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Hadal Sherpa — Void Weaver
(Bandcamp no#, 2025, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-06-17

Void Weaver Cover art

Back in early 2018 when I reviewed Hadal Sherpa’s self-titled debut (from the previous year), I was amazed with their blend of hard edged jam band ethic loosely informed by Middle Eastern ethnic sounds. At that point I was hoping that they would be back with a second helping soon, not expecting a six year wait, but what the heck, sometimes follow-ups take longer than expected; Void Weaver is the band’s second offering, and one that was certainly worth the wait. There have been some changes in band personnel in the years between, but the key players are still in place. Multi-instrumentalist and composer Vesa Pasanen is still in the driver seat, playing bass, lead and rhythm guitar, synthesizer, oud, saz, and percussion, along with rhythm guitarist Ville Kainulainen and drummer Ilja Juutilainen. Right there is one hell of a power trio, but add Pi Vuana on flute and vocals (oh no, not vocals...) to complete the quartet — and don’t worry too much about the vocals, they are of the wordless variety and as far as I can hear only appear on two tracks “Farum Azul,” and the title track, both brutal assaults on the senses by any measure, although the title cut is a bit more dreamy, like a Saharan desert fantasia caravan reaching for a shimmering oasis in the way beyond. Throughout the album’s five tracks, they have solidly retained their Middle-Eastern flavor with the use of oud and saz (but no bouzouki this time), and the longer length of these tracks lend themselves to more of an open-ended jammy feel, where uber-psychedelic is the trippy king. I can only imagine how powerful this material might be in a live setting. The album opener “Summoning” quickly sets the stage for all that comes after, being a bit reminiscent of Saucerful era Floyd at times, though with an Arabian twist, while its follow-on “Abyssal Gazers” ratchets up everything that makes this band a monstrous powerhouse, including the amazingly tight interplay between bass and drums. But it’s the twelve and a half minute closer “Astravar” that makes the six year wait worthwhile — it’s really two songs in one package, the first half is a fast-paced jam will leave the listener’s head spinning, then everything collapses around seven minutes in, and a new version of the same jam picks up from there. It will leave the listener stunned and breathless when all is done. 

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Hadal Sherpa

More info
http://youtu.be/BDNhYirK374
http://hadalsherpa.bandcamp.com/album/void-weaver

 

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