It’s one of those albums that takes you into a cosmic, stargazing sequence, preparing you to become part of The Spacelords’ journey into the opening title track, ‘Uranus Omnibus Sanctus’. From the get-go, it becomes a meditative, psychedelic-metallic journey that nods to the late, great Manuel Göttsching and the first two Ash Ra Tempel albums on the Ohr label.
The Spacelords, formed in 2008, have spent nearly nineteen years unleashing nine studio albums, from their 2010 self-titled debut to 2026’s Uranus Omnibus Sanctus, along with two live albums released in 2013 and 2019. With Matthias “Hazi” Wettstein on guitar, Marcus Schnitzler on drums and percussion, and Ekhard “Akee” Kazmaier on bass, you never know what to expect. They carry on the space-rock voyages of early Pink Floyd and Hawkwind while embracing the darker, doom-laden aspects of early Black Sabbath and, of course, Ash Ra Tempel.
Their ninth studio album, Uranus Omnibus Sanctus, released through Tonzonen Records, puts you directly through the lens of Kubrick’s 2001, Ralph Bakshi’s Wizards, the illustrated stories of Heavy Metal, and the 2025–26 video-game worlds of Cronos: The New Dawn and CONTROL Resonant. The Spacelords are more than just a stoner-rock band; they continue the tradition of interstellar overdrives, kicking you in the gut while carrying the themes of the Sanctus universe.
‘Survive To Win’ puts you into a meditative trance, almost as if Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett, during his Barrett era, had teamed up with Ash Ra Tempel to create his own take on ‘Lazy’. Yet it remains rooted in a droning, nightmarish world, with vibrant organ tones turning into ominous synthesisers. The tension never lets up before Wettstein and Schnitzler go in for the kill, punching in their time and filling the air with spaced-out chants that drift into another dimension.
The fourteen-minute ‘Whales’ takes you beneath the surface into saltwater oceans, where you can watch these mammals rise from the rumbling depths. It feels like 1971 all over again before Schnitzler brings out the congas, channeling the late, great Klaus Schulze and filling the void around Wettstein’s reverb-soaked guitar effects. The tension builds like a knife against a minimal loop.
Closing out Sanctus is ‘On The Verge Of Delirium,’ a Frippertronic-meets-trip-hop excursion that takes you back to the Delerium label era, when psychedelic and progressive sounds were spreading into new territory. With echoes of Porcupine Tree’s On the Sunday of Life… and Ozric Tentacles woven into the mix, the track spreads like a wildfire through its droning sequences, making you feel as though the gods are calling you home to another planet.
Uranus Omnibus Sanctus is a cosmic getaway for the open road: deserted highways, heavier attitudes, and traveling at the speed of light. The Spacelords take you on one hell of a trip while carrying the spirit of Kosmische Musik and doom metal into unexplored territory.
