Release Date: June 12th 2026. Record Label: Majestic Mountain Records. Formats: DD
Arcane Desert Rituals Vol. 2 - Tracklisting
1.Sumerian Nights
2.Lord Of The Rust
3.The Nothingness
4.A Crack In The Void (The Empty Hand pt. 2)
Members
Vocals/Guitars: Giuseppe Guarini
Bass: Francesco Pensato
Drums/Synths: Piero Schiavone
Special Guest:
Anna Carla Del Prete: cello on “Sumerian Nights” intro
Review
Doom/Stoner Metallers King Potenaz returns with Arcane Desert Rituals Vol. Two which is being released a year after the critically acclaimed first volume was released to the world. That record showed how King Potenaz leaned heavily into the Cosmic, Occult and Space Rock vortex of the Doom/Stoner Metal world. Volume 2 takes up a similar journey with King Potenaz playing even more lucid and strange Psychedelic sounds with a fine level of distorted paranoia appearing within the epic opening track of Sumerian Nights.
There’s a sense of mystery that builds up behind the scenes which allows the band to be more focused and perhaps leaning into the Sludge Rock aspects of their overall sound. The music can be slightly fractured and disjointed compared to Volume One but there’s a familiar distorted flow that holds everything together. Sometimes the atmosphere can be cautiously slow with long drawn out instrumental passages especially with the intense down tuned FUZZ based grooves.
King Potenaz dictate their music with real doomed out precision with a chainsaw effect developing within the thrilling and highly cinematic second track Lord Of The Rust. Taking small inspiration from the likes of KYUSS, SLEEP, MONOLORD and BLACK SABBATH for small parts of the record, there’s a subtle Punk Rock ethic appearing with how the vocals and melodies are fully delivered. The amplified movements have a classic Seventies and Nineties feeling that manifests into some epic bursts of Doom, Stoner and Cosmic Metal that pull no punches with how HEAVY the whole record becomes.
The album has an infinite amount of different sounds and trippy effects that constantly overlap each other which remind me of SLOMATICS and UFOMAMMUT in places. The final two tracks of The Nothingness and A Crack In The Void (The Empty Hand pt. 2) once again sees King Potenaz bring a heavier, violent and apocalyptic sound to the party with areas of Progressive themes becoming quite dominant and perhaps at the forefront of how the band deliver their music.
With the band willing to experiment with melody, tones and textures on Volume Two, there’s some excellent use of Post-Doom, Post-Stoner and Ambient structures which really transports the listener into the far reaches of the Occult World and even beyond into the Cosmic domain. With rich storytelling aspects appearing within the lyrics, the vocals are delivered superbly by Giuseppe Guarini once again. The later stages of Volume Two can be quite “out there” with Giuseppe sounding like he’s been possessed by an evil entity but the Space Rock themes allows everything to be quite over the top and brilliantly outlandish. Though, there’s a sense of grounded realism that still manages to be one of the albums main strengths.
There’s plenty of outstanding riffs, grooves and instrumental sounds for listeners to sit back and enjoy the wild cinematic ride that Volume Two contains. Once again the album has been recorded by Stefano Manca and with Marc Urselli handling mixing and mastering duties. It was this winning combination that made Volume One such a great record to listen to and they pull off the same incredible work here.
Majestic Mountain Records are once again on board by releasing the album and once again proving why they’re one of the best labels currently out there alongside the likes of Ripple Music, Heavy Psych Sounds, Argonauta Records, Blues Funeral Recordings and Magnetic Eye Records.
Arcane Desert Rituals Vol.2 is an absolute triumph and closes this magnificent two part musical adventure on a complete high. What more could you possibly want!!!
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Viral Propaganda PR for the promo.
Arcane Desert Rituals Vol.2 is available to buy now on Digital Download via Majestic Mountain Records.
https://www.facebook.com/KingPotenaz666
https://www.instagram.com/kingpotenaz666
https://kingpotenaz.bandcamp.com