Cowboys & Aliens – Finis Temporum

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · April 1, 2026

Cowboys & Aliens is a stoner metal band from Bruges, Belgium. Formed in 1996, the quartet consists of Henk Vanhee on vocals, John Pollentier on guitar, Peter Gaelens on drums, and Tom Neirynck on bass. Their discography includes: 1997’s League of Fools, 2000’s A Trip to The Stonehenge Colony, 2002’s Love Sex Volume, 2005’s Language of Superstars, 2011’s Sandpaper Blues Knockout EP, 2013’s Surrounded By Enemies EP, 2019’s Horses of Rebellion, 2022’s Burn!, and their latest, 2026’s Finis Temporum. Finis Temporum was released on March 13th 2026 on Polderrecords. It contains six tracks at thirty two minutes long.

Cowboys & Aliens have been around for three decades now and for whatever reason, I never really followed them. Every song that I have heard has been decent but they never really stuck with me. The humongous pool of bands in the heavy underground is flooding me constantly with new artists and old ones that I am now discovering. Thirty years as a band is a long time and the variety of songs that I have heard from them, have all been great. I just think that they got lost in the shuffle and my interests have been elsewhere. Well, I am sorry that I missed out because Cowboys & Aliens are excellent! They pummel you with their heavy brand of stoner metal and Finis Temporum is fantastic! The album title translates to “the end of times”, a suitable description for a band that has nothing left to prove, to anyone.

“Life Tree” storms out of the gate with a crushing heavy metal malevolence of devastating riffs and great vocal melodies. The pounding drums and dense guitar tones are in full effect as Cowboys & Aliens are ready to take over the world. The massive production enhances these songs and brings them to a new level of power and brutality. They definitely have a strong metal sound and deliver a walloping of fuzzy tones with this lead off track. The second song, “Rabbit Hole” demolishes everything in its path! The heavy ripping rhythms and powerful vocals blaze forward with reckless abandon. Heavy grooves for days, “Rabbit Hole” is a bulldozing riff canyon of a song that keeps the energy in the red for the duration.

“Vengeance Of The Weird” starts off with the drums and totally annihilates with crushing riffs and killer grooves. The vocals sound great in an almost old school metal sort of way, soaring with high intensity and attitude. The chorus is catchy and infectious. The music has some cool accents and ferocious sharpness to the rhythms also. The guitar leads are viscous and the bass sounds thick and fuzzy. The next track called “Ordinary Bliss” branches out a little with the guitar harmonies and slower, more melodic vocals. The rhythm section is heavy and tight, giving the guitars free range to explore a bit but never out of context to the song. Henk Vanhee’s voice is great on all of these songs and his range and execution is fantastic.

The bass starts the next song called “Icy Grip” as the drums and guitars join right in. It has a stoner doom heaviness in the music, allowing the vocals to shine, especially on the chorus. The hook-laden melodies are a strong draw for Cowboys & Aliens, along with the massive riffs and dense production. The song has a dark feel about it which stands out from the complete annihilation of some of the other tracks.

The sixth and final song is called “Asteroid Blast”, which is a remake of one of their older songs. It originally appeared on their 2000 release, A Trip To The Stonehenge Colony. Being the longest track on the album, at just over eight minutes in length, it’s a great closing track. It’s the most stoner rock sounding song on Finis Temporum, and it’s great! The music is still very heavy but not as viscous and direct as some of the others. It favors a driving and uncompromising flow that forges blazing rhythms, powerful leads, and great percussive drum fills. The vocals once again are on point, giving the song a vibrant and engaging tone throughout. For a band that has been trudging along for so many years, there is no sign of slowing down on Finis Temporum. Cowboys & Aliens are in their prime and still delivering an ass kicking like no other! My only complaint about this record is that it is too short. Although, that is also an advantage to really jiving with these six songs and enjoying each of them to their fullest.