Hello Metalheads! This is John back with another early album review! This time I am pleased to bring to you Alchestronomy by Parius! The underground prog story tellers are back with their new concept on November 13, 2026.

I have to admit, I’ve had this album in my ears since it was announced a while back. Their previous album The Signal Heard Throughout Space from 2022 is easily one of my favorites from the last decade. If you enjoyed TSHTS or The Eldritch Realm from 2018, this is for you. This new story is about an alchemist and an astronomer trying to figure out a way to become immortal. Those two are the primary characters, but there are a few that appear throughout the story. I don’t want to spoil the story so make sure you go check this out when it is released!

There are so many cool moments in just about every track on Alchestronomy, but their are two that need to bring you in this review. They actually happen to both be in the track Equivalent Exchange. The first is right at the beginning of the track and relates to the song Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds. It starts right at the :48 mark, the melody that is being sung has a striking resemblance to the main melody in Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, with just a little distinction to make it unique. I actually reached out to Louis the vocalist from Parius to pick his brains about and he confirmed that he kind of heard it too. He then said he changed the timbre of the next time the melody is brought back to almost quote Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. This was such a cool detail!

The other passage from Equivalent Exchange starts at 3:40, this is a an appearance from a different character in the story! They are discussing how Alchemy can have its consequences and how it is against its laws and knowledge to become immortal. The back and forth of these characters and how Louis slightly changes his voice to differentiate these two, is really impressive and just an overall nice touch. After the exchange of these character, this truly is where the disagreement between The Astronomer and The Alchemist reaches an impasse and the story shifts.

So overall on my personal rating scale, I would give Alchestronomy a very easy 10/10. The musicianship is fantastic as always all the way around and the stories concept is executed perfectly. This will be way, way up album of the year and will be in constant rotation for a long time. Parius have once again outdone themselves and continue to weave their stories in a gripping way with some great emotion. The conclusion of this story really hit me really hard every time I’ve listened to the album. I can hear the desperation and wanting at the end. If you enjoy this as much as I do, don’t forget to stream and even buy this new album. As always links will be below!

https://www.instagram.com/pariusband?exln=MXFseHg0d3puOHd0Yg==

https://www.facebook.com/share/1DT9qo9GmK/?mibextid=wwXIfr

https://music.apple.com/us/album/alchestronomy/6805555953

https://open.spotify.com/album/1uL5pd8xPNQEhiN3McAVdF

https://parius.bandcamp.com/album/alchestronomy