The story of the space ship "The Albatross" that has been traversing the Milky Way Galaxy for 10,000 years to find a new home for mankind is entering the next round...and the journey sounded more varied and better than ever.
The first track "Cult Axe" pushes forward with thrashy riffs and sludgy hardcore vocals. Anyone who expected groovy stoner psych here will get something that pushes their neck muscles to the limit. A bit quieter, but still with a lot of drive and deep distorted heavy riffs, we continue with "Megafauna".
Already here the album has built up so much tension that you absolutely want to know how it goes on.
"Desert of Madness" with its harmonic guitar playing and screaming vocals sounds like an atmospherically melodic version of the mighty CONAN. The band delivers something really good here!
"The Secret of Water" grants the listener the first break with relaxed guitars and slightly psychedelic vibes. Here the band shows the range of styles they effortlessly master.
This quiet moment doesn't last long, because with "The Green King Rises" the band revs up again and delivers first class stoner doom with distorted vocals and a heavy pounding riff that pierces right into the skull.
"Il cattivo" builds a bridge to the opener "Cult Axe". Back to Thrash Riffs with Hardcore vocals. The album remains exciting and each song develops its own dynamic and fits perfectly into the overall picture.
"Escape From Earth" at almost 8 minutes is one of the best songs on the album for me.Heavy stoner psych with doom and spacy moments.The song just drives forward, builds up and starts the grand finale.
We find the goal of the journey with "To Suns Beyond", which flows almost weightlessly, psychedelic through time and space. Hypnotic and gripping, increasing heaviness that becomes more and more doomy and ends the flight of the Albatross after a little more than 46 minutes. "III" is the perfect conclusion of the 3 part saga.
Purple Vinyl w/ Black Splatter via Interstellar Smoke Records.
-Helge Neumann
