White Manna return for another chance to prove just how deep is their thrust. Dune Worship, the Arcata, California group’s sophomore album, follows in the vein of last year’s self-titled debut with another batch of primal, outward-bound jams that reek of eternity. 

“Transformation” channels prime-time Hawkwind, evoking that sense of zooming headlong in endless flight with your every atom buzzing. Like the best space-rock songs, it intensifies and ascends ever higher as it goes. “X-Ray”’s staunch, towering riffs are as foreboding as the next report from the EPA. This is White Manna’s idea of a power ballad… until it accelerates in the last minute and leaves you blissfully charred. The speedy yet smooth “I’m Comin’ Home” should be the recurring theme for that impossible sequel to Easy Rider, while the 10-minute “Illusion Of Illusion” simmers with astral, meditative menace. It’s a massive, billowing specimen of rock that glows like the earth’s inner core. Their most cosmic track, “Illusion” might be White Manna’s peak. The epic finale, “Solar Returns,” is as majestic and momentous of a climax as you’d expect from these profound pros, whose singleness of purpose remains irrepressible and righteous. 

White Manna return for another chance to prove just how deep is their thrust. Dune Worship, the Arcata, California group’s sophomore album, follows in the vein of last year’s self-titled debut with another batch of primal, outward-bound jams that reek of eternity. 

“Transformation” channels prime-time Hawkwind, evoking that sense of zooming headlong in endless flight with your every atom buzzing. Like the best space-rock songs, it intensifies and ascends ever higher as it goes. “X-Ray”’s staunch, towering riffs are as foreboding as the next report from the EPA. This is White Manna’s idea of a power ballad… until it accelerates in the last minute and leaves you blissfully charred. The speedy yet smooth “I’m Comin’ Home” should be the recurring theme for that impossible sequel to Easy Rider, while the 10-minute “Illusion Of Illusion” simmers with astral, meditative menace. It’s a massive, billowing specimen of rock that glows like the earth’s inner core. Their most cosmic track, “Illusion” might be White Manna’s peak. The epic finale, “Solar Returns,” is as majestic and momentous of a climax as you’d expect from these profound pros, whose singleness of purpose remains irrepressible and righteous.