The announcement below is combined from two social media posts by Belgian festival Obsidian Dust, which recently-ish released the second batch of names for its May 2026 edition and subsequently revealed the day splits for who’s playing when. That’s always a fun moment in anticipating a schedule, so you’ll see in the poster here that’s the breakdown. Whether you’re there for the topline big names or the bottom-poster stuff, which is also awesome, I don’t really see a way to lose if you’re going, though I know Spring is a busy time for everybody.

But oof, this looks cool. Gnome and Coilguns lead this announcement, but you’ll also see Coltaine and Fange here, the latter of whom recently collaborated on the last Author and Punisher LP, among others. They say as well there’s more coming, though with the day splits on the poster it doesn’t say more TBA anywhere, so I’m not sure if it still applies. I’ll do my best to keep up if more names surface, and if you’re headed to Brussels in May, I get it.

Info follows:

🔥 Obsidian Dust Festival 2026 – Day Split Announcement 🔥

Brussels is about to get heavy! The two-day Obsidian Dust Festival is back at Botanique on May 16 & 17, 2026, and we’re here with the day-by-day lineup so you can plan your doom-filled weekend.

Day 1 – May 16
Yob, The Sword, Earthless, UFOMAMMUT, Blackwater Holylight … + 1 more band to be announced!

Day 2 – May 17
RED FANG, HERMANO, King Buffalo, Acid King, PISS … and more

From doom, sludge, post-metal to stoner, heavy psych, high-energy punk, and drone, Obsidian Dust is the place to be for anyone craving the loud, the slow, and the hypnotic.

—

Check out these killer additions to our Obsidian Dust bill in Brussels!

Coilguns will unleash a chaotic blast of hardcore, noise rock and experimental metal. Wizard hats on, riffs up — Gnome will deliver playful but thunderous stoner rock packed with groove and fantasy. And Coltaine will rise from haunting calm to towering doom against a post-metal wall of sound.

Will be coming along for the Obsidian Dust ride as well: the wild punk blast of FRENZEE, the crushing industrial sludge by Fange, the cosmic drone rituals from Neptunian Maximalism – NNMM, the gritty sludge-hardcore of Crouch, and the expansive doom atmospheres by Echo Solar Void.

Let’s walk the talk: this bill just kills! And you know what? We have another ace announcement up our sleeve!

So stay tuned. In the meantime check our website to grab your day splits or weekend tickets.🤘

https://obsidiandust.be/information/ticketing

https://obsidiandust.be/
https://www.instagram.com/obsidiandust_belgium
https://www.facebook.com/obsidiandustbelgium

Gnome, “Duke of Disgrace” official video

Coltaine, “Mogila” official video

Set for the weekend of Oct. 18-20 and (I think?) celebrating the 10th anniversary of the first Desertfest Belgium, which was held in 2014, the 2024 edition of the Antwerp-based Desertfest has made its first lineup announcement, anchored by Fu Manchu and Russian Circles and featuring a host of others ranging in both geography and style. From the fluid textures of REZN and classic melodic prog rock of Mondo Drag to the reunited Scorpion Child, Bongzilla‘s singularly stoned crust and the expansive riffery of Stoned Jesus, whose Mother Dark complement to early-2023’s Father Light (review here) is awaited, it’s a well-rounded bill even before you account for heavy psych rockers Seedy Jeezus and bluesy ’70s traditionalists Child making the trip from Australia, the latter on the heels of Heavy Psych Sounds reissuing their catalog, the expansive sounds of Messa, and so on.

That it looks like a cool time isn’t really a surprise. Desertfest Belgium has developed a character of its own as the flagship Fall Desertfest in Europe, and while I’ve never been, I always look forward to seeing what it brings to the seasonal cohort of heavy festivals. Already we know REZN will be on tour with Russian Circles, as that was announced last week too, but it’s likely more tours will come from Mondo Drag, Ritual King and others below that haven’t been revealed yet if they’re even at this point finalized. In addition to the usual daydreaming-about-travel, I find thinking about these things and imagining tours and who might have new records out by the time October gets here to be a particular kind of nerdy joy.

The announcement, as per social media:

It’s that time of year again! It’s with great pride and excitement that we announce the first names for DF24! 👁️

Confirmed for Desertfest ANTWERP are:
Fu Manchu Russian Circles Stoned Jesus Bongzilla Scorpion Child MESSA Wolvennest Mondo Drag Seedy Jeezus CHILD REZN Ritual King The Abbey Lethvm RRRags Crouch Kara Delik

Three days of delirium and heavy delight are surely awaiting us all in Antwerp!

https://www.desertfest.be/antwerp/information/ticketing/

We’ll be back with more names very soon…🤘

http://www.desertfest.be/
https://www.facebook.com/desertfestbelgium/
https://www.instagram.com/desertfest_belgium/

Mondo Drag, Through the Hourglass (2023)