On their fourth album released September 8, 2023 "Sonic Moons", Sweden's DOMKRAFT set forth on a voyage into the inner cosmos, riding their fuzz-driven, psychedelic riff-doom through the galactic psyche and into alternate metaphysical realities, all in search of escape, respite, and release. Formed through a mutual love of blends of towering dirges, mind-bending psychedelia, and hypnotic minimalism, they channel their musical influences from bands like SPACEMEN 3, MONSTER MAGNET, SLEEP, and HAWKWIND. Switching to a slightly heavier and meaty sound than on the previous three releases "The End of Electricity," (2016), “Flood” (2018) and “Seeds” (2021), they (in their own words) “blast through the escape hatch to the emotionally charged inner spaces of the mind, soaring through fantastic new solar systems toward unexplored musical planets and embark on the intergalactic journey”. Excuse me for a minute while I change into a tie-dyed tee-shirt and grab some gummies.

I’m gonna start this review right off by stating that “Sonic Moons” was a long, hard listen. I must admit I was expecting a groovy head trip into the celestial bodies and glistening stars from the band’s musical self-description, what I got was a headache and did something I never do, turned the volume down…...way down.

The album is just under fifty-minutes of unorthodox, tedious, harsh and doom-laden riffs paired with anguished, possessed vocals. “Whispers” started out promising with nice hard core melodic riffs but soon the head pounding drum and bass beat had me reaching for the Advil. “Stellar Winds” is slow paced and prodding tempo that almost put me in a hallucinogenic  trance despite some nice fuzzy, distorted guitar licks spewed in sporadically. A screaming death march of loud and boisterous vocals dominate “Magnetism”. I really can’t say too much of a difference in the next three heavily distorted and muddy songs “Slowburner”, “Downpour” and  “Black Moon Rising”, other than the over-the-top screams and yells just make for disturbingly wild and uneven ride. Sad to say, but I was so happy as the last chord hit on “The Big Chill” drawing an end to this ear piercing, nerve racking obscure album.

Well, the gummies didn’t help! “Sonic Moons” was loud, dissonant, and assaulting on my ear drums.  Each song labored on and on with a mish mosh of incoherent and tortured screams and howls overriding the edgy riffs and “finger nails on the blackboard” mixture of sounds.