Cowboys & Aliens - Finis Temporum
Polderrecords - 2026
Stoner
Rated: ****¼
To be honest: despite Hank Vanhee being one of my favorite singers in stoner rock, I've never been a huge fan of Cowboys & Aliens. I liked their 2002 album 'Love Sex Volume' best, but even that one lacked a bit of consistency in the songwriting department - some being a nice smack in the face, while others were kind of middle of the road. That's why I didn't expect much of their new album 'Finis Temporum', but man did they prove me wrong!
It opens right away with a high octane one-two punch ('Life Tree' and 'Rabbit Hole') that leaves you speechless, searching for ways to hop in your rundown car and gather some speeding tickets while chasing your own ghost on a dark and busy highway, headlights off, sunglasses on, driving in the wrong direction, trying to avoid the traffic coming at you at about 80 miles per hour.
Guess the speeding will work by attaching a rocket engine to your rusty old friend. Anyway, this is the way to start a record and after miraculously being able to come out alive at the other side of your fantasy, you notice the pace has dropped slightly during the next three tracks where even some grunge influences come seeping in. Not without risk, but it works perfectly. The songs are well written and lure you in with lots of bravado, virtual chest pumping included. Not in a cocky way, but with modesty and confidence that surpasses outward appearance. Check out 'Ordinary Bliss' for example - how the guitar melody detaches itself from the rhythm section to create an undertow, dragging you under and letting you wander through all the intricate parts, every nook and cranny, not leaving a square inch untouched.
And then there's that surprising ending. A splendid reworking of 'Asteroid Blast' that sends the best song of their 2000 album 'A Trip to the Stonehenge Colony' into an orbit around the earth, shaking hands with extraterrestrial life while looking down on that beautiful city of Bruges where four guys are celebrating the 30th anniversary of a band befittingly called Cowboys & Aliens with by far their best release to date. And how they are, despite the title being Latin for the end of times, still very much alive - hell, even more so than ever before.
(Written by Ronny Dijksterhuis)
Check out the first three singles right now and get ready for Friday the 13th... Cause that's when the new Cowboys & Aliens album Finis Temporum goes live!
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