It’s been over five years since Helsinki’s Void Cruiser released their second album, Wayfarer (review here), so you might be forgiven for needing a refresher. Toward that end, the Finnish five-piece offer the first single from their new album, Call of the Void, in the form of the six-plus minute “Happiness,” which we’ll just assume is an ironic title given the brooding of the actual audio.

The PR wire info below clues you in pretty directly on where they’re coming from in terms of filtering ’90s influences through more modern atmospheric styles. It’s a heady brew on “Happiness,” but at the core is a big ol’ lumbering riff and when it hits, it’s awfully nice to nod along. You’re also going to want to keep an ear out later on when the chug turns evil and the growls and scream come. That leads to the next-stage largesse of the apex distortion wash, winding solo cutting through all the while, and by the time you get there, immersion is complete. And like a good teaser, they cut out before overstaying their welcome.

Whether you caught the last one or the one one before it or you didn’t, doesn’t matter. All are welcome. Here’s this:

Finnish Heavy Rockers VOID CRUISER to release their new album “Call of the Void” via Argonauta Records; new single out now!

Void Cruiser is a heavy alternative rock band from Helsinki, Finland. The band has been evolving since 2011 and developed their sound into a distinctive mixture of 90s grunge and heavy rock, with some taste of desert rock, post metal and shoegaze.

Void Cruiser delivers vast soundscapes and unrelenting riffage with mellow and melancholic sonic aesthetics reinforced with smoothly dejected lyrical expression. Some influences throughout the years include for example Alice In Chains, Type O Negative, Deftones, and Kyuss.

Void Cruiser released their first album Overstaying My Welcome in 2015, gained some followers and the album received some decent, even praising reviews. With their second full-length album Wayfarer (2017 – Argonauta Records, Oak Island Records) the band renewed their sound and clearly started to establish their own way of doing things. The album was highly praised by the audience and media, which brought a lot of support and led to recognition on albums of the year lists.

Now Void Cruiser – strengthened by one additional member since the previous albums – have created their third record and are ready to unleash the full power of their sonic excess.

The band says: “We are pretty stoked about continuing the smooth cooperation with Argonauta. Gero’s solid hands-on experience with a wide range of genres and bands and the genuine urge to spread phenomenal music makes Argonauta Records a perfect companion for us. We have been extremely satisfied working with Argonauta in the past and we are confident that our collaboration with the third album will unfold remarkable things.”

To shorten the wait of the actual CALL OF THE VOID full-length release date coming soon in 2022, the band releases today their impressive new single “Happiness”, taking their sound to a definitely new level, give ear.

Watch out for many more details and preorder links to be revealed soon!

Void Cruiser is:
Santeri Salo – Vocals
Antti Koski-Laulaja – Guitars
Vili Salo – Guitars
Lassi Tähtinen – Bass
Teemu Rantanen – Drums

https://www.instagram.com/void_cruiser/
https://www.facebook.com/voidcruiser
https://voidcruiser.bandcamp.com/

www.instagram.com/argonautarecords
www.facebook.com/argonuatarecords
www.argonautarecords.com/shop

Void Cruiser, “Happiness”

[Stream Void Cruiser’s Wayfarer in full by clicking play above. Album is out Feb. 27 on Argonauta Records.]

Though they seem to operate solely under a spaced-out thematic — members credited with “low frequency engine,” “battering apparatus,” and so on — the actual stylistic range with which Finland’s Void Cruiser operate feels much broader. Rather than simply live by the “what would Hawkwind do?” ethic, the Helsinki four-piece’s second album, Wayfarer (also their debut on Argonauta Records), follows 2015’s self-released Overstaying My Welcome and 2013’s Motherload EP and lives up to its name in the kind of meandering path it takes between aesthetics. Space is a factor for sure, but as they play between longer-form pieces like “I Didn’t Lie but I Know Now that I Should Have” and closer “Maailman Kallein Kaupunki” and the quicker shots of “As We Speak” and “All over Nowhere,” Void Cruiser actively defy pigeonholing any more specific than catchalls like “heavy” or “atmospheric,” and set their course for variety over redundancy.

With seven tracks and a 46-minute runtime, Wayfarer is substantial but not unmanageable, and the lineup of guitarist/vocalist Santeri “S-Salo” Salo, bassist/backing vocalist Lassi “T-Hug” Tähtinen, guitarist/backing vocalist Vili “V-Salo” Salo and drummer Teemu “T-Bag” Rantanen bring considerable breadth and personality to the material, commanding the turns they’re making rather than being led by them. Further, because even songs like “Madonnas and Whores” and “Seven Years Late,” which are relatively straightforward in their structure, have a marked tonal largesse and sense of patience, Wayfarer ties together its diverse sonic proposals with an overarching spaciousness of production that makes it all the more immersive to the listener. Surprises abound, but none of the moves Void Cruiser make feel out of place in a way they’re not intended to be. Some, however, are very definitely intended to be.

The prevailing first impression is one of patience as they begin with the rumble and slow roll of the introductory “A Day on Which No Man was Born,” starting with a low-toned drone and moving into an instrumental progression of slow nod that runs over five minutes, setting the listener up for some of Wayfarer‘s more heavy psychedelic aspects as they continue to play out in the subsequent “I Didn’t Lie but I Know Now that I Should Have.” Cumbersome in its name, the second track is likewise patient in how it unfurls, blending grunge — particularly in Santeri‘s vocals — with a languid drift as it makes a chorus of its title-line in its first half before shifting post-midpoint into more of a jam, vocals and all, as they build toward a shouted apex à la Facelift-era Alice in Chains, the key difference being the depth of mix surrounding Void Cruiser and the wash of wah in the solo that proceeds to lead them out of the song over the next couple minutes.

That turn to belting it out is the first clue of Void Cruiser‘s sonic range, and “As We Speak” adds to it immediately with a classic stoner feel run through the aforementioned effects-driven spaciousness. The vocals indulge a scream that speaks to some underlying metallic influence, but “As We Speak” feels more like a Lowrider single played at two-thirds speed than anything aggressive, even in that brief moment, and at 3:32, the shortest track on Wayfarer boosts the forward push that’s been subtly working all along with its quicker tempo ending giving way to “Madonnas and Whores” as the centerpiece. Despite ultra-prevalent low end, the beginning of the seven-minute “Madonnas and Whores” still holds to some rhythmic swing, but plays out moodier through its early verses and choruses, and the hook almost has a tinge of Southern metal as it stomps into a bridge that cuts suddenly just past the four-minute mark into a psych-jam of steady rumble and guitar noodling that comes back around in time for a full-boar solo finish into some hit-stops that bring the song to a close before an obscure sample presumably draws down an intended vinyl side A.

Perhaps the most unexpected transition on Wayfarer arrives in the form of “Seven Years Late,” which while consistent tonally with its surroundings takes on a goth-metal brooding that seems drawn directly from Type O Negative in its guitar work, in its play between slower and faster tempos, its low-voiced spoken part and the backing gang vocals that show up toward the end of its six-minute run. Void Cruiser telegraph the influence via the guitars early, so it’s not like they’re trying to get away with something, but while songs hint at metallurgy prior, the fuller dive of “Seven Years Late” kicks off side B with a genuine blindside punch that, as it gives way to the 4:38 thrust of the penultimate “All over Nowhere” barely has time to be as out of place as it feels like it should be and somehow isn’t. A rocker like “As We Speak” before it, “All over Nowhere” holds to the thickness of the album as a whole and has its context changed somewhat by “Seven Years Late,” but stands up to the task of re-centering Wayfarer in order that 10-minute finale “Maailman Kallein Kaupunki” can set resolutely to its charge of summarizing the record as a whole.

Unsurprisingly, the bassline helps a lot, especially early. Void Cruiser build through psych-grunge atmospheric rock, and top that low end with airy guitar work before solidifying around a forward progression, the lyrics in Finnish, that even seems to tip its hat toward the Type O Negative-ity of “Seven Years Late” as it rolls through its middle, eventually slowing to a nod that seems like it’s going to come apart entirely before eight minutes in, only to have a Kyuss-style desert riff take off at a sprint from the morass. The last push is one more surprise from an outing that’s offered plenty of them, and as they cut short and rumble their way out on a fade before hitting 10:00 flat, one almost can’t be certain there won’t be something else still to come.

Creating that feeling of unpredictability over the course of a single LP isn’t easy, and it’s commendable as a basic intention, but what makes Wayfarer stand out even more is how fluidly Void Cruiser navigate these aesthetic planes, pitting one element next to but not necessarily against the other in order to craft something more individual from them. This is a key factor in Wayfarer‘s success, but of course the occasional bit of rocking the hell out doesn’t hurt either.

Void Cruiser on Thee Facebooks

Void Cruiser on Bandcamp

Void Cruiser at Argonauta Records

Argonauta Records on Thee Facebooks

Originally set for issue this past Autumn, the sophomore full-length from Finland’s Void Cruiser has been given a firm release date of Feb. 27 through Argonauta Records. Preceded by the art and track info that you can see below as well as the cumbersomely-titled new single, “I Didn’t Lie but I Know Now that I Should Have,” the album is named Wayfarer and upon digging into the track, one finds an engaging blend of heavy psychedelia and grunge that seems to invite further inspection. A little bit the song brings Dwellers to mind, but is on an altogether more tripped-out wavelength, though how that might play across the whole release I don’t actually know. Haven’t heard it yet.

So it goes. In any case, at well over eight minutes, “I Didn’t Lie but I Know Now that I Should Have” is more than a snippet and should be plenty to dig into, so yeah, have at it. You’ll find the song under the info below, which came down the PR wire:

VOID CRUISER reveal cover artwork and first single from their anticipated new album

Finnish cosmonauts VOID CRUISER reveal cover artwork and first single from their new album “Wayfarer”. The song “I didn’t lie but I know now that I should have” is available at this address: https://youtu.be/s0n5zTSWpXs

The band says: “This single track release is a taste from the upcoming album “Wayfarer”. The song ‘I Didn’t Lie But I Know Now That I Should Have’ was among the first two composed songs for the record and it became benchmark for the rest of the song writing progress. People who have listened to our debut album will realise that this time we have cruised deeper into the sonic unknown and tamed some of the previously unencountered euphonious anomalies. We hope that this track, having such a deep meaning for us, will also be meaningful for all of you.”

VOID CRUISER “Wayfarer”, a massive Heavy Space/Fuzz related Metal work, will be released in CD/DD by ARGONAUTA Records and available from February 27th, 2017. Preorders run here: http://bit.ly/2iglk1d

TRACKLIST:
1. A day on which no man was born
2. I didn’t lie but I know now that I should have
3. As we speak
4. Madonnas and whores
5. Seven years late
6. All over nowhere
7. Maailman kallein kaupunki

www.facebook.com/voidcruiser
https://voidcruiser.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ArgonautaRecords/
www.argonautarecords.com

Void Cruiser, “I Didn’t Lie but I Know Now that I Should Have”

Finnish heavy rockers Void Cruiser have signed a deal to release their second full-length album this fall on Argonauta Records. The Helsinki four-piece are the latest in an apparently ongoing series of pickups for the Italian imprint, and their debut LP, Overstaying My Welcome — it would seem not — was issued in May 2015, running a line between heftier sonic burl and smooth desert-style fuzz. Guess we’ll see what the follow-up holds when we get there, but going from the last record, which you can hear below, it wasn’t like they didn’t have it figured out the first time around.

From the PR wire:

Argonauta Records New signing: VOID CRUISER

We are proud to welcome a new great band in the ARGONAUTA RECORDS family: VOID CRUISER, excellent Stoner/Desert Rock from Finland! The Void Cruiser crew united their sonic powers back in 2011 with the intention of combining the best parts of their favourite music to create the ultimate sound. Connected by friendship and love for the same bands, Vili, Teemu, Lassi and Santeri have achieved an earth tremoring soundscape seasoned with some juicy desert rock vibes. The first album “Overstaying My Welcome”, available here https://voidcruiser.bandcamp.com, was released in May 2015 and the scion of the much praised debut is underway.

The band says: “We are really stoked about starting this cooperation and Argonauta Records is definitely the right partner to attract the people who can relate into our forthcoming album made of melancholic, yet soul crushing heavy soundscapes. We really appreciate the support from Gero and there’s no doubt this pact between Void Cruiser and Argonauta Records will bring monumental things to the Universe.”

The forthcoming album will be released in Autumn 2016. Stay tuned!

Void Cruiser has always been there. Only now the crew have awakened from their cryogenic sleep and they are on a holy quest. A quest for groove and the massive resonance. Those who follow will find glory and rewards indescribable with mere words.

Void Cruiser:
Lassi – Bass
Teemu – Drums
Sante – Guitars & Vocals
Vili – Guitars

www.facebook.com/voidcruiser
https://voidcruiser.bandcamp.com/
www.argonautarecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/ArgonautaRecords/

Void Cruiser, Overstaying My Welcome (2015)