VARIOUS VENUES, TILBURG

Ulver, Emma Ruth Rundle and Lingua Ignota bring the rapture back to the lowlands

Lingua Ignota: your guide through purgatory

Jo Quail maps out an enthralling new vision

IF YOU’VE FOUND yourself dreaming of other, better worlds over the past few years, Roadburn is a four-day window into what could be. Aside from the deep sense of community that’s returned after three years, there’s something genuinely magical about watching so many of our most exploratory and immersive artists play host to thousands of rapt devotees, where each performance feels like a calling. That’s particularly apparent with BIG | BRAVE, who fill out the vast Terminal hall. Robin Wattie’s fragile yet wilful vocals claw their way through the tectonic, push/pull birth throes of the riffs, and her humbled, awed speech about the crowd and occasion resonate perfectly with the spirit of the festival.

Ulver trip the light fantastic

PETER TROEST

At the main 013 venue, steadily building dread gives way to pitch-nastiness, sludge and post-metal blurring as VILE CREATURE & BISMUTH celebrate the heat death of the universe in sonic form before giving way to beautiful, ethereal melodies that drift beyond the void. Playing songs from their new, third album, Close, MESSA’s set on the main stage showcases their innovative doom as it verges from ambient to jazzy with added sax. Spring may be in the air in Tilburg, but 40 WATT SUN deliver a sense of autumnal wistfulness that perfectly underpins their contemplative new album, Perfect Light.