With the new video for “Velvet” following on from the prior-posted “Under the Skin,” Stoned Jesus give a deeper glimpse of what’s in store on their upcoming LP Songs to Moon, the second installment in a three-album cycle that began with 2025’s Songs to Sun (review here). As foretold, mood is a factor. Songs to Moon is out Oct. 16 in continued cooperation with Season of Mist and though their summer round of festivals wraps up, more tour dates can only be around the corner. Notice the WeStill Fest in France on Oct. 30. A tour around that or starting around then and going into November doesn’t seem unlikely, but I don’t know anything concrete, so don’t quote me.

I have more to say about Stoned Jesus at this stage of the triptych, but I’m waiting to hear the full album before I let myself form any more concrete opinions than ‘band adventurous and good,’ so bear with me. In the meantime, both videos from Songs to Moon are down below waiting for you to dig in, which you should.

From the PR wire:

Stoned Jesus Announce New Album Songs to Moon

Heavy prog rockers leap into the darkness on their trilogy’s daring second album

Watch the ‘90s-style music video for grungy, ‘gazy lead single “Velvet”

After 15 years of trailblazing across doom metal, grunge, psychedelic and art rock, no height is too steep a climb for Stoned Jesus. The heavy progressive rockers are reaching a new creative peak with their forthcoming album trilogy. Its opening chapter, Songs to Sun, rose atop best of 2025 lists at critical institutions. Now, frontman Igor Sydorenko and his two bandmates are cycling into the darkest, most daring and deeply moving territory of their career with Songs to Moon.

“We started The Songs trilogy last year with Songs to Sun, which is a loud and heavy album that’s big on choruses and meaty riffs” Sydorenko says. “While still heavy and catchy, Songs to Moon follows a similar trajectory to Led Zeppelin III, Opeth’s Damnation or Jar of Flies by Alice In Chains. The songs are recognizably Stoned Jesus, but they are bolder, more haunting and introspective than anything we’ve done before”.

Today, Stoned Jesus are announcing Songs to Moon with a ‘90s-style music video for the album’s lead single. While floating endlessly amidst uncertainty, the doomgaze of “Velvet” hits hard with one of the band’s biggest hooks.

“This song answers the question: What if Nirvana was shoegaze?”, Sydorenko teases.

Songs to Moon comes out October 16, 2026 on Season of Mist.

Pre-order: https://orcd.co/stonedjesussongstomoon

The Songs trilogy spans all phases of Stoned Jesus. Like dusk, Songs to Moon opens in the shadow of Songs to Sun. Previously released single “Under the Skin” plunged the band into a dark night of the soul with loud and heavy slabs of post-metal.

Songs to Moon discovers a more introspective side to Stoned Jesus, “I’ve noticed that in a lot of our songs, the narrator is either falling or starting to lose the ground under their feet”, Sydorenko says. “When writing ‘Velvet’, I asked myself, what’s next? What do I want to find once I reach the bottom? Or do I just want the fall to go on forever”.

Even on their most melancholic album, Stoned Jesus can’t be confined to just one shade of blue. With its grungy riffs and grainy video treatment, “Velvet” would slide into heavy rotation on MTV’s 120 Minutes. “Where will I end up / I never know”, Sydorenko sings with cool remove. As steadily pounding drums, harsh backing vocals from bassist Andrew Rodin and Sydorenko’s howling guitar solo push the song to the brink, it’s loud and clear that the band are only going up from here.

Tracklist
1. Under the Skin (5:29)
2. Velvet (5:11)
3. ZYX (5:30)
4. Syzgy (4:50)
5. Jackal (6:48)
6. Window in My Room (8:22)
7. One More Empty Day (4:41)

The video for “Velvet” was created by Mykyta Donets.

Catch Stoned Jesus this summer on the European festival circuit.

Stoned Jesus 2026 European Festival Dates
August 8 – Rome, Italy @ Roma Stone Fest
August 20 – La Maroutière, France @ V and B Fest
August 29 – Teramo, Italy @ Suburbiae Festival
October 30 – Vallet, France @ WeStill Fest

Recording Lineup
Igor Sydorenko – Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards
Andrew Rodin – Bass, Backing Vocals
Yurii Ciel – Drums, Backing Vocals

Live Lineup
Igor Sydorenko – Vocals, Guitar
Andrew Rodin – Bass, Backing Vocals
Ihor Biriuchenko – Drums, Percussion

https://stonedjesus.bigcartel.com/
http://stonedjesus.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/stonedjesusband/
https://www.facebook.com/stonedjesusband

http://www.season-of-mist.com/
https://www.instagram.com/seasonofmistofficial
https://www.facebook.com/seasonofmistofficial
https://tap.bio/@SeasonOfMist

Stoned Jesus, “Velvet” official video

Stoned Jesus, “Under the Skin” official video

I was lucky enough to be in the crowd last weekend at Freak Valley Festival (review here) to see the first time Stoned Jesus played their new single “Under the Skin” live. I even confirmed with guitarist/vocalist Igor Sydorenko afterward that it was ‘the’ skin in the title rather than yours, mine, his/hers/theirs, etc. But the song itself was striking in its aggression and post-metal churn from the stage, and bassist Andrew Riordan has a killer scream. You can see him doing room shouts in the video for “Under the Skin,” and he’s also up on the mic. I think he’s layered into the early verses as well, but there’s a lot going on there, where the call and response later is more stark.

American heavy-heads don’t know what they’re missing with this band.

If you caught last year’s Songs to Sun (review here) — to be followed later this year by Songs to Moon, from which the single comes — it might be fair to think of “Under the Skin” as an expansion on the foray into metal of “Shadowland” from that record. The two cuts certainly worked well back-to-back in that Freak Valley set, anyhow. I’ll hope to have more on Songs to Moon as we get closer to the release. For now, this is fresh off the PR wire:

Stoned Jesus Go Deeper and Darker on New Single “Under the Skin”

Heavy prog trailblazers begin next phase of album trilogy

Stoned Jesus are true trailblazers. While often associated with the stoner crowd, the heavy progressive rockers have experimented with folk, prog, pop and alternative rock amidst familiar doses of doom. Last year, the band entered the first phase of an expansive album trilogy that promises to take them from the sun to the moon and back. Songs to Sun was named one of the best albums of 2025. Now, as frontman Igor Sydorenko and his bandmates prepare to blaze through the European summer festival circuit, they’re cycling into the next phase of their evolution.

Today, Stoned Jesus are releasing a new single. Though packed with the band’s reliable dose of heaviness, the progressive post-metal contained within “Under the Skin” shows them entering the darkest, most daring and deeply moving territory of their 17-year career.

“Our upcoming album trilogy started last year with Songs to Sun, which is a loud and heavy album that’s big on choruses and meaty riffs”, Sydorenko says before turning to Stoned Jesus’ latest single. “‘Under the Skin’ begins our next phase in a somewhat similar fashion, but with a sinister twist. The fans of the very first SJ demo will recognize the influence of post-metal, which resurfaced after our tour last summer with the legendary Cult of Luna. But “Under the Skin” is not a step back. It’s darker, bolder and more introspective than anything the band has done before”.

Watch the music video for “Under the Skin” on the Season of Mist YouTube channel.

Stream “Under the Skin”: https://orcd.co/stonedjesusundertheskin

On the surface, “Under the Skin” picks up right where Stoned Jesus left off. The sinking anxiety that swallowed Songs to Sun gives way here to heavy breathing. And while catchy as ever, the song’s weighty riff isn’t the only dark force that’s rattling inside Sydorenko’s head. “I feel it, it’s creeping in”, he strains, backed by bassist Andrew Rodin, who adds some of the harshest vocals the band have ever pressed to wax.

The video for “Under the Skin” was filmed while Stoned Jesus were recording in Cologne, Germany at Goblin Sound Studio with sound engineer Andy Rosczyk (ex-Ultha). Despite the song’s bleary state of mind (“Promises to keep / I will never sleep”), the band never lose their glow. As drummer Yurii Ciel guides them through a proggy middle passage that leads deeper into the shadows, we catch a glimpse not only into their psyche but the shape of what’s to come. “Sky glider, gone wilder / With the setting sun”.

The video for “Under the Skin” was edited by Marco Menestrina.

Catch Stoned Jesus this summer on the European festival circuit.

Stoned Jesus 2026 European Festival Dates
June 4 – Nepthen, Germany @ Freak Valley
June 19 – Clisson, France @ Hellfest
June 27 – Betanzos, Spain @ Fumega Fest
July 3 – Gisors, France @ Kave Fest
July 11 – Trieste, Italy @ StonerKras Fest
August 8 – Rome, Italy @ Roma Stone Fest
August 29 – Teramo, Italy @ Suburbiae Festival
September 25 – London, UK @ StoomFest

Songs to Sun is out now on Season of Mist.

Order: https://orcd.co/stonedjesussongtosun

Production Credits
Producer – Igor Sydorenko
Sound Engineer – Andy Rosczyk
Mixing and Mastering Engineer – Karl Daniel Lidén

Recording Studio
Goblin Sound Studio in Cologne, Germany

Mixing and Mastering Studio
Studio Tri-Lamb, Sweden

Cover Art
Vadym “Karaska” Karasiov

Recording Lineup
Igor Sydorenko – Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards
Andrew Rodin – Bass, Backing Vocals
Yurii Ciel – Drums, Backing Vocals

Live Lineup
Igor Sydorenko – Vocals, Guitar
Andrew Rodin – Bass, Backing Vocals
Ihor Biriuchenko – Drums, Percussion

https://stonedjesus.bigcartel.com/
http://stonedjesus.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/stonedjesusband/
https://www.facebook.com/stonedjesusband

http://www.season-of-mist.com/
https://www.instagram.com/seasonofmistofficial
https://www.facebook.com/seasonofmistofficial
https://tap.bio/@SeasonOfMist

Stoned Jesus, “Under the Skin” official video