The ritual of sound continues — deeper, darker, more unrelenting than before.Descend. Transcend. Ascend.

Style: Blackened Doom & Sludge Metal | Origin: France, LyonCult of Occult formed in 2010 in the basements of Lyon, France, and has since grown into a central force in the European Sludge and Doom underground scene. Surrounded by walls of vintage amplifiers and sound pushed to its absolute limits, the band fuses Sludge, Doom, Black Metal and Noise into suffocating sonic rituals built on extended compositions and relentless tension. With four albums released since 2011 — including three concept records — Cult of Occult explores the darkest psychological reaches of the human mind. Having now recorded their fifth album, the band returns to present their uncompromising vision live. The work of Cult of Occult centres on psychic breakdown and the fragmentation of identity. Through extended compositions and oppressive repetition, the band crafts haunting sonic rituals conceived as inner monologues rather than narratives of external violence.

Style: Instrumental Post-, Sludge- and Progressive Metal | Origin: Belgium, LeuvenThe Brussels-based band draws inspiration from contemporary acts in Post-Rock and Doom Metal, as well as Noise Rock, Hardcore and progressive music. They transform these influences by weaving powerful arrangements, haunting contrasts, destabilising rhythms and crushing noise into their overall sonic vision. Often described as cinematic, atmospheric and contemplative, AUFHEBUNG takes the listener on a journey along both the scenic and the less scenic paths of the psyche.
The quintet pushes boundaries in a live setting, working on multiple levels with extremes — through an homage to pure slowness, a deliberate assault on groove, harmonic disorder and a taste for ear-splitting, blasphemous, distorted rawness.
With their latest release "Luchtbegrafenis" (Sky Burial) from 2026, the band enters a new, more mature phase of their deeply creative songwriting and production. On this second album, the band explores the contrast between life and death, growth and decay, through the lens of ritual

Style: Stoner Doom & Drone Metal | Origin: Germany, KielEarthbong sound like what happens when you put Bongzilla and Sleep in a grinder, spin it 420 times, and smoke the result from a hole in the earth: Dope Doom Bong Metal Riff Worship. Since forming in 2018, the Kiel-based trio has stood for lumbering riffs, gnarly vocals and fuzz at full throttle — earning a reputation as a relentless and brutal live band through their blend of Doom, Sludge and Metal. Across more than 70 shows and festivals throughout Europe, Earthbong have shared stages with genre heavyweights including Bongzilla, The Obsessed, Bongripper, Weedeater, BelzebonG, Unida and Full of Hell, among others. Equally prolific off stage, the band has released three albums and one EP since 2018 on French label Black Farm Records — catching the ear of Mike Scheidt (YOB): "They're like a Bongzilla-Sleep-Milkshake. But they get it. They are their own thing." In 2024, Earthbong performed at Stoned From The Underground, Berlin Swamp Fest and Hoflärm Open Air. 2025 brings an appearance at ReykjaDoom Festival in Iceland alongside a two-week Australian tour taking them to Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney. Further shows, festivals and recordings for their fourth album are in the works.

Style: Post-Hardcore, Noise-Rock & Sludge | Origin: Germany, WürzburgMALM from Würzburg have been playing their own brand of steamroller rock — somewhere between Noise Rock, Hardcore and Punk — since 1998. Live, the band is loud, intense, close to the audience and focused on immediate impact: dissonant, forceful, cathartic and without unnecessary posturing.
Between chaos, tension and raw energy, MALM stand for an independent form of noise-driven Hardcore/Punk with attitude and a clear live DNA — suited equally to HC, Punk and Noise bookings in clubs and at festivals.
The band is currently working on a new record. Recordings are scheduled for April 2026, with release planned for late 2026 / early 2027. New songs are already part of the live set.

Style: Blackened Death Doom | Origin: Germany, KarlsruheGREH defines a sound that resists conventional categories, forging a unique blend of rage, heaviness, groove and dissonance. One might call GREH Black Metal, Death Metal or Doom Metal — but ultimately they channel these influences into an electrifying, guitar-driven force that is equally sorrowful and brutal.
Since 2023, they have headlined over 50 shows across Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, building a devoted following through support slots for notable acts including Ophis, Arkona, Firtan, Morast, Fit for an Autopsy, Hexis and Bewitcher.
Their debut album "Dysphoric Devotion" was released on 15 January 2025 via their own label GREH-Recordings in collaboration with Fetzner Death Records

Style: Stoner Doom | Origin: Germany, EisenachCaught between stillness and the abyss: Vast Pyre are among the most compelling travellers the German underground has to offer right now. Born from a jam project in late 2021, the band condenses monolithic Doom riffs, abyssal bass pressure and ritualistic slowness into a claustrophobic sonic mass.
Following their self-titled debut (2024), Bleak arrives as their second full-length — darker, more uncompromising. Earth-splitting guitar walls, whipping drums and psychedelic undercurrents drag the listener into a suffocating pull that feels simultaneously archaic and hallucinatory. Modern Doom in its coldest, densest form — for those who seek immersive, physically felt heaviness.