Release Date: June 19th 2026. Record Label: Argounata Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
Vol II - Tracklisting
Vol II
Blu Bus feat. Sergio Ch.
Ritualism feat. Dome La Muerte
Liquid Brain
Kairot
La Muerte feat. Dome La Muerte
Amanita
Karpura
Members
Izio Orsini
Special Guests & Contributors
Dome La Muerte, Sergio Ch. (Los Natas), Marco Gambicorti (Rancho Bizzarro), Toto Barbato (The Cage, Snaporaz), Omar Tognotti, Giacomo Cerri (Vesta), Rosy Ninivaggi (Profanal), Valentina Erre, Jacopo Pannokkia, Filippo Del Bimbo (Supernaughty), Andrea Appino (Zen Circus), Mattia Cominotto (Green Fog Studio), Giacomo Vaccai.
Review
Psych/Desert Rock/Stoner Rock collective Bantoriak returns after an eleven year absence with their second imaginatively titled album “Vol II”. The record has a spectacular roster of guest musicians to help Izio Orsini, the creative mastermind behind Bantoriak, fully come to life. The album has a wonderfully rich and meaningful Space Rock and Cosmic attitude that acts as the main launchpad for Bantoriak to create music that spreads the vast Desert Rock sounds that come right at you from the very start.
Vol II has a free flowing narrative where the majority of the tracks follow their own creative path which isn’t surprising with the wide range of guest musicians contributing to the album. If you’re a fan of KYUSS, Yawning Man, Monster Magnet, Karma To Burn and Monkey3 then this album will have you fully covered with its trance induced extended instrumental jams. There is a deep Eastern mythology and folklore within the music which gives this record a very unique sound especially within the Ambient and Post-Rock elements that appear within the quieter stages of the record.
Bantoriak does play fast and loose with the rules of Heavy Psych and Stoner Rock with certain songs not following a straight forward narrative as such. However, this is one of the albums main strengths with the non-stop SONIC experimentation reminding me of the classic Monster Magnet record TAB. There’s similarities between TAB and VOL II with warped psychedelics and distorted Space Rock environments combining for a minor battle of SONIC WARFARE within the heaviest moments on the album.
There’s a layer of Prog Rock that allows the listener to immerse themselves even further as Bantoriak starts using Progressive themes and gloomy Droned Out melodies which is also deeply rooted in Seventies Psychedelic Rock surroundings. Sometimes the record can feel a bit overloaded but Bantoriak wisely takes a break to play a more stripped back style of Heavy Psych and Ambient Rock.
Standout tracks on the record for me are: Vol II, Blu Bus, Ritualism, Liquid Brain, Amanita and Karpura. As these tracks are the most focused with heaviest, trippiest and riff-centric on the whole album. Obviously SONIC EXPERIMENTATION and Psychedelic Distortion are the key elements that make this record really standout. There are vocals along the way and they only appear when they’re really needed. When they do appear, they’re mostly based on shamanic chants but it does give an air of mystery to the whole journey of Vol II.
Vol II does have a neverending supply of superb instrumental spaced out jams from start to finish which overlaps with other areas of the whole Desert Rock/Stoner Rock scene. There is a certain Tribal and Ritual presence which makes the whole journey richly rewarding and when Bantoriak is in his creative element then Vol II is in a league of it’s own especially when the sludgy guitars fully take control for brief moments of the album.
It may have been a long wait for Bantoriak to return with Vol II but this album has definitely been worth the wait which will no doubt go down a storm with the wider Stoner Rock community. This is another contender for Album Of The Year especially if you like your music that takes you on a massive journey across the COSMOS!!!
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Grand Sounds Promotion for the promo.
Vol II is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Argonauta Records.
Links
https://www.facebook.com/bantoriakDoom
https://www.instagram.com/bantoriak.ii/
