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\nFrench heavy psych trio PELEGRIN return with \u201cThe Curse Of Nephtar\u201d, a dense seven-track journey where desert-colored psychedelia, progressive structures and stoner-weight riffs move like heat over black stone. It is heavy without being blunt, mystical without disappearing into smoke, and easily their most ambitious record yet.<\/p>\n
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At the center of the album sits Nephtar, a mysterious black orb born in the depths of the prehistoric Tethys Ocean. Over time, its power reaches the surface and seduces humanity with the promise of abundance, only for that promise to twist into control, dependency and conflict.<\/p>\n
That story is more than fantasy decoration. PELEGRIN use it as an allegory for fossil fuels and the so-called resource curse \u2014 the paradox in which countries rich in oil and other valuable resources can end up less stable, less peaceful and more politically fractured than those without them.<\/p>\n
\u201cEons\u201d opens slowly, almost ceremonially, letting spoken word and atmosphere pull the listener into the world before the guitars begin to gather weight. \u201cSun and Blood\u201d is tighter and more immediate, with a harder pulse and one of the album\u2019s strongest hooks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the Company of Stars\u201d stretches past seven minutes and shows the band at their most expansive. Halima Joy\u2019s guest vocals add another dimension to the track, while the arrangement moves between dreamy psych, progressive tension and heavier riffing without ever sounding stitched together.<\/p>\n
\u201cDrawn to Nephtar\u201d brings the central concept closer to the surface, while \u201cPlenty\u201d carries a deceptive warmth before the darker implications of the story begin to settle in.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Price to Pay\u201d turns heavier and more ominous, and by the time \u201cBreak the Omen\u201d arrives, the album feels like it has reached its full gravitational pull. At nearly ten minutes, the closer drifts between atmosphere, spoken word, heavy riffing and a slow sense of collapse.<\/p>\n
PELEGRIN have always had a taste for Middle Eastern color, but here those elements are used more carefully and purposefully. They sit inside the music rather than on top of it, adding texture to a record that already draws from heavy psych, stoner rock, progressive rock and ambient sound design.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Curse Of Nephtar\u201d is not a record that throws riffs at the wall and hopes something sticks. It moves like a single story, gradually tightening the circle until the title stops sounding like fantasy and starts sounding uncomfortably familiar.<\/p>\n
Country: France
\nLabel: Ripple Music
\nGenre: Heavy Psychedelic \/ Stoner Rock \/ Progressive Rock
\nRelease date: September 4, 2026
\nFormat: CD \/ Vinyl \/ Digital
\nTotal time: 43:10<\/p>\n
Tracklist:
\n01 \u2013 Eons (05:16)
\n02 \u2013 Sun and Blood (03:59)
\n03 \u2013 In the Company of Stars (07:26)
\n04 \u2013 Drawn to Nephtar (05:01)
\n05 \u2013 Plenty (04:52)
\n06 \u2013 The Price to Pay (06:59)
\n07 \u2013 Break the Omen (09:37)<\/p>\n
Fran\u00e7ois Roze \u2013 Guitar, Vocals
\nJason Recoing \u2013 Bass, Sound Effects
\nAntoine Ebel \u2013 Drums, Percussion, Lyrics<\/p>\n
Guests:
\nNacim Virieux \u2013 Bass on \u201cIn the Company of Stars\u201d
\nHalima Joy \u2013 Guest Vocals on \u201cIn the Company of Stars\u201d
\nLizon Tijus \u2013 Spoken Word on \u201cEons\u201d and \u201cBreak the Omen\u201d<\/p>\n
Recorded by Arthur Lauth at Brown Bear Recording
\nMixed by Fran\u00e7ois Roze at Majortone
\nMastered by Kent Stump at Crystal Clear Sound
\nArtwork by Jo Riou<\/p>\n