Release Date: October 17th 2025. Record Label: Heavy Psych Sounds. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
X-ÆON - Tracklisting
1.Voodoo Experience
2.Fractal Haze
3.The Death of the Crows
4.1976
5.Vers les Terres-Rouges (La Mort de la Terre)
6.Les Ferromagnétaux (La Mort de la Terre)
7.L'Eau Fugitive (La Mort de la Terre)
8.Dans la Nuit Éternelle (La Mort de la Terre)
Review
Psych/Stoner/Space Rock legends GIÖBIA return with their eighth full length album X-ÆON that once again sees the band rewriting the rules for everything Cosmic Rock related as they continue to weave surreal levels of heavy magnetic sounds throughout the album. The record has a more aggressive and sludgier attitude compared to their previous records with opening track Voodoo Experience also opting for a nightmarish tone.
GIÖBIA still maintain their synth heavy and sound effects style of melody with subtle flashes of Post-Rock, Shoegaze, Stoner Rock and Electronica beats fully coming into life on the next batch of tracks with Fractal Haze, The Death Of The Crows and 1976. The sense of musical adventure is strong with GIÖBIA as fractal Space Rock structures fragment into creepy guitars and gloomy synths that demonstrates how the band are writing their own unique style of Space Rock that simply cannot be matched or beaten.
There is a frenzied approach to GIÖBIA on this record which only amplifies or magnifies their music onto a different level of HEAVINESS that remains quite grounded despite the COSMIC atmospheres that’s being generated and played from every direction possible.
The vocals appear briefly throughout the album and only when they need to appear. As GIÖBIA seem content having minimal vocal interactions with their audience which they’ve done on previous records. Maybe having an album packed full of vocals would be too distracting for the band but it’s the right approach and gives a mysterious vibe and quality for X-ÆON.
The second half of the album is more experimental with GIÖBIA hitting upon classic themes and sounds from their earliest records but still striving for a modern creative vision on tracks such as Vers les Terres-Rouges (La Mort de la Terre) and L'Eau Fugitive (La Mort de la Terre) being two of the standout tracks on the album.
With a free-flowing narrative and musical expeditions that rely on jam-based instrumental melodies then it’s hard not to be taken with GIÖBIA’s fascination with parallel universes and secrets from the vast reaches of space. Though, you’re still treated to a classic style of Seventies based Psych Rock which then branches out into glitchy sounds of subtle paranoia and lyrics inspired by the likes of Philip K. Dick at times, especially on the excellent track 1976.
X-ÆON is another stellar and groundbreaking release from GIÖBIA that have earned their place as legends within the Psych/Space Rock scene. This album only solidifies that reputation and with masterful production values throughout the album which allows me to call this album as visionary, unique and absolutely MINDBLOWING.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo.
X-ÆON is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Heavy Psych Sounds.
Links
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