Black Moon Cult – Ophidian Future (The Children Of Yig)

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · October 6, 2025

Black Moon Cult is hard stoner rock/ heavy psych/ and progressive doom band from Toledo, Ohio. They consist of Kaleb M. Riser on vocals, guitar, synth, and electric sitar, Kevin Lewis on vocals, bass, keyboard, and pipe organ, and Jeff Vandebussche on vocals, and drums. They just released their debut album called Ophidian Future (The Children of Yig) on September 5th 2025. The record was mixed and mastered by the legendary TonyReed (Mos Generator, Pentagram, Big Scenic Nowhere, etc.) and came out on Black Doomba Records. It contains six tracks at thirty nine minutes long.

As the synth and guitar drifts into orbit, “Moonchild Ritual” ignites the recording with an eclectic mix of atmospheric, prog, and doom. As the riff takes form with fuzz and wah pedal action, the marching snare drums and epic rhythms reside. Black Moons Cult cultivates a stoner rock ethos blended with an assortment of different styles and sounds. The song has a riff centric tone that evaporates into ambience and back again. The hard driving rhythms are more pronounced due to the sonic transitions between the two different dynamics. “Supernova” captures more of the cosmic riffing with an overlaying of doom throughout. The flange guitars give the song a progressive and psychedelic twist also. The vocals are cohesive with a raspy and high evil expression. Ophidian Future (The Children of Yig) Is a comprehensive journey into doom without the run of the mill boredom that can be prevalent in some styles. There’s plenty of exciting variance within these songs that keep them very appealing.

The title track begins with clean guitars that build into a platter of riffs and distortion. The crunchy rhythms are backed with punchy percussion and diabolical vocals. The eight minute track has a plethora of hammering grooves and aggression. They are enhanced with scores of clean guitar movements and a bass break halfway through to further drive home the heaviness. The band does a great job working both ends of the musical spectrum. “Sunfish” plows into the heavy rhythms with hazes of smoke and heavy psych. The songwriter is solid with these six tracks, as Black Moon Cult lays down the groundwork for writing and producing a high quality album. “At The Mountain Of Madness’ is guitar driven mostly and utilizes a catchy chorus melody. This song will soon be stuck in your head. The thrashy rhythms are met with excellent leads and more flourishes of heavy psych. The Sabbath influences shine on this one, even in the vocal department. It’s a solid track that sets the listener up for the grand finale.

The sixth and final track on the album, is my favorite and the most introspective and engaging of the bunch. “Stoned Ape” has all the ingredients for formulating a kick ass song. The band dropped this single a month or so before the release, and it’s terrific! I hear seventies vibes like Thin Lizzy and some NWOBHM too. The song has a really great flow and diversity, but structured brilliantly. The psychedelic beginning into the massive doom riffage is monstrous. It has a memorable thrash driven chorus with backing vocals and the whole nine yards. The bluesy guitar leads, intricate bass tones,and the heavy drumming is the total package. “Stoned Ape” is an exceptional piece of audio expression that really showcases the talents and vibe of the band. Being the longest cut on the record, nineteen seconds shy from nine minutes long, it’s a sonic journey into the vast history of heavy music.

Black Moon Cult was all the rage before this album even dropped, based on the band’s touring and impact the music has had on unsuspecting listeners. The more times I hear this, the better it gets. Ophidian Future (The Children of Yig) is worthy of the hype and they are in fact a real band and not AI generated, as some rumors suggested. They have really impressed me with this debut and I can only imagine to where their sound will transcend in the future.