It's around 15 minutes before Lowen are due on, and you already get the sense that this is going to be something just a little bit different. The stage is bedecked with candles, incense, plants and a traditional Persian daf drum, hinting at the burst of primal mystic power that is to come.
These British-Iranian metallers' blend of crushing, progressive doom and Middle Eastern melody has marked them out as one of UK metal's most exciting young bands, 2024's Do Not Go to War With the Demons of Mazandaran one of the best albums to emerge from the modern underground. As they walk on stage and let the riffs rip, the impact on the curious onlookers filling up the Dogtooth tent is immediate - heads are banging, smiles are spreading, energy levels are rising.
