Apocalypse: Zombieland 2025 has brought the heat to the Queen Mary Waterfront, yet again, leaving us all with a permanent bass face. Apocalypse returns for the 3rd year, although a newer festival in its infant years, it has cemented itself as one of the best bass festivals to date. The variety from melodic dubstep to DnB to wobbly dubstep, ensured there was something for all bassheads.
A perfect combination of all bass genres; 4 stages spread out along the waterfront including subgeneres like drum and bass, dubstep, 140, garage, and experimental wubs. Insomniac really knows how to pick ‘em, with headliners Excision, Illenium, Wooli, ATLiens, Ganga White Night, Netsky, and OG’s… Nero, and Andy C, to name a few. This is one of those festivals that you are bound to run into set conflicts because the talent managers booked so many solid artists, you had to choose, but there was never a dull moment no matter what stage you ended up at.
The festival leaned fully into its zombie theme — from roaming zombie actors to themed murals on shipping containers, to zoned staging: Quarantine Zone, Necropolis District, Citadel, Apocalypse Arena. Production value was widely praised: a massive main stage with a huge zombie-head centerpiece, pyro effects, laser shows, and visuals across stages. Even the smaller zones got careful sound/LED setups. Insomniac remains superior with the art, entertainment, nit and grit that goes into every event.
Apocalypse Zombieland 2025 Recap
Photo credit: Luis Colato
Apocalypse Zombieland 2025 Day 1 –
Some of our favorite sets: father of riddim, INFEKT. If you’re a riddim rat like us, you already know this is a non-negotiable. Infekt has been in the game for over a decade and will always be a must see. If anyone was going to blow out a speaker at the mainstage, it’s going to be INFEKT. King of doubles, wizard of triples, he blew out the speaker in the first 5 minutes of his set but the sound crew was top tier and had it repaired within seconds.
The return of GETTER! Getter was one of the original trippy dubstep artists to take over Youtube, along with his comedic online personality. Besides “Getter,” he has a hip-hop / rap alter-ego known as Terror Reid — under which he has released music, and which has allowed him to branch out artistically beyond EDM/dubstep and produce for various rappers that allow him to incorporate a variety of sounds in his sets. He is one of the funniest and most authentic artists to infiltrate EDM.
If you’ve been in the riddim scene for a while, you know the name IVORY. Ivory is one of the most talented producers, constantly bringing new tunes to his sets. Ivory is the type of guy to have millions of plays on his released singles, but will always bless us with unreleased tracks and new collabs, so if you want to impress your friends with new IDs, you have to go.
Photo credit: Jamal Eid
Followed by the B2B that had the most rager-energy, MAD DUBZ B2B VKTM brought the grit for all of us riddim ragers. This set took place at one of the side stages, but don’t get it twisted, this was the most insane set with all the moshpits, the energy was unmatched.
For all the drum and bass heads, Netsky and Andy C — two of the most influential artists in drum & bass. Netsky is one of the original drum and bass artists to break into radio and festival lineups from the underground scene. Netsky was also one of the first DnB acts to perform with a full live band — bringing drums, keys, horns, and vocalists to big festivals. With his keen ear for sound, everything he creates is like it was touched by gold.
UK d&b legend ANDY C, since the early 1990s is considered the godfather of drum & bass DJing. Known for playing 5-7 hour sets, extremely fast multi-deck mixing, long blends, and seamless transitions. His sets are high-energy, nonstop, and technically elite, indefinitely bringing out the OG ravers.
Apocalypse Zombieland 2025 Day 2 –
Our favorite sets of the weekend all took place at the main stage, Apocalypse Arena. Samplifire, LAYZ, Phase One, and ATLiens. It was almost like every time we tried to take a
step out for a break, to grab water, food, or to meet up with friends, we couldn’t walk away! The music kept bringing us right back; we didn’t want to miss even a split second. I remember seeing Samplifire almost 10 years ago back in the underground dubstep scene and he remains one of my favorite artists, transitioning from dubstep, to riddim, to throwing in some fun techno beats, so flawlessly. If you were to ask any dubstep DJ to name a few iconic producers, Samplifire will come up in that conversation.
ATLiens, the masked bass duo, was definitely one of the most anticipated sets of the evening. Coming all the way from Atlanta, hence the play on their name “ATL”iens, their music is BIG in the trap/bass festival world — heavy enough for headbangers, but weird and experimental enough to get wonky.
The duo has collaborated with huge names such as Skrillex, Zeds Dead, and Space Laces, to name a few. I also want to acknowledge how their identities remain unknown, wearing chrome masks during their sets, which encourages a large impact on the rave community to also wear the chrome masks, and show their love and appreciation for this duo.
Photo credit: Treston Van Baalberg
Headed over to the Apocalypse Zombieland 2025 Quarantine Zone for some drum and bass, the best B2B of the night, AEON:MODE B2B Delta Heavy. AEON:MODE, formerly known as bass producer Blanke, brings an aggressive, high energy, punching deep growl to drum and bass that makes you want to get up and jump. I always respect a producer who can vary between genres, not only
allowing them the space to experiment with their sound, but grow with the artist as they find a new niche that they enjoy. Delta Heavy DJ duo are so iconic because they incorporate dancefloor D&B, neuro-funk-ish bass textures, and sometimes crossover influences from dubstep /bass/electro, keeping you on your toes with every drop. Some drum and bass can get melodic and emotional, while AEON:MODE and Delta Heavy are both more focused on high energy, fast paced, dance tracks, so these guys going back to back felt like a match made in heaven.
Special shout out to Kings of The Rollers, a UK drum & bass collective made up of three producers: Serum, Voltage, and Bladerunner. Each member has their own history in D&B individually before forming the group but together they have formed a new trio They officially came together around 2016, and gained widespread attention after their breakout release in 2018.
Throughout time in music, we have seen many DJ’s/producers form duos and trios, but this one just works so effortlessly. Not only is it nice to see artists become friends, but when they work together so flawlessly like these guys, it’s undeniable. Watching them combine their talents, laugh and have fun on stage, the energy is infectious. Definitely the best way to close out the night and end the festival.
Photo credit: Luis Colato
Now, as Apocalypse Zombieland 2025 comes to an end, I have to say this was my favorite festival of the year. Following the weekend of Dreamstate, a trance and techno focused festival, Apocalypse is geared towards bass music and all of the sub-sub genres that are under the umbrella of bass. I love the fact that electronic music has progressed so far that we have festivals strictly dedicated to sub genres, and with the incredible Insomniac production, never fails to exceed expectations.
The last few years, Apocalypse Zombieland has typically been later in the year, making it one of the last to sum up festi-season, but next year in 2026, Apocalypse will be taking place in the summer! The event will now return earlier in the year, taking place
On Friday, June 19th and Saturday, June 20th, 2026, marking a shift from its traditional November dates for the first time. With the date change, a little birdy may have mentioned to us the return of another Bassrush festival that we haven’t seen in a few years… hmm…
As if summer wasn’t already jam packed enough, Insomniac keeps us in a chokehold for music lovers and festival goers.
Tickets are now available to purchase for 2026 at https://www.apocalypsefest.com/
