The Third Eye

If you like psychedelic music on the heavy stoner end, I’ve got a band for you to check out: Alconaut. The group was formed in 2016 with Antoine-Joseph Marini on drums, Georges Agostini on guitars, vocals, and harmonica, and Kevin Albertini on the bass. They create their music in their hometown of Bastia in France, starting as a cover band and playing the songs of classic stoner rock acts like Sleep, Fu Manchu, The Sword, and Mars Red Sky. (Their logo sure does look similar to the font used by Sleep!)

Alconaut eventually progressed to writing their own songs, releasing their debut album in 2019, Sand Turns to Tide. The group dropped their second album earlier this year (May 12th) – the killer nine-track stoner rock record Endless Skies. This second album sets a darker mood than the debut, with themes revolving around self-reflection while digging deeper into the universe created in their first album. Their drummer, Antoine-Joseph, makes all of the killer artwork for the band.

Speaking of the first album, Alconaut created an immersive concept of a fantastic universe made of colossal mastodons hammering the dunes of the desert transported by a sand whale or furious biker speeding across the mountains of their world. But the central theme is the Alconaut, found in the song “Space Controller,” who’s a space explorer roaming the universe looking for every alcoholic drink that exists. So metal!

I didn’t get much chance to dig into Sand Turns to Tide, but I did listen extensively to Endless Skies, and it’s a great piece of fuzzed-out stoner rock madness. “Slugs” begins the album in earnest with the type of grooved-out stoner sludge that makes Weedian fans go berserk, followed by more crunchy rock riffage in “Lost.” Georges’ vocals are baritone screams but not in a full-throttle death metal way, which is a plus.

The middle of the album includes a trilogy of songs: “The Ascending I: The Departure,” “The Ascending II: Journey,” and “The Ascending III: Endless Skies.” The trio of tracks shows Alconaut in its world-building style, developing their creative comic-book-like universes within the album. “The Departure” is more subdued, still containing plenty of hard-rocking but with the band in a more reflective place. “The Journey” is the longest of the three pieces at nearly eight minutes, continuing the epic feel of the album. The sound is crushingly heavy but also cinematic in scope, highlighting some excellent musicianship. The title track – “Endless Skies” – ends the mid-album trilogy grandly.

The back half of the album wraps things up with “Icarus Down,” “Gelmir’s Path,” and “Earthbound.” “Icarus Down” and “Gelmir’s Path” are both heavy-duty songs that, while not sounding too different from the rest of the tracks, still provide the meaty riffage stoner rock fans crave. “Earthbound” provides more finesses, a perfect, brief closer that even contains somewhat of a chorus of vocals behind the terrific, extended guitar soloing.

Overall, Endless Skies by Alconaut is a great stoner-rock listening experience with psychedelic touches on the heavier side. The album was released in May, so I missed this one, but I’m glad the band emailed me to let me know about it. Weedian fans and those who closely follow The Doom Charts should thoroughly enjoy this one, though I’m guessing they may know about it already. After all, the album secured the #3 spot on the May 2023 Doom Charts. Enjoy!

Check out Endless Skies by Alconaut on Bandcamp here.

Support Alconaut by finding them on Bandcamp or see all of their links here.

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