Abyssal Festival 2026

Event information

The sixth Abyssal Festival is a HEX dredged from trenches. A testament to geological timekeeping crafted by mere humans, whose frail bodies cannot withstand the crushing pressures of The Deep. Missives from beyonds inconceivable, fantasies of deeds impossible, invocations of beings indescribable.

Ten bands will ascend Papillon's stage to weave grotesque tales, to summon begotten thoughts and feelings, to animate our bodies like headbanging thralls - we bend to their power. Slow and heavy and filthy hanging over us, like a hundred swords of Damocles. Death by a thousand watts.

DOOM OVER SOUTHAMPTON.

AHAB - We're proud to present THE legendary Nautik Funeral Doom band as our headliner this year. Mighty, weighty and disturbingly spacious riffs crash over, as waves, while nautical tragedies settle like skeletons on the seabed. Ishmael said it himself - "As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts."
(Nautik Funeral Doom)

Psychlona - Drive fast, fuzz loud, riff hard, blast off. Properly earwormy stoner rock with stompin' grooves, opening kaleidoscopic wormholes to hallucinogenic deserts and SPACE (via Bradford).
(Psychedelic Stoner/Desert Rock)

Five the Hierophant - Wyrd bunch of magickians wearing robes, playing eerie instruments and generally occulting about. Pulsations of doom, jazz and sound art - a heady brew.
(Avant-garde Post-Black/Doom Metal, Dark Ambient/Jazz)

Witchsorrow - Our returning champs fly the flag for Old School Doom: tales of woe, Sabbathian riffs, denim and leather. You can’t stop rock ‘n’ roll.
(Trad Doom Metal)

Codespeaker - Scottish post-metal crew taking words like 'soaring' and 'expansive' to violent new places. Meditative, yet merciless.
(Sludge/Post-metal)

Moloch - Sludge aghast at the world. Discomfort is their prerogative: the new album seethes and writhes, berates and bruises.
(Sludge/Doom Metal)

Grim Harvest - Gnashing confluences of sludge, grindcore, death and black metal. Only slow sometimes.
(Sludgy Black Metal)

Noisepicker - Experimental blues, doom and punk collisions conceived by Earls of Mars frontman (and Orange Goblin bassist) Harry Armstrong.
(Doom/Punk/Blues)

Battalions - Groovy by way of vile sludge, hard rockin' riffs and wraithlike shrieking. What happens when Hull freezes over.
(Sludge/Stoner Metal)

Boa Resa - Starting as we mean to go on. Funereal pace and horrid, choking atmospherics from a nice bunch of London guys we met after seeing Bongripper last year.
(Sludge/Drone/Doom)

ACCESSIBILITY
If you require a companion for medical reasons, an accessible ticket will grant access to the event for yourself and your companion.

We will also be reserving some priority seating in the venue for those that need it. Please be respectful and only use this seating if necessary - you have trouble standing for long periods of time, are pregnant etc. We will also request some space to be available to wheelchair users. Please look out for the signs down the right side of the venue.

A reminder that the venue is wheelchair accessible, though not by the main entrance. The accessible entrance is through the stage door round the side of the venue and is also where bands will be loading in (unfortunately we can't do anything about this). The bands and our volunteers will be told in advance that there is priority for wheelchair users at this entrance. There are accessible toilets located on the ground level. There is no level access at the bar.

However, the only place for merch to be set up is upstairs which is unfortunately not wheelchair accessible. Keep an eye on the event page closer to the time as we will update with photos of bands merch table as and when they set up. Speak to the ticket desk if you would like to buy merch but cannot access it and we will organise either a representative from the band to come down or send one of our volunteers to pick up merch for you.

We do not use strobe lighting at Abyssal Festival as standard.

There is unfortunately very limited parking at the venue which will be unavailable to attendees so please plan ahead.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions/accommodations/recommendations and we will do our best.