“Who will remove the blade from between my eyes?“
Welcome to festival season – something we’ve been waiting desperately for throughout a frigid and wet winter here in the UK. Luckily for our cockles, one of the first festivals we’ll be attending is Incineration, London’s fiery extreme metal showdown that takes over Camden on the 2nd May. The bookers have not missed regarding this year’s line up. With just a few tickets still remaining, it’s time to detail our chosen acts that we’ll be sure to see.
As usual, some general advice for the fest, based on the fantastic time we had at its 2025 incarnation. It’s tempting to stack your day front to back, but give yourself some breaks or you’ll be flagging hard by 9pm. The distances between the Roundhouse and the other venues is non-trivial, so budget more time if you’re making that trek (and perhaps don’t plan to do it more than three times in one day, for the sake of your legs). The festival has sold well a second year in a row, so expect a busy Camden environment in and outside the venues. If a set is unmissable to you, act like it, get down solidly early – ideally, be in the room when the band before them is finishing, then you’ll have nothing to worry about. This particularly applies for the small venues like the Black Heart and the Dev, as once they hit capacity, you simply can’t get in.
Our recommendations below are a deliberate mix of both lesser known and staples. We can largely let the poster speak for itself – fans of Bathory probably need no instruction to attend the star-stacked tribute set that tops off the fest. This list will give you a reason to hit up every stage, and was composed without knowing the exact runtimes of each set (so it’s not intended to be a valid strategy on the day). Let it be known, if any of these guys clash, at least one of our team will be fuming at the mouth.
Plague Pit
Bringing the grime of Bristol’s extreme metal scene to the Black Heart are Plague Pit – a band that demands your aural attention. While they may be one of the more underground bands on this year’s lineup, Plague Pit possess a striking sonic style that is impossible to ignore. Their sound contains a selective hybrid of hardcore and death metal, with slamming snares and harmonic-driven breakdowns that will have the crowd praying to “The Weeping God”. With the recent release of their debut EP, A Whispered Curse, and their solid place at Incineration fest, Plague Pit are certain to push their musical momentum to a brutal boiling point. – Emily Cole
FFO: Mutagenic Host, Wraith & Schizophrenia
Dragged Into Sunlight
This year, the Electric Ballroom is set to be reduced to rubble, with Dragged Into Sunlight on the bloodthirsty bill. This force of British brutality will certainly be one of the festival’s most punishing experiences, with pure unrelenting rhythms and atonal atmospheres encased in every song. Despite their name, Dragged Into Sunlight offer live performances that plunge the stage deep into the abyss, leaving witnesses craving the sun. They are a formidable bridge between the venue’s previous acts and the final bands, with their eerie stage presence and sonic savagery holding the potential to steal the light (or lack of) from the headliners themselves. Be sure to not miss the “Volcanic Birth” of Dragged Into Sunlight on this bleak Saturday. – Emily Cole
FFO: Full of Hell, Scalp & Gnaw Their Tongues
Outergods
Our top recommendation for the Dev stage this year. Outergods somehow balance cosmic black metal against beatdown grindcore, making their two records a very ‘balanced’ experience for any extreme metal fan. Attracting sick features from Frontierer and Mnemic and being nabbed for opening slots for Cryptopsy and Atheist, demonstrating further prowess. From experience at Mångata festival 2025, the band is ferocious in a live setting. Their vocalist is likely to occupy the floor of the bar, from where he’ll be commanding the mosh himself. – Dobbin T
FFO: Anaal Nathrakh, Uada & Blut Aus Nord
Grave
As the evening descends on this year’s Incineration fest, the Roundhouse stage will be consumed by Grave’s overwhelming rot. As quintessential pioneers of the genre, the Swedish death metal band are set to deliver a masterclass of morbidity. From the foundational filth of Into the Grave, to the more modern malice of Out of Respect for the Dead, Grave have decades of devastation to bring to this festival. Despite several member changes over the years, the band have always retained their unique death metal fingerprint, capturing the genre’s most brutal aspects within their diverse discography. Whether you’re a veteran of old-school sounds, or a fan of the genre’s modern macabre, Grave offer a total sonic immersion of the extreme. – Emily Cole
FFO: Massacre, Autopsy & Asphyx
Fuming Mouth
Boolin regulars Fuming Mouth feel like a booking by fate. Leaders in the fusion of death metal and hardcore, they first gained steam from The Grand Descent. Things took a turn and frontman Mark Whelan’s battle against illness became the fuel for Last Day of Sun, a divisive record that was, for us, a roaring success. They make a point of being so raw when playing live, you’ll leave with splinters in your ear from the HM-2 fuzz. Incineration is clearly not focused on hardcore, so the fist-swinging elements that Fuming Mouth bring offer a certain brutal breadth to the line up. – Dobbin T
FFO: Gatecreeper, 200 Stab Wounds & Despised Icon
Final Dose
London local’s Final Dose are bringing black metal punk to the Black Heart for Incineration‘s early birds. Following up last year’s full length Under The Eternal Shadow with the aptly titled Endless Woe EP in January, anyone who likes their black metal fast and raw can squeeze most of their discography into an hour of uneasy listening and find a new fix for buzzsaw riffs. Crisp production and melodic moments intersperse their crusty D-beats and offer a surprising amount of memorable moments that draw you back for repeat listening. – Anton Smeeton
FFO: Darkthrone, Gallhammer, studded battle-jackets
Tomb Mold
Directly following Fuming Mouth will be Tomb Mold, the band that locked Incineration 2026 in for us. They shocked the whole scene with the release of 2023’s The Enduring Spirit. This was a surprise drop that launched them into the deepest reaches of space prog whilst maintaining their death metal edge. It’s not so much dissonant as it is simply weird, using no tired prog tropes and relishing in unusual yet compelling riffs and passages. It would be their opus if their discography wasn’t already paved with absolute gold (even their demo releases have attracted fervent fans). Tomb Mold haven’t visited the UK or the EU since its release and have no announced side shows at time of writing; this is a singular chance to drink of their unique nectar. – Dobbin T
FFO: Cryptic Shift, Blood Incantation & Dream Unending
Mutagenic Host
Mutagenic Host are another local band who dropped their debut LP in 2025. Rising stars of British death metal, they offer a killer live show and tons of crossover appeal for anyone who enjoys the classic Nordic sounds of the early 90’s. Anyone who caught them on their recent headline run or supporting Undeath last summer knows they’re in for a treat and are well worth a detour to the Underworld before your walk to see Fuming Mouth later in the afternoon. – Anton Smeeton
FFO: Entombed, Dismember & Gatecreeper
One of Nine
It’s true throughout black metal, but the aesthetic element of this band is especially important. One of Nine’s viral promo shoot with their Nazgûl garb, blade in hand, astride a black horse, was just the tip of their obsession with Middle Earth. Let’s be honest – no other body of work would go down as hard as this one, objectively the source of the entire western fantasy genre as we know it. But this isn’t just a ‘sick reference, man’. Musically, One of Nine are part of a growing wave of traditional black metal. With their latest album Dawn Of The Iron Shadow, they gave into their dungeon synth influences and allowed them to take over, replete with Tolkien samples and war march percussion. Usually a project such as this would be relegated to the studio, so it’s fortunate that the Incineration fest is hosting the first UK One of Nine performance. Let the Underworld stage become Khazad-dûm. – Kieran White
FFO: Summoning, Spectral Wound & Lamp of Murmurr
Internal Bleeding
The legends of the Long Island death metal scene that birthed fellow slam royalty Suffocation and Pyrexia. New York’s Internal Bleeding are a key influence for the unexpected revival that brutal death metal is currently enjoying. In a line-up that pulls on some of extreme metal’s more refined and progressive styles, their set will be an opportunity to clear the air with some neck-twisting breakdowns and ear-bursting snare action. – Anton Smeeton
FFO: Suffocation, Dying Fetus & Final Resting Place