With their forthcoming album trilogy, the heavy progressive trailblazers in Stoned Jesus are reaching a new creative peak. After topping best of 2025 lists with its scorching opener, Songs to Sun, this year, frontman Igor Sydorenko and his bandmates are cycling into the darkest, most daring and deeply moving territory of their career with Songs to Moon.

Today, Stoned Jesus are thrilled to release the album’s mini prog opera as the second advanced single from Songs to Moon. While hounded by grim hopes for the future, the wily “Jackal” will leave progressive rockers of all stripes pleasantly surprised.

“‘Jackal’ is Stoned Jesus at our most theatrical. Even though the time signature is 4/4 through and through, it’s the proggiest song on Songs to Moon”, Sydorenko says before adding. “Bonus challenge for all the true prog nerds. See if you can find the early Marillion line that I quoted word for word”.

Watch the video for “Jackal” below:

Songs to Moon comes out October 16, 2026 on Season of Mist.

Pre-order

https://orcd.co/stonedjesussongstomoon

Pre-save on Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/prerelease/3eaQK0xSDe91fH92dLiMel?utm_source=copy-link

The Songs trilogy spans the many phases of Stoned Jesus. While an existential shroud hung over Songs to Sun, Songs to Moon plunges the band into a dark night of the soul. Like the bogeyman, “Jackal” stalks through a house of horrors. “In the darkness of the future past”, Sydorenko whispers over drums that rattle like Alice in Chains on Jar of Flies. “Hear me walking over skulls and dust”. Behind each locked door lies a disturbing scene that one expects to find when reading Aldous Huxley or George Orwell.

“Lyrically, the question that ‘Jackal’ poses is pretty much on the nose”, says Sydorenko. “When you sell your soul for comfort, what kind of future do you get in return?”.

But even though Songs to Moon is their most melancholic album, Stoned Jesus can’t be confined to just one shade of blue. As shadows often do, “Jackal” shifts its shape in the blink of an eye. “Go to sleep”, Sydorenko commands before kicking down the doors with the album’s heaviest - and funkiest - blues riff. The facts of the matter are grim (“No money, no future, no reason to fight”), but the song’s epic symphonic coda builds a clear case that for Stoned Jesus, both the present and future are blazingly bright.

The video for “Jackal” was created by Phobia Artworks.

Catch Stoned Jesus this fall as they debut Songs to Moon on European stages.

Stoned Jesus 2026 European Festival Dates

October 30 - Vallet, France @ WeStill Fest [TICKETS]

Following in the steps of Led Zeppelin III, Opeth’s Damnation or Alice In Chain’s Jar of Flies, during its final lap, Songs to Moon strips down to acoustic guitar and Sydorenko’s hushed vocals. “And when the sun goes down / It brightens up my mood”. As the dreamy desperation of “Window In My Room” fades beneath the stark reminder of closer “One More Empty Day”, Stoned Jesus return to earth weary but wise beyond their years and ready to explore the next frontier.

Recording Lineup
Igor Sydorenko - Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards
Andrew Rodin - Bass, Backing Vocals
Yurii Ciel - Drums, Backing Vocals

Live Lineup

Igor Sydorenko - Vocals, Guitar

Andrew Rodin - Bass, Backing Vocals

Ihor Biriuchenko - Drums, Percussion

Production Credits
Producer - Igor Sydorenko
Sound Engineer - Andy Rosczyk

Mixing and Mastering Engineer - Karl Daniel Lidén

Recording Studio

Goblin Sound Studio in Cologne, Germany

Mixing and Mastering Studio

Studio Tri-Lamb, Sweden

Cover Art
Vadym "Karaska" Karasiov

Follow Stoned Jesus
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/stonedjesusband
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/artist/stoned-jesus/396799004
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/23lyMLxYNPS15hpVvFNptR
Instagram: instagram.com/stonedjesusband
Facebook: http://facebook.com/stonedjesusband
Twitter: twitter.com/stonedjesusband
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@stonedjesusband
YouTube: youtube.com/c/StonedJesus
Bandcamp: stonedjesus.bandcamp.com

After 15 years of trailblazing across doom metal, grunge, psychedelic and art rock, no height is too steep a climb for Stoned Jesus. The heavy progressive rockers are reaching a new creative peak with their forthcoming album trilogy. Its opening chapter, Songs to Sun, rose atop best of 2025 lists at Doom Charts, Rock Hard, The Obeliskand other critical institutions. Now, frontman Igor Sydorenko and his two bandmates are cycling into the darkest, most daring and deeply moving territory of their career with Songs to Moon.

“We started The Songs trilogy last year with Songs to Sun, which is a loud and heavy album that’s big on choruses and meaty riffs” Sydorenko says. “While still heavy and catchy, Songs to Moon follows a similar trajectory to Led Zeppelin III, Opeth’s Damnation or Jar of Flies by Alice In Chains. The songs are recognizably Stoned Jesus, but they are bolder, more haunting and introspective than anything we’ve done before”.

Today, Stoned Jesus are announcing Songs to Moon with a ‘90s-style music video for the album’s lead single. While floating endlessly amidst uncertainty, the doomgaze of “Velvet” hits hard with one of the band’s biggest hooks.

“This song answers the question: What if Nirvana was shoegaze?”, Sydorenko teases.

Watch the music video for “Velvet” below:

Songs to Moon comes out October 16, 2026 on Season of Mist.

Pre-order

https://orcd.co/stonedjesussongstomoon

Pre-save on Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/prerelease/3eaQK0xSDe91fH92dLiMel?utm_source=copy-link

The Songs trilogy spans all phases of Stoned Jesus. Like dusk, Songs to Moon opens in the shadow of Songs to Sun. Previously released single “Under the Skin” plunged the band into a dark night of the soul with loud and heavy slabs of post-metal.

Songs to Moon discovers a more introspective side to Stoned Jesus, “I’ve noticed that in a lot of our songs, the narrator is either falling or starting to lose the ground under their feet”, Sydorenko says. “When writing ‘Velvet’, I asked myself, what’s next? What do I want to find once I reach the bottom? Or do I just want the fall to go on forever”.

Even on their most melancholic album, Stoned Jesus can’t be confined to just one shade of blue. With its grungy riffs and grainy video treatment, “Velvet” would slide into heavy rotation on MTV’s 120 Minutes. “Where will I end up / I never know”, Sydorenko sings with cool remove. As steadily pounding drums, harsh backing vocals from bassist Andrew Rodin and Sydorenko’s howling guitar solo push the song to the brink, it’s loud and clear that the band are only going up from here.

The video for “Velvet” was created by Mykyta Donets.

Catch Stoned Jesus this summer on the European festival circuit.

Stoned Jesus 2026 European Festival Dates

August 8 - Rome, Italy @ Roma Stone Fest [TICKETS]

August 20 - La Maroutière, France @ V and B Fest [TICKETS]

August 29 - Teramo, Italy @ Suburbiae Festival [TICKETS]