It is no secret that Kal-El is one of my favourite bands. Their discography is pretty much perfect, and they are one of those bands who you just know it is them from the first couple of notes of a song. I was lucky enough to have them on my podcast recently and they are as cool as humans as they are musicians.
The main topic on the show was their upcoming new record, Astral Voyager Vol. 1, which is one of the most highly anticipated records for 2025 for lovers of heavy rock. There are some pretty lofty expectations for a band like Kal-El to deliver material that stacks up to their other records that is already some of the best music out there, which makes how great the six songs on Astral Voyager Vol. 1 even more impressive. This is Kal-El at their best, at their peak, at their creative crescendo, or whatever other turn of phrase you want to use. Regardless, Kal-El rules, and so does the first part of this cosmic adventure.
So why do I love Kal-El so much and why do I love Astral Voyager Vol. 1 at the same level of adoration? First, the band’s ability to weave melody and heavy to perfection. Second, the sound and production value of their work, and specifically this record, is always top notch. Third, Ståle Rodvelt’s vocals, which sound like no one else while sounding like a bunch of the greats at the same time. All of this is heard in the opening nine-plus minute track, Astral Voyager. Kal-El also have the ability to take a nine-minute song and make it feel like four. That happens here.
So why do I love Kal-El so much and why do I love Astral Voyager Vol. 1 at the same level of adoration? First, the band’s ability to weave melody and heavy to perfection. Second, the sound and production value of their work, and specifically this record, is always top notch. Third, Ståle Rodvelt’s vocals, which sound like no one else while sounding like a bunch of the greats at the same time. All of this is heard in the opening nine-plus minute track, Astral Voyager. Kal-El also have the ability to take a nine-minute song and make it feel like four. That happens here.
Kal-El can rip it up when they want to, it is not all about the slowed paced doom, which is exactly where B.T.D.S.C. goes. What it also does is it brings killer riffs and some of the best drumming you will hear all year. Void Cleaner sounds like Stone Temple Pilots, which coming from me is one of the highest complements I can give. The vocal melody is so great and this straight-ahead 90s grunge goodness and as good as anything you will hear this year or any other. As close to a ballad as you are going to get from Kal-El is Cloud Walker, which is a gigantic, glorious, and beautiful Kal-El song which will surprise and delight anyone who enjoys this band.
Ståle’s best vocal performance, maybe ever. The solo in this one will blow you away too. Dilithium has some amazing dual guitar work, bringing the riffs and is a trademark Kal-El track that fits perfectly in this part one of the story. This volume closes with Cosmic Sailor, setting up the cliffhanger and anticipation for the next part of the journey via killer riffs and another Kal-El classic tune.
My only nit to pick with Astral Voyager Vol. 1 is that it feels incomplete. Now, I am aware this is Volume 1, which means there will be a Volume 2. I am also aware that the record is about 43 minutes, which is a fine length for an album. I also know that I am a greedy fan and always want more. Could this have worked as a double album and not seem like it was too much to consume in one sitting? Maybe. So, maybe my feelings of incompleteness is really just a greedy anticipation for part two.
My only nit to pick with Astral Voyager Vol. 1 is that it feels incomplete. Now, I am aware this is Volume 1, which means there will be a Volume 2. I am also aware that the record is about 43 minutes, which is a fine length for an album. I also know that I am a greedy fan and always want more. Could this have worked as a double album and not seem like it was too much to consume in one sitting? Maybe. So, maybe my feelings of incompleteness is really just a greedy anticipation for part two.
Regardless of my silliness here, Astral Voyager Vol. 1 is another Kal-El classic and hangs with all of the best records they have done so far. Seriously, this is right up there with your current favourite Kal-El record. Listen and tell me I am wrong. Album of the year candidate for sure. 10/10
Kensei - With Death I Walk (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
I lived through both the metalcore and melodeath explosion of the late 90's and early 2000's and while some bands, currently finishing up a nostalgia co-headline tour, may not want to live in the past and continue to relive the glory years.
I lived through both the metalcore and melodeath explosion of the late 90's and early 2000's and while some bands, currently finishing up a nostalgia co-headline tour, may not want to live in the past and continue to relive the glory years.
There are a host of bands today who thrive on writing music that has been inspired by the likes of Trivium, Lamb Of God, Killswitch Engage, At The Gates and In Flames, many of them combining all of these bands into what we often class as 'modern metal', but it is refreshing when you hear a band who are trying to capture that very fertile time in music.
Black Country bruisers Kensei are a band who fit very comfortably into this category, playing the more melodic style of metalcore that features influence from traditional metal and melodeath, it's got as many flashy solos and harmonic leads as it does abrasive riffs and chugging grooves.
Having stormed M2TM last year and securing a place at Bloodstock they have now unleashed their debut album to a great amount of anticipation and it's a bit of beast if you like that melodeath/groove/metalcore sound. Tracks such as The Light are just thrashy savagery, the snarling vocals particularly vicious, while on No Remorse they get into the groove metal style with pinched harmonica and a stomping riff paired with some melodic leads.
Kensei manage to strike balance between hooks and heaviness, while Nodachi feels like Gothenburg melodeath, End Of Days should be on Ascendancy and Paralysis on The End Of Heartache, the entirety of this album is a wonderful throwback but has a modern energy and passion to it that will see Kensei move on to bigger things very soon. 8/10
Dead Chasm - Spectral Tyranny (Transcending Obscurity Records) [GC]
It’s another new release week and following on from last week, I once again have a release form Transcending Obscurity but this week it’s the new EP, Spectral Tyranny from Italian death/doom merchants Dead Chasm, only 3 tracks to get my teeth into here so here we go.
It begins in a suitably doomy way on Beneath Decadent Shadows which has a slow and precise build up and doesn’t so much explode into life as sort of lurches and drags its way along and the focus feels heavily on the doom spectrum, it’s a song that takes a couple of minutes to get going and when it does it’s a dingy and wonderfully old school death metal throwback that finally shakes of all the shackles it was previously lumbering along with, we then get the title Spectral Tyranny which comes straight out of the blocks firing on all cylinders, but very quickly decides to slow everything right down and really., really push the point that they can do death metal but they can do it really slowly.
Black Country bruisers Kensei are a band who fit very comfortably into this category, playing the more melodic style of metalcore that features influence from traditional metal and melodeath, it's got as many flashy solos and harmonic leads as it does abrasive riffs and chugging grooves.
Having stormed M2TM last year and securing a place at Bloodstock they have now unleashed their debut album to a great amount of anticipation and it's a bit of beast if you like that melodeath/groove/metalcore sound. Tracks such as The Light are just thrashy savagery, the snarling vocals particularly vicious, while on No Remorse they get into the groove metal style with pinched harmonica and a stomping riff paired with some melodic leads.
Kensei manage to strike balance between hooks and heaviness, while Nodachi feels like Gothenburg melodeath, End Of Days should be on Ascendancy and Paralysis on The End Of Heartache, the entirety of this album is a wonderful throwback but has a modern energy and passion to it that will see Kensei move on to bigger things very soon. 8/10
Dead Chasm - Spectral Tyranny (Transcending Obscurity Records) [GC]
It’s another new release week and following on from last week, I once again have a release form Transcending Obscurity but this week it’s the new EP, Spectral Tyranny from Italian death/doom merchants Dead Chasm, only 3 tracks to get my teeth into here so here we go.
It begins in a suitably doomy way on Beneath Decadent Shadows which has a slow and precise build up and doesn’t so much explode into life as sort of lurches and drags its way along and the focus feels heavily on the doom spectrum, it’s a song that takes a couple of minutes to get going and when it does it’s a dingy and wonderfully old school death metal throwback that finally shakes of all the shackles it was previously lumbering along with, we then get the title Spectral Tyranny which comes straight out of the blocks firing on all cylinders, but very quickly decides to slow everything right down and really., really push the point that they can do death metal but they can do it really slowly.
It's all well done and doesn’t lose any impact and when the usual faster style is reintroduced the styles bounce well of each other and just like that Spawn In Absurdity is upon us to close the EP out, this song is almost clocks in at the same time as the first 2 tracks together, and really allows the more doom tendencies to shine through as the more run time you get the more time you get to mix the sounds together and show what you can do, I never really want songs to be overtly long and actually think that the first 2 could maybe have been a bit longer to allow more breathing room for the varying styles to be shown better because here they play off each other in a wonderful way and bring everything to a brutally fantastic end.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have much to judge Dead Chasm on, which is a real shame because I believe the more I heard, the more I would have liked them! I know they have older material and because Spectral Tyranny is such a good EP I will no doubt go and listen to these releases and will definitely look forward to hearing more from them in the future. 8/10
Unfortunately, I didn’t have much to judge Dead Chasm on, which is a real shame because I believe the more I heard, the more I would have liked them! I know they have older material and because Spectral Tyranny is such a good EP I will no doubt go and listen to these releases and will definitely look forward to hearing more from them in the future. 8/10
Executionist - Sacrament Of The Sick (Self Released) [Simon Black]
West Virginia’s Death Thrash outfit are an act who’ve made a lot of impact in a relatively short time, although it’s been a few years since their well-received EP Destined For Destruction a few years back to this overdue debut album. This is music straight from my youth, and like a lot of younger acts who weren’t around then have aimed for a Lo-Fi feel which does actually feel like it may have been cut on analogue recording equipment past its best in the late 80’s when they all tried to sound like Bay Area heroes from the origins of the US Thrash movement (bow down and worship at the altar of Exodus), yet spliced with a bit of Floridian Death Metal (OK, so exactly like Possessed did then).
Back then the sound came out of necessity in an age when cutting music at home on a PC yourself seemed an impossible futuristic dream and really evokes the sounds myself and a few mates used to achieve from an old Tascam Portastudio back in the day, which was a bit bleeding edge in its time. It suits the style the band are aiming for, with a treble heavy sound to the instruments but in 2025 I firmly believe that you need to balance the zeitgeist and energy that those old high-pressure recording environments drove through the sheer expense involved with the modern capabilities and technology available today. Keep it edgy, pressured and fast by all means, but this is music screaming for bass and depth the better to cut you a new exit hole with, and which they would no doubt aim for live.
The possible exception here is the vocals, as the high-end Death scream Brett Ash delivers really reminds me of the raw origins of the whole movement, which is why as I progress through the record, my initial annoyance at the production values quickly erodes and a wave of nostalgic head banging takes relentlessly over, but with his sharp and clear enough delivery that you can actually understand the lyrics without losing the extreme edge. He must gargle salty water a lot to keep that throat intact…
The music is unrelentingly brutal in pace with some perfect twin guitar interplay that doesn’t compromise. The rhythm section is a bit in the background thanks to the mix, but it’s piledriven throughout and keeps the attention well. It needs to, as the real negative aspect of the record is that for a brutally high-tempo bit of Death influenced Thrash, it hangs around a little bit too long. There’s only ten tracks on here, but many of them are around the seven-minute mark and don’t vary in style or tone. I suspect that the challenges of getting to the point of finally getting your first long-play out after a four year gap from your debut EP meant that you had a lot of material you wanted to share, but Thrash albums work best when they are nasty, brutish and short, so holding a couple back for next time might have made more sense.
I’m divided here but in general it’s a yes, this is a band I would like to see live, and whom I will be keeping a watchful eye on. Certainly, a promising start, but I would like to hear them develop a distinctiveness uniquely theirs in a field where there are already a lot of imitators of those essential core influences. 6/10
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