Astral Voyager Vol. 1 will be released May 16 and begin a two-album cycle for Norwegian heavy rockers Kal-El. Also their first offering for Blues Funeral Recordings and a continued alliance with Majestic Mountain Records, the band’s sixth LP and the follow-up to 2021’s Dark Majesty (review here) is introduced to public ears and eyes via the new single “B.T.D.S.C.,” for which a new video is streaming at the bottom of this post. Both Astral Voyager Vol. 1 and its intended companion LP follow a narrative concept related to escaping oppression in space.

Those are the basic facts, and if you know Kal-El, the where and when and what is probably all you need. To that end, the single is an acronym standing for ‘Black Train Deep Space Caravan’ — obviously — and is a six-minute burner in what’s become the Kal-El tradition, blasting desert rock into the interstellar medium with energy to space and a solid sense of craft beneath. It’s very much a Kal-El song, in other words. Don’t be surprised when it’s stuck in your head. That’s part of the thing too.

I expect a press release about this any second now, but here’s the info from the Bandcamp page:

Set controls for the infinite expanse with staggering new epic Astral Voyager from KAL-EL.

Preorder: https://kal-el.bandcamp.com/

Formed in Stavanger, Norway in 2012, KAL-EL established themselves as a unique force in the international heavy underground, blending Scandinavian desert-style rock, classic metal, psychedelia and doom elements with ambitious sci-fi themes.

After a profuse series of mind-expanding journeys through spacetime (five albums and three EPs from 2013 to 2023), the band are back with the most significant milestone in their multi-dimensional journey yet.

Astral Voyager Vol. 1 tells the saga of intergalactic bounty hunter Mica, who trades in taking down the scum of the universe while dodging The Nine, a control-obsessed consortium that seeks to dominate her as they do the rest of the cosmos. Traveling and bringing in her marks, Mica’s journey is a story of hope, individuality and searching for meaning in the unknown.

Presented in two volumes during 2025, the Astral Voyager double album is the strongest realization of KAL-EL’s signature sonic approach to date. Full of downtuned grooves, soaring anthems and vintage sci-fi aesthetics, it’s an explosion of contagious fuzz-blues from Scandinavia’s prolific and impressive masters of starfaring heaviness!

releases May 16, 2025

Tracklisting:
1. Astral Voyager
2. B.T.D.S.C.
3. Void Cleaner
4. Cloud Walker
5. Dilithium
6. Cosmic Sailor

Written and performed by Kal-El
Recorded at Bridge Burner Recording
Engineered by Ørjan Kristoffersen Lund
Produced by Kal-El Co-produced by Ørjan Kristoffersen Lund
Mixed and mastered by Ruben Willem
Artwork by Steven Yoyada
Layout by ShaneHorror

http://kal-el.no
http://kal-el.bandcamp.com
http://facebook.com/kalelproject
http://instagram.com/kalelband

https://www.facebook.com/bluesfuneral/
https://www.instagram.com/blues.funeral/
https://bluesfuneralrecordings.bandcamp.com/
bluesfuneral.com

http://majesticmountainrecords.bigcartel.com
http://facebook.com/majesticmountainrecords
http://instagram.com/majesticmountainrecords

Kal-El, “B.T.D.S.C.” official video

Tags: Astral Voyager Vol. 1, Blues Funeral Recordings, Kal-El, Kal-El Astral Voyager Vol. 1, Majestic Mountain Records, Norway, Stavanger

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