Bong Voyage – Hedonistic Hard Rock

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · June 9, 2026

Bong Voyage is a hard rock band from Oslo, Norway. They consist of Charlie Ytterli on vocals, Simen Andersen on guitar, Kim Grannes on guitar, Tobias Paulsen on drums, and Asbjørn Halsten on bass. They are somewhat of a supergroup featuring Charlie Ytterli and Kim Grannes from the band Håndgemeng and Tobias Paulsen from Suncraft. Hedonistic Hard Rock is their debut album, which was released on May 8th 2026 on Ripple Music. It contains nine tracks at forty minutes long.

I enjoy listening to good bands that don’t take themselves too seriously. Bong Voyage is a fun band that jokes about Satan and bongs but they actually sound really good. “Saturday Rite Special” starts off the album with a hard rocking blitz of classic seventies style hard rock, mixed with some NWOBHM. With lyrics like: “I was born in the city of Satan, I grew up listening to Iron Maiden”, how can you go wrong? The music has a softer and more melodic resonance on certain parts and also cranks out the fuzz on others. I definitely hear the Håndgemeng influences with some of these tracks and “Large And In Charge” is a cathartic and catchy number that will get you singing along “Sweet leaf marijuana!”. This is definitely entertaining music but it’s legit great!

“Uforia” and “One Hundred Million Billion Beers” keeps the party going. The vocals are a little shouty but melodic to fit nicely with the music. They incorporate layered backing vocals and a good variance of melodies and distortion. One of my favorites from Hedonistic Hard Rock is called “Escape Prison Planet Earth”. It has a sing-a-long chorus with some great music backing it up. It’s transitions nicely from heavy driving rock to more softer strumming and interplay.

“Outer Space Freebase” and “Enabler” are two other excellent tracks, circling in traditional rock with hints of Blue Oyster Cult and even Kiss. I really like how Bong Voyage serves up the rock, utilizing rhythmic playing with straight forward drumming. “Wizard Of Oslo” hits in the groove with head bobbing tones, marching drum beats, and some gang vocal melodies. The final track, entitled “In Possession”, finishes off this recording with a bouncy vigilance. Big, dual vocal attack corresponding to the rocking vibes that the music generates. The musicianship is stellar throughout this entire album and it’s easy for me to look past the delightful antics of the lyrics and amusing song titles. Bong Voyage is no doubt a fun band keeping things light but interesting, with their brand of Hedonistic Hard Rock permeating my ear holes with pure delight.