An album born out of adversity, heartache, loss and joy, World Maker, the third album by the Belgian psychedelic post-Metal trio Psychonaut, is something magnificent to behold. A sprawling fusion of styles and genres collide and gently ease through an hour in such monumental style that the only thing you will want to do is play it again.
Psychonaut – World Maker
Release Date: 24 October 2025
Words: Paul Hutchings
Building up a following through two impressive releases, 2020’s debut Unfold the God Man, followed by 2022’s Violate Consensus Reality, Psychonaut’s third album has been influenced by personal events which resonate with all of us.
An album that begins with the title track, a soaring uplifter complete with Rhodes organ and echoing vocals that promise and deliver, is centrally pinned by the euphoric collision of the blind fury of And You Came With Searing Light, initially the opening track but sensibly moved to defer impact through to the final reprise of the Ghesso Remix of Origins.
There is rage in Endless Currents, a barrage of staccato guitar taps which swing from ferocious blistering passages to much calmer, more restrained segments, which continues on You Are the Sky, dominated by a punchy groove of Thomas Michiels’s bass and a gorgeously repetitive riff intertwined with the rolling polyrhythms that make Psychonaut’s music distinctive. There are even echoes of Gojira lurking deep within.
Throughout World Maker, different instruments are woven in with a beauty and complexity that is inspirational. Free-jazz guitar work and Indian hand drums (tabla) create sonic soundscapes, providing a wider representation of the band’s challenges in their personal lives.
The free flow of Origins, with Harm Peters’ fantastic percussion and drumming, sees the band at their most powerful. Everything Else Is Just The Weather is a sweeping sonic revelry, a massive, brooding piece that slowly builds in the most dramatic fashion.
When you look deeper into the personal issues that the band experienced as album two was finishing, it is in many ways incredible that they have been able to produce such crafted art.
Having been able to focus once more on the band, the breadth of music is breathtaking.
Optimistic in many ways, tracks such as Stargazer, named because Dr Graef’s son was born in the stargazer position, inspire hope. Reassessing the important things in life, Psychonaut’s intentions here are clear: savour the beauty of now as a means of a legacy for the future.
Delicate in parts, destructively heavy in others, with sprawling breakdowns that span the album, World Maker is a work of impressive stature.
Help in the recording came from long-time collaborator and close friend Chiaran Verheyden (Hippotraktor), with help and advice from Psychonaut’s live engineer Victor. With artwork by close friend Sam Coussens of Belgian cosmic sludge Metallers Pothamus, World Maker is an album full of support.
The band play Damnation Festival in just a few weeks, and after this release, they might just top the list of bands to see in Manchester.
Psychonaut release World Maker on 24 October 2025 via Pelagic Records. You can pre-order the album at orcd.co/psychonaut-worldmaker. The band also play the Lexington in London on 8 November 2025.
