Release Date: 23rd February 2024. Record Label: The Sign Records. Formats: DD/Vinyl
Point Of No Return - Tracklisting
1.One Thousand Sighs
2.The Sun
3.A Distant Shore
4....of Laughter and Cries
5.Things Have Changed
6.Search Eternal
Members
Andreas Kaján – Guitars and Vocals
Martin Ahlö – Guitars and Vocals
Jonas Ridberg – Bass
Joel Kronqvist – Drums
Review
Heavy Psychedelic Stoner Rockers Craneium return with their new album Point Of No Return which sees the band continue to evolve with their Spaced Out Heavy and Cosmic sounding grooves which became quite prominent on their acclaimed 2021 album Unknown Heights. This time round Craneium delivers a heavier and darker style of music that retains a vital Psychedelic creative energy which sees the band deliver similar SONIC sounds to bands such as King Buffalo, ELDER and Monolord whilst still creating their own great style.
The album is quite conceptual dealing with the effects of Climate Change, Global Warming and who will be left to look after the planet. So the album is quite topical with Craneium delivering that message very early on within the standout opening tracks of One Thousand Sighs and The Sun. The music is brilliantly melodic with flashes of FUZZY and DOOMED out dominance which works amazingly well with the band’s uplifting Psychedelic Stoner Rock energy with great vocals to match.
Both of the opening tracks feel like two different sides of the same coin with One Thousand Sighs being more Heavy Psychedelic sounding and The Sun being more Post-Doom based with some epic instrumental moments being heard throughout both tracks. This allows Point Of No Return to easily be part of the “DOES IT DOOM” category very early on.
Craneium provide a wide cinematic scope to their music which comes primarily into play on the next batch of tracks with A Distant Shore, ….of Laughter And Cries and Things Have Changed being quite emotional when the music switches to a more 1970’s Prog Rock direction and the hard hitting lyrics delivering a few home truths about where the planet maybe headed. The music is beautifully melodic and superbly played with the atmosphere being most Post-Rock orientated but Craneium knows when to deliver the knockout Psychedelic Stoner Rock punch that also brings the heaviest grooves on the album.
The record does have an excessive Sludge Rock attitude on the later stages with Craneium cranking up the distorted sound to the max which should appeal to folks who like their music VERY LOUD.
Point Of No Return ends with the thrilling and emotionally charged Search Eternal where Craneium delivers a winning finale with different movements of Heavy Psychedelic and Stoner Rock passages which leave you feeling emotionally satisfied.
This is easily Craneium’s most technically impressive record to date with the amount of great sounds that appear throughout. This allows Point Of No Return to be considered their most defining work to date and easily an Album Of The Year contender.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Almost Religious for the promo..
Point Of No Return will be available to buy on DD/Vinyl via The Sign Records from February 23rd 2024. Stockists listed below:
Almost Religious label group (The Sign Records / Lövely Records / Gaphals) is distributed by:
Proper - UK, Ireland V2 - Benelux, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France Bertus - Spain, Portugal Audioglobe - Italy Heathen Natives - Greece Border / Red Eye - Nordics, Rest of Europe MVD - North America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand The Orchard - Digital/Streaming
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