Kal-El – Astral Voyager, Vol. 1

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · Published June 4, 2025 · Updated June 4, 2025

Kal-El is a stoner rock band from Stavanger, Norway. The music is a combination of hard rock and heavy metal with fuzzed out elements of psychedelic, doom, and blues. Formed in 2012, the band has released six full length albums to date, including: 2013’s Pakal, 2015’s Ecosphere, 2017’s Astrodoomeda, 2019s Witches of Mars, 2021’s Dark Majesty, and their latest, 2025’s Astral Voyager, Vol.1. They also released three EPs including 2012’s Dark Moon Voyage (demo), 2015’s Cosmic Void, and 2023’s Moon People. The band has released many singles and songs for various compilations too and put out a live album, 2022’s Live At Sonic Whip. The current lineup of the band consists of: Bjørn Harald “Bjudas” Stornes on drums, Ståle “Captain” Rodvelt on vocals, Kristoffer “Doffy” Ranaweera on guitar, Joshua “Josh” Bisama on guitar, and Bjørn Olav Knutsen on bass. Astral Voyager, Vol.1 was released on May 16th 2025 on two labels, Blues Funeral Recordings and Majestic Mountain Records. It contains six tracks at forty two minutes long.

The buzz and anticipation for the latest Kal-El release was huge! The band recorded enough material to make two full albums. Astral Voyager, Vol.2 should be released later on in the year, which is fantastic! The Kal-El sound continues to develop and expand on each album and Astral Voyager, Vol.1 is no exception. These six tracks are absolutely amazing! I only discovered this band earlier this year but their music totally blew me away. I wrote an article about them highlighting their previous five albums (here). They have definitely had a big impact on me so far and this new album is completely amazing also.

Opening the album with the title track “Astral Voyager”, it’s a nine minute colossal piece of musical art! Beginning with clean guitars and waves of atmospheric psychedelia, the song takes you on a fascinating journey through space and time. The slow and elaborate build up sets the tone for the track to flourish and create such an amazing soundscape thereafter. The syncopated drum beats and fuzz dripping guitar sound paints the canvas for the vocals to decorate with their powerful brush strokes. The graceful flow of the rhythms and melodies are patient and palpable with Rodvelt’s high registered vocal prowess. The production on this album is absolutely superb! Heavy and thunderous drums, warm and distorted bass, capped off with fuzzy and electrifying guitars. The track ebbs and flows with flawless maneuvers of heavy fuzzed out riffs and gripping melodies, with blankets of heavy psych. The song smoothly floats and feels a lot shorter than the nine minute threshold.

“B.T.D.S.C” is the second track and it was the first single from the record. It stands for “Black Train Deep Space Caravan” and it totally rips! It has a nice and heavy riff rocking groove that destroys. The vocals are as exceptional as ever and carry the Ozzy essence to a whole new level. Musically, the band cements a driving force of solid riffs that coalesce into heavy mountains of rhythm and blissful melodies alike. They seamlessly combine both and also produce some scorching guitar leads with loads of heavy metal mastery. Another example of how skilled and dialed in the band is to the scores of excellent song crafting. The third track “Void Cleaner” kicks in next with a fuzzy and crushing groove. Pounding drumming and sludge stomping riffing with dazzling melodies throughout. Rodvelt’s voice is soaring and catchy in every line that is sung. The music has a mid tempo and punishing drive that makes the song sound so alive and animated.

The next track was the second single from Astral Voyager, called “Cloud Walker”. It begins a little mellow but quickly explodes into the dense fuzz. The pace of the song is a little slower but devastating when the full on distortion cranks in. Kal-El balances in the harmonies and melodies perfectly which further elevates the song magnificently as usual. “Dilithium” creeps in next, and it’s another rager! The powerful vocal expression and heavy slabs of riff domination is full on. Kal-El are not slowing down and continue to keep elevating their place as a premier force in the heavy underground music universe. They just keep upping the ante and pushing forward with such conviction and creativity. Every song on Astral Voyager, Vol.1 is a masterpiece!

The sixth and final track is called “Cosmic Sailor”, and what a captivating closing song it is! The fluid and detailed structure is why this band is so amazing. Everything merges perfectly together and you just get lost within the process. Heavy metal and hard driven rock has never sounded so good! Kal-El is on top of the stoner mountain, in my opinion. The hype about this band is fully deserved because they do desert rock, or whatever you want to call it, better than most. Definitely an album of the year top contender, for sure.