two decades into their existence, Elder remain an anomaly in the underground rock scene - a rare band with the ability to absorb and shed influences from a myriad of genres without falling into pastiche or losing their own identity. Their new record Through Zero is a strong reaffirmation of a commitment to pushing boundaries in the world of heavy rock and cements the group’s status as leaders of the pack in heavy psychedelic rock.

Elder has long since mastered crushing riffs, melodic jaunts, progressive patterns, hypnotic grooves and ethereal atmosphere along their path of music-making in the past twenty years. On Through Zero, Elder takes these years of experience and forms possibly their most immediate and engaging record to date, while allowing seeds from outside the sphere of rock music to take root and bloom within their progressive framework. Listeners will find familiar elements of new textures, sequences, and sounds alongside Elder’s iconic take on heavy rock. As always, every spin reveals new details.

Recorded in Berlin across several months between tours in 2025, Through Zero is the first album which the band not only produced but also co-mixed together with longtime collaborator Richard Behrens. The album sounds more like a full extension of the band’s creative intentions than ever before.

Elder was founded sometime around 2006 or so - nobody remembers exactly - in a small coastal town in Massachusetts by three longtime friends with a passion for heavy downtuned music. Over the years, the band has gained a guitarist, lost a drummer, relocated (mostly) from the States to Germany, played hundreds of shows from small clubs to arenas across the world and released six full-length albums, four EPs and two live records. Though this pedigree isn’t a requirement for anything, the twists and turns along the group’s winding road to today might explain the group’s refusal to stagnate.

Desertscene London proudly presents:

Artist: Villagers of Ioannina City

plus special guests TBA

Price: £25.00 advance -

Doors: 7pm

Ages: All ages. U16 must be accompanied by an adult

Date: Tuesday 30th March 2027
Venue: Academy 3
City: Manchester

Tickets on sale now:

Tickets: £25 advance

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Greek heavy rock visionaries VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY blend the raw energy of heavy rock and psychedelia with the rich heritage of Greek tradition, forging a sound that is unmistakably their own.

Ritualistic rhythms, expansive arrangements and traditional instrumentation such as bagpipes and zourna are essential elements of the band’s sonic language. Folk and Hellenic influences meet powerful riffs and dynamic structures, creating a sound that is both deeply rooted and fiercely contemporary.

With a remarkable track record of sold-out shows across Greece and Europe, VIC have built a reputation as a formidable live force.

Rather than bending to trends, VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY continue to sharpen their identity with their new album, “Venceremos.” Heavy, direct and intense, the album pushes decisively into heavier and more aggressive territory while retaining the band’s progressive spirit.

“Venceremos” takes us into a world shaped by fear, illusion and control, and into the hearts of those who refuse to surrender. It is a powerful call to reclaim freedom, seek truth and find meaning amid the ruins.

Blending heavy rock, progressive heavy metal and distinct folk elements, the Greek collective deliver their most ambitious and conceptually driven work to date.

Desertscene London proudly presents:

Artist: Villagers of Ioannina City

plus special guests TBA

Price: £25.00 advance -

Doors: 7pm

Ages: 16+

Date: Wednesday 31st March 2027
Venue: Islington Assembly Hall
City: London

Tickets on sale now:

Tickets: £25 advance

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Greek heavy rock visionaries VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY blend the raw energy of heavy rock and psychedelia with the rich heritage of Greek tradition, forging a sound that is unmistakably their own.

Ritualistic rhythms, expansive arrangements and traditional instrumentation such as bagpipes and zourna are essential elements of the band’s sonic language. Folk and Hellenic influences meet powerful riffs and dynamic structures, creating a sound that is both deeply rooted and fiercely contemporary.

With a remarkable track record of sold-out shows across Greece and Europe, VIC have built a reputation as a formidable live force.

Rather than bending to trends, VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY continue to sharpen their identity with their new album, “Venceremos.” Heavy, direct and intense, the album pushes decisively into heavier and more aggressive territory while retaining the band’s progressive spirit.

“Venceremos” takes us into a world shaped by fear, illusion and control, and into the hearts of those who refuse to surrender. It is a powerful call to reclaim freedom, seek truth and find meaning amid the ruins.

Blending heavy rock, progressive heavy metal and distinct folk elements, the Greek collective deliver their most ambitious and conceptually driven work to date.