The Third Eye

Astral Construct is a fuzz-driven psychedelic space rock act from Colorado Springs, Colorado, created by Drew Patricks. Drew is motivated by a fascination with creating music for the listener to get lost in and travel to where the mind takes them. Astral Construct’s music is intended to paint the heavy and the dark “and the colors that brighten the fringes of the void.”

I’ve followed Astral Construct closely since his 2021 debut album, Tales of Cosmic Journeys, and he’s now set to release his sophomore effort, Traveling to a Higher Consciousness, on August 25th. Fans of Elder, King Buffalo, Russian Circles, and Eathless should eat this album up and take it on trips into deep space with them. Astral Construct is ready for lift-off.

About Traveling to a Higher Consciousness

This new album continues Drew’s theme of space exploration and the sense of isolation but shows a clear progression from his debut album. Along with the bands mentioned above, the music should appeal to a diverse collection of fans who appreciate Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Tool, and Rush.

Astral Construct’s first album, Tales of Cosmic Journeys, enjoyed a ton of success on internet radio, blogs, and podcasts in the heavy underground, and this new record will be highly anticipated. In early 2022, Astral Construct and Aiwass combined to release Solis in Stellis as a fundraiser for the National Scleroderma Foundation. 

The Songs

The five-track album begins with “The Heart of the Nebula,” which is eight-plus minutes long. Spacey, new-age sounds start the song, but it soon breaks in with a heavy, meaty riff. The celestial sounds never quite go away, bringing brightness to an otherwise bruising track. I imagine Drew played all the instruments, as Astral Construct seems like a solo project. This type of musicianship never ceases to amaze me.

“The Heart of the Nebula” also has a distinctive Tool feel in the guitar tones, and after lowering the boom midway through, it lumbers back in with a wall of fuzzed-out guitar that riff-heads everywhere should enjoy. The guitar playing later in the track is bluesy but also psychedelic, using experimental techniques to mimic the traveling to higher planes of cosmic consciousness.

“Accessing the Mind’s Eye” is a bit shorter at over six minutes. In the beginning, the whine of the guitar reminded me of Iron Maiden, which never really stops throughout the track. This song is a banger to turn up as loud as possible to get the full dose of heavy psychedelia. The drumming is also intense, energetic, and full-throttle from start to finish, getting more intense as the song builds to a satisfying conclusion.

The song flows seamlessly into “Traveler,” continuing the same general riff but seeing Drew follow it into new possibilities. He kicks the hell out of the bass drum and lets his guitar do the talking, flowing on a heavy cosmic journey. The guitar doesn’t gently weep but more so screams in the isolated agony of space. 

The cool thing is that “Traveler” feels like such a natural progression of the previous song that it becomes a lengthy two-part jam fest. Another thing I noticed is that the guitar is so emotive that it almost doubles as vocals on the instrumental track. The best instrumental music can do that.

“Long View of Astral Consciousness” has a definite Tool vibe and is one of the more meditative tracks on the album. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t rock, though. This one has a more varied soundscape, with synth sounds (from what I could tell), a more noticeable bass, and more intricate guitar playing. This song is like an oil painting with all the colors that deep space can bring, with its star systems, constellations, exploding nebulae, and gaseous planets.

“Interstellar” closes the album with a bang – or Big Bang, I guess we should say. It’s nearly nine-and-a-half minutes of some of the best fuzzed-out stoner/heavy psych rock you’ll hear this year. The echoing effect of the guitar brings Tool to mind once again, but the synth lingering in the background may remind you of Elder. Once again, the drums are hard-driving and furious, keeping the volume high amid the spacey sounds. “Interstellar” reaches for the heavens, an epic track for all your space and time travel adventures. You’ll feel light years away in a different galaxy when the song’s done.

Final Thoughts

Astral Construct takes a huge artistic leap with this new album, which should be very much welcome by stoner and heavy psych fans. Drew uses every paintbrush and color on the palette to paint vivid heavy, psychedelic pictures full of mood changes and tempo swings. While the album is heavy like an anvil, there are enough touches of light and brightness to mix things up and present a pleasing sonic journey.

Mark your calendars now for Traveling at a Higher Consciousness by Astral Construct, and in the meantime, check out Drew’s debut album, Tales of Cosmic Journeys. Traveling to a Higher Consciousness is likely a release that stoner/heavy psych/fuzz-rock fans won’t want to miss, and August 25th can’t come soon enough for this excellent new record.

Support Astral Construct by finding him on Bandcamp or social media (Instagram, Facebook).

Parting words: “The universe is a pretty big place. If it’s just us, seems like an awful waste of space.” – Carl Sagan