Rumbling out of Stavanger’s frostbitten void like a mythic refraction of Black Sabbath caught in the gravitational pull of a dying star, KAL-EL return with Astral Voyager Vol. 1, the latest slab of zero-gravity riffcraft from Norway’s reigning overlords of cosmic doom. A transmission. A warning. The first installment of a two-part sonic exodus, Vol. 1 doesn’t simply expand on KAL-EL’s sci-fi mythology – it tears open the wormhole and drags us through it, screaming and stoned, until every synapse burns with feedback and light.
From the opening churn of amplifier fog, KAL-EL establish tone with planetary mass. The riffs are exhumed, like ancient slabs of Martian basalt, slow and seething with radioactive heat. The Captain’s vocals-equal parts banshee wail and cosmic sermon-slice through the mix like radio static from a forgotten satellite. The effect is immediate and physical: your bones begin to hum, your blood thickens, and the horizon distorts into melted fuzz.
Genres here are less containers than relics smashed on the launchpad. There’s doom, for sure – cathedral-heavy and glacial – but filtered through the neon-soaked lens of vintage sci-fi and the no-fucks-given propulsion of classic Scandinavian stoner rock. Think Clutch meets Carl Sagan, or Kyuss hurtling past Europa at terminal velocity. Fans of Monster Magnet’s astral bravado, Truckfighters’ pedal-worship propulsion, or Domkraft’s tectonic minimalism will find themselves in familiar yet deeply warped territory.
For all its crushing volume and downtuned heft, there’s movement here – progression, dare we say it, evolution. KAL-EL don’t just gaze at the stars; they chart them. The dynamics rise and fall like a solar flare, bursting into feral gallops only to collapse back into swirling clouds of echo and distortion. Guitars stretch into solar screams, then divebomb into molten grooves. Basslines prowl like beasts in the underbrush of an alien jungle. Drums march with unrelenting purpose, as if time itself were on the verge of breaking.
But Voyager is about space. Not just outer, but inner. KAL-EL trade in the kind of psychedelia that doesn’t invite you to trip – it requires it. The mind expands whether you like it or not. There’s a narrative woven into the static here, some interstellar rite of passage told in cryptic vocals and distortion waves. You’re not just listening – you’re journeying. Somewhere between dimensions. Somewhere far from Earth, but terrifyingly close to the void within.
With this record, KAL-EL don’t just cement their place in the upper echelons of heavy psych and stoner doom – they vaporize the boundaries entirely. Astral Voyager Vol. 1 is a testament to the power of amplification, imagination, and atmosphere. It’s a war-chant for the infinite. A hymn for hollow planets. The sound of humanity grasping at the stars and finally grabbing hold – only to realize the stars have teeth.
And the best part? This is just Volume One.
Are you ready for liftoff, or are you just pretending?
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Majestic Mountain Records (Europe) and Blues Funeral Recordings (North America) on May 16, 2025
