Kal-El – Astral Voyager Vol.2

 

 

Kal-El – Astral Voyager Vol.2
Majestic Mountain Records / Blues Funeral Recordings – 2026
Metal, Space, Stoner, Rock, Doom, Prog
Rated: ****

Kal-El’s Astral Voyager Vol.2 must be one of the most anticipated albums for 2026 right? With raving reviews for Astral Voyager Vol.1 across the globe in 2025. Landing on the Number 2 spot of the  Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2025 and on the Number 1 position of the Doom Charts Top 100 for 2025. Everyone is giddy with the expected euphoria. And some of that anticipation was quenched with the first two singles already released: Juno and Juggernaut. The rest of the new Kal-El universe will open up on March 20th… 

And after Juno has opened the new forty-two minute long album, you will be treated to the longest track on the record called The Nine. Which moves a bit in the direction of Sergeant Thunderhoof without losing any of the typical ice cold Scandi-stoner, tundra rock, freezing space sound they have become known for. For yes, if Astral Voyager Vol.1launched Kal-El into the cosmos, Astral Voyager Vol.2 pushes the throttle even further. The second half of this cosmic diptych continues the band’s multi-dimensional trip with the confidence of a group fully locked into their orbit. The story of interstellar bounty hunter Mica unfolds further as she evades the mysterious Nine across time and space, but the real propulsion here is, unsurprisingly, riff power…

Kal-El once again blend stoner metal with touches of doom and swirling space rock, wrapped in that thick, fuzzy tone we’ve come to expect. Massive riffs crash down like meteor showers while soaring desert-, errr, tundra-rock hooks keep things infectious and addictive. There’s also that unmistakable Kal-El shimmer we already mentioned in earlier reviews: a cold spark running through the record that gives the whole thing a slightly icy, cosmic glow. They obviously wanted Vol.2 to only move into more progressive territory here and there, with tiny movements, keeping the overall feeling that these two Volumes belong together intact. 

Ståle Rodvelt’s vocals cut through the haze with clarity, lifting the big choruses and giving the songs that extra lift-off moment when the riffs finally explode. Add those few progressive touches and the result is an album that keeps evolving without losing its groove. Kal-El have been delivering quality ever since Ecosphere, was released in 2015. But the Astral Voyager saga might be their most complete statement yet. It ends with Asteroid, eight minutes of ever evolving largesse, in both riffs, rhythm and vocal lines. They start out huge, build and grow, become gigantic with vocals that soar through the universe and which bring you towards the end of the known galaxy. Where it all crashes down. So… You’d better strap in… This time the ride goes far beyond the event horizon…

(Written by JK)

Check out Juno and Juggernaut right now and get psyched for Astral Voyager Vol.2, dropping March 20th! 



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Kal-El - Astral Voyager Vol.1 - Number 2 on the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2024 

 Kal-El – Astral Voyager Vol.1

Kal-El - Dark Majesty - Number 11 on the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2021 

 

Stoner HiVe’s Top 10 Most Listened Artists Last Week…

 

 

Stoner HiVe’s 
Top 10 Most Listened Artists Last Week…

Blunt Knife Castration
Kal-El
Hermano
Phantom Druid
Psychlona
OogWei
Grave Disgrace
Purple Lung
Riastrad
Big Oaf

Morning! Hope you had a great week? We did! For it was the week in which we saw Kardeathian for the first time live. A sound that maneuvered between moments of Acid King and Los Natas, but overal felt like a slow trek through the swamp. Muddy, morose and monotonous. The final song had them opening up more, the sound coming into its own, groove and flow rising to the top. Hope to see them live again and am extremely interested in what they will sound like on record. Which will be released later this year. And we saw an incredibly tight Psychlona on the first night of their European tour. Holy hell, the outfit has become a machine! And the vocals sat perfect in the mix, taking the audience on every adventure Psychlona had planned for the night. Go see them if you can! 

 It was also a Doom Charts week last week, which means we started listening to the entire list of forty albums again after it was published. Getting all the way to Grave Disgrace yesterday and continuing on with Fátima today. So many great release! And there were way more, cause the Contributors voted for 200 different ones. Wow. We managed to have a few posts up last week and we got a few almost done for this week. But before new ones go live, let’s look back at Ronny Dijksterhuis’s write up for Druid Stone! The Doom Charts post. Words on the new Urlaub in Polen, Prophets of Thwaites and Purple Lung. And to that single premiere we did for Morrison Graves. And we might just do another premiere this week as well… Better check regularly! Ho ho ho. But seriously, thank you all for the continued support. We are honored and humbled that you crazies out there check in from time to time and spend that valuable time reading our silly words. Much love! And please help spread that everything Heavy Underground related. It’s why we do this thing… 

 

Doom Charts Top 100 Albums of 2025

It has arrived!

The Doom Charts Top 100, expertly tallied by Remi VL and voted for throughout the year by all those crazy Contributors! Follow them on their own sites to learn more about all those magical albums and amazing bands...

100 amazing albums from the Heavy Underground, (out of a total list of 2107  albums) and I can honestly say, once again, that I love'm all... Great to see many of my Top 20 on that list! So many great albums released yearly, insane! 


They're all freaking stunning pieces of art!  🤘

Congratulations to Kal-El for leading the charge with their Astral Voyager Vol.I album... 

You can read our thoughts on Astral Voyager Vol.I HERE!

And it came in on the 2nd place on the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2025 thanks to all of your votes! 

Just started the Top 100 rundown with Wyatt E. – Zamāru Ultu Qereb Ziqquratu, Part 1... 

You doing that as well?  

Either way... Fire up some heavy rock from the... 

Doom Charts Top 100 Albums of 2025

Number 2

 

 

Number 2

Almost fifteen hundred points! Another huge jump to reach the Number 2 album of 2025 according to all of your votes. It switched places with the one on Number 1 constantly and was on so many lists, it is surely a favorite album for everyone across the globe. Released in May through Blues Funeral Recordings and Majestic Mountain Records, it sky-rocketed to the Number 1 spot on that months’ Doom Charts. And with the promise of a Volume 2 following this album, (March 20th to be exact!) the anticipation for this band’s abilities has only grown to immense proportions. Stoner metal mixed with minor doom touches and space elements. Incredibly fuzzy and even opting for some more progressive touches here and there. It’s the quintet doing their own brilliant thing! They have a certain ring to their sound, a cold spark and an icy glimmer. It’s always been there, but this time around, it’s what makes the entire album hum and sing. The energy seems to vibrate at a perfect pitch. And it gives their metallic edge that extra bit of shine. Delivering constantly in big riffs and soaring payoffs. The vocals are pristine and add that extra bit of shiver. The band has delivered many great albums in the span of their career, starting ten years ago with Ecosphere and Dark Majesty from 2021 making it to the Number 11 position of the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2021 according to all of your votes. But this new one, is on a different level. Topping up on everything you have come to love about the band. The record takes you on a celestial drive and beyond the event horizon, eternity awaits…

On Number 2 we find: 

KAL-EL - ASTRAL VOYAGER VOL. 1

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Kal-El – Astral Voyager Vol.1

Number 11 on the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2021

Kal-El – Astral Voyager Vol.1

 

Kal-El – Astral Voyager Vol.1
Majestic Mountain Records / Blues Funeral Recordings
Rock, Stoner, Space, Doom, Metal
Rated: *****

Did these two powerhouse labels compete to get to release the new Kal-El album? Or did Majestic Mountain Records and Blues Funeral Recordings immediately decide to release Astral Voyager Vol.1 together? Was it because they equally loved the new Kal-El? Or is it just a way to keep shipping costs down? Either way, we are glad they did! For the new six track release is one for the ages, for eternity probably. And to think it will be followed up by a Vol.2 and probably this year? Wow! Another diptych of stoner bliss! Stoner metal mixed with minor doom touches and space elements. Incredibly fuzzy and even opting for some more progressive touches here and there. It’s Kal-El doing their own brilliant thing! They have a certain ring to their sound, a cold spark and an icy glimmer. It’s always been there, but this time around, it’s what makes the entire album hum and sing. The energy seems to vibrate at the perfect pitch. And it gives their metallic edge that extra bit of shine. Delivering constantly in big riffs and soaring payoffs. The vocals are pristine and add that extra bit of shiver. Kal-El has delivered many great albums in the span of their career, starting ten years ago with Ecosphere and Dark Majesty from 2021 making it to the Number 11 position of the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2021 according to all of your votes. But Astral Voyager Vol.1 is on a different level. Topping up on everything you have come to love about Kal-El. Astral Voyager takes you on a celestial drive and beyond the event horizon, eternity awaits…

(Written by JK)

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Single Premiere – Forgotten King – Lost

 

 

Single Premiere – Forgotten King – Lost

Forgotten King hails from Stavanger, Norway and will release their debut album The Seeker on August 2nd! Already signed to the awesome Majestic Mountain Records the four piece are off to an incredible start. But this is entirely logical if you heard the first single The Sun and even more when you feast your ears on the single we have the honor premiering today! It’s called Lost and gives you over seven minutes of doom, contemplative in nature, introspective in space and metallic in sound. Founded by Azul Josh from Kal-El the project offers his insights on personal trials and tribulations, metal illness, ego and spirituality. Rife with emotion, this is the doom that might aid others in time of need as well…

Words from the PR Wire:

Following up on their first single "The Sun" from their upcoming album with Majestic Mountain Records, heavy psychedelic doom crew Forgotten King deliver their next slab of crushing riffage with "Lost". Low and slow yet with a lightness of sound and melody, the band trudge forward alongside singer Azul's crooning lyrics that tug on the heartstrings. Get lost with Forgotten King and their sublime brand of modern doom on new track "Lost", our July 5.

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Stoner HiVe’s Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…

 

Stoner HiVe’s
Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…

 
Greenleaf
Ricochets
Kal-El
Pist.On
Mansion
Eye of Aquila
Sandrider
Warp
Acid King
London Edense Ensemble

It ended yesterday, that run of Personal Favorites Lists from quite a few Doom Charts Contributors. It took up most of our time. But as we return to the regular schedule for the Doom Charts, we can also start doing more Stoner HiVe stuff. So, quite a few reviews are in the pipeline. Some of which are listed above and others will surely be on heavy rotation this week. But first, later today, a worldwide video premiere! So, stay tuned, check back later!

Number 11

 

 

Number 11

After that one point jump from Number 13 to Motorpsycho on Number 12 we now jump a hundred and forty points to find three bands occupying Number 11! Indeed, a definite huge leap in points for three definite amazing and damn fine albums! Slowly crawling up this list makes me once again appreciate all those albums you all voted for even more. The ones we already passed and the ones still to come. And I can’t even comprehend the amount that did not make the Top 20 that are so freaking amazing! But you guys and girls voted and this is how it turns out. With one album bringing evil honey from a magic mountain. The other a bass-heavy groove, detuned guitars and mind-expanding lyrics. And the third classic rock, classic stoner rock and every bit of class you can think off. Listening to the first one will have you enjoying that progressive, psychedelic doom metal goodness that flirts with the occult and dances with their stonerrock influences on the tightrope of the macabre. Listening to that second album will set you off into out space; but it is the space of doom and the doom of space. Once again, psychedelic and progressive is key here, and metal, so much metal and the key unlocks the treasure room of a dark majesty. The third album is all about everything classic, all out bluesy and wickedly stoner. They bring it all for the Sabbath, the Zeppelin, The Marshall Tucker and Grateful Dead lovers, to sort of quote our very own Bucky Brown. He knew the deal and you all did when you voted so much for these three albums… So on Number 11 we find:

Heavy Temple – Lupi Amoris

&

Kal-El – Dark Majesty

&

Void Commander – River Lord

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Stoner HiVe’s Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…

 

 

Stoner HiVe’s
Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…

Glass Hammer
Black Label Society
Møtrik
Kal-El
Plaindrifter
The Absurd
Daily Thompson
Spidergawd
Weedpecker
Gallileous

Stoner HiVe’s Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…

 

 

Stoner HiVe’s
Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…


 Redscale
Farfisa
Wooden Fields
Paceshifters
Carcaño
Green Lung
Kal-El
Duel
Stone Cadaver
Psychlona

The Doom Chart for September 2021

 

 

Doom Charts

    “Outside the dawn is breaking,

    But inside in the dark I’m aching to be free…”

                                 ~ Freddie Mercury

The show must go on… And so it does… Should we say a few words to mark the occasion? Or should we stick to what it’s all about, those heavy albums featured below? Let’s do just that! Here it is, the brand new Doom Charts. It’s the September 2021 edition and it once again heralds a truckload of great albums. We’ve got fourteen spanking new albums rolling into the Top 25 and a brand new Number One jumping in. There’s also the entry of the youngest fuzz cat to ever enter the charts and in total no less than 185 albums were voted for…

Personal votes went out to: Duel, Delco Detention, Stone Cadaver, Green Lung, Terminus, Sonolith, Kal-El, Miscellen, Taxi Caveman, Wolves In Haze & Land Mammal... And we will be listening to those and all the others in a row once again in the next few days… Although a minor ear infection might make me wait another day or two before commencing; cause at the moment everything sounds like it’s underwater… But as soon as we surface; we shall commence with the awesome Why We Never Die record by The Angelus… 

Welcome to Doom Charts, representing some of the finest bloggers, journalists, radio, podcasters and album reviewers from the heavy underground around the globe.  Each month, our critics submit their picks for the best new doom, sludge metal, stoner-psychedelic and heavy rock albums.  The results are compiled and tabulated into the chart below.  This is a one-stop shop for the best new albums in the world…

The Doom Chart for September 2021

Stoner HiVe’s Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…

 

 

Stoner HiVe’s 

Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…

 Delco Detention
Halfaya
The Devils
Krachwerke
Planet of The 8’s
Stone Cadaver
A Pale Horse Named Death
Comet Control
Hooded Menace
Kal-El