EPK – The Astral Prophets – Invasion (2026)
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
“We wanted to bring an album that improves upon our already unique style. During our EP, we started to dial in our sound, but now we are delivering an LP in our full form. We brought the music back to our heavier roots. The riffs are stronger. The leads are melodic and smooth. The drums are driving, and Staci’s singing is more ballsy! Every song is amazing in its own right, and we couldn’t be prouder of them.” – The Astral Prophets
For fans of Amaranthe, Clutch
Band Name: The Astral Prophets
Album Title: Invasion
Release Date: October 23, 2026
Label: Self-Release
Genre: Power Groove
Location: Calgary, AB, Canada
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Band Name: The Astral Prophets
Album Title: Invasion
Release Date: October 23, 2026
Label: Self-Release
Genre: Power Groove
Location: Calgary, AB, Canada
Track Listing:
1. Target Locked – 4:24
2. Power of the Rift – 4:08
3. Invasion ft. Jeff Black – 4:06
4. Into Nothing – 4:46
5. A Trail of Broken Stars – 4:46
6. World Eater – 4:35
7. Hyperdrive – 4:47
8. Inside the Hyperdrive – 3:37
Album Recording Credits:
All songs performed by: The Astral Prophets
All songs written by: Terry Savage, AJ Bergin, Staci Stardust, Kyle Summers, Harley D’Orazio
Produced by: Savage Studios & Nick The Music Dude
Mixed and Mastered by: Blacknote Music
Album Artwork by: Disturbing Grace Design
Member of SOCAN
Canadian Content (MAPL)
Album & Live Band Lineup:
Staci Stardust – Lead Vocals
AJ Bergin – Lead Guitar & Vocals
Harley D’Orazio – Guitar & Vocals
Terry Savage – Bass & Vocals
Kyle Summers – Drums
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Describe the Album Artwork:
Earth. We have squandered it for far too long. For too long have we drained its rivers and pilfered its minerals. It’s dying now. One of the most special planets in the universe, Earth stands alone. Even in its dilapidated and over-populated state, it still exists as a prize to the other civilizations of the known universe.
The artwork depicts a mysterious alien mothership arriving to terraform the planet out of a massive wormhole. The first battalions of the alien fleet hover around looking for specimens to beam back up for probing. The ground dries and cracks underneath the immense power of the ion beam stemming from the ship. The end is here. It is…INVASION
About the album as a whole (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
Invasion is a roller coaster of an album. It kicks off with a bang, slows down in the middle, but then also goes out with a bang. Some of these songs materialized out of nowhere and became beasts in their own right.
Throughout the album, there are themes of anger, retribution, causality, and madness. But there are also themes of love and longing mixed in between. These aspects are conveyed with sci-fi and cosmic overtones.
Track By Track:
Describe each song track by track (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
Target Locked – Target Locked was born out of boredom during the COVID lockdown in 2020. It’s our most straightforward, thrashiest song, and it doesn’t even have a solo. The problem with working from home for Terry was that his guitar was right there in his office, so between meetings he’d pick it up and mess around with riffs. One day, Target Locked was born. It was originally about Boba Fett and had a lot more guitar licks, but it got refined, chopped up, and lengthened. The bridge, aptly named “Dogfight,” was only played once in the original demo, but the band workshopped it until it became the monster it is now. Terry’s original lyrics were bad, straightforwardly bad, so Staci put her own spin on them and dumped some anger in, making it more personal. The song sends a message of “Don’t mess with me!”
Power of the Rift – Like Target Locked, Power of the Rift was born during the Covid lockdown. Terry wanted to write a song based purely on chord structure. It started that way… complete with really, really cheesy lyrics (embarrassing to listen to now). Between the chord changes, a catchy riff popped into existence and became the hook of the song. The intro got modified, the bridge got cut, an epic dueling guitar solo with a workshopped ending was added. Once the structure locked in, Terry went overboard with synths and sound effects, thinking the rest of the band would laugh at how ridiculous it was, but they ended up loving it! When it came time for Staci to write lyrics, she drew on some of her happier memories and layered them on top, that “loving at the speed of light” kind of feeling.
Invasion – I came up with the main riff on this one. It is heavy and metal as hell. My initial plan was to experiment with Terry and write a few bars at a time and bounce it back and forth with each other. I sent him the initial riff; he then added a verse…and a pre-chorus…and a chorus. He then sent it back to me to start adding to it. I got super busy with work and family, and kind of forgot about it. I guess while he was waiting for me to add to it, Terry took to the beach with his acoustic and randomly came back with a really cool riff, one that ended up being twice as fast as he’d originally imagined. It became arguably the most difficult riff he has ever written. He worked for hours trying to nail the harmonies on the demo, and it’s the most loved/hated riff on the whole record. He just naturally writes music at such a high level, I can’t keep up with the guy! Staci had a hard time coming up with lyrics for this one, so Terry took over and went back to our old song Lazerwitch for inspiration, the idea that humanity could easily be taken over by a more technologically superior race since we are already so reliant on technology today. We also have Jeff Black from Glyph featured on this song, trading some dueling guitar solos. I had the pleasure of being in Scythia briefly with Jeff (flag: confirm this detail, not mentioned elsewhere in the bio), but never got a chance to work with him on a track until now. I am super proud of getting him on this song and will treasure it forever!
Into Nothing – The inspiration for this song traces back to an old joke song in Scythia called Fort Make Money. A satirical retelling of rig life up in Fort McMurray. Terry started playing the chorus riff and had the song nailed out within a few hours, as he does. It’s easily our most 80s glam rock influenced song, and it fits the same swing feel as our older songs Cybernetic Doom and Firewall. The first time the band played it live, we ran the bridge, solo, and last chorus over and over because it was too fun to stop. It is actually my favorite song to play. When it came time for Staci to apply lyrics, she had a dream about trying to punch someone in the face and actually felt it connect in real life. It has the theme of not being able to differentiate dreams from reality.
Trail of Broken Stars – This song was originally called Maelstrom and was one of the first songs Celine, Terry, and I wrote together at the beginning of The Astral Prophets. Most of the riffs were mine, but the original version just didn’t quite slap as hard as we wanted it to. It got shelved for a long time until I breathed new life into it last year. For this album, Terry really started getting into backing tracks and made a mark on this one. He also came up with the lyrical scheme for the vocals in the intro. He had each person in the band write one stanza with lyrical themes based on The Astral Prophets. They all ended up flowing together beautifully. The lyrics took a while to materialize, until Terry was driving and “I am alive again” came to him, snowballing into a full set of lyrics. He sang them roughly to the band one jam, and they loved it. Bam, we had the last puzzle piece to the album. The song is about an Eternal being searching the cosmos for her soulmate who has gone mad. This song embodies themes of madness, pain, and loneliness.
World Eater – Terry wrote the main riff of this song back in Grade 12. He originally called it “A Bar at the End of the Universe.” It sat in the memory riff bank forever until he tabbed and recorded a quick demo. Again, it sat on Google Drive/Dropbox until I dug it up, chopped it up, and refined it. We workshopped it about six times back and forth until it became a damn good song. It’s anthemic and bombastic, and the bridge is always super fun to play. We named the song World Eater as a reference to Galactus from Marvel Comics and then used that for inspiration for lyrics. The song is more about the Silver Surfer actually and his longing to go back home to his love.
Hyperdrive – I had a riff that was a combination of Clutch and Mötley Crüe, and I turned it into a hootin’ rock & roll song that I was just over the moon about. Then our old drummer Jordan told me that it sounded like some kid’s Bandcamp final rock & roll songwriting recital song, and that the best part of it was when it was over. I was a sad boy that day. I took that criticism with my head hung low and went back to the drawing board. This song had a riff I had been working on for years, trying to fit it into a song. The “Inside the Hyperdrive” riff, and I was for damn sure going to get it onto this next album somehow. I sat down at my computer and just riffed, riffed, and riffed over and over again until it morphed into this groovy, thrashy, all-over-the-neck song. I listened back to the old demo and thought, “Yeah…how do you like me now?!” Thus, “Hyperdrive” was born. Staci asked what she should write the lyrics about, and the answer was simple. “Some dude is in love with the engine in his spaceship. Take that and run with it!” She came up with the idea of a woman trying to love a man who is too in love with his spaceship. All he needs is that hyperspeed.
Inside the Hyperdrive – When Jordan said that the best part of the song was when it was over, he meant this part. I love when bands do the “bring it back but slower” move. It’s usually a death metal trick, but I tried my hand at it here because that riff is just too damn catchy. I didn’t stop recording, kept playing that riff, and just left it at the end of the demo. I spruced it up and figured I’d come back to it one day and turn it into a full song. But all it needed was some polish and an end, which showcases Harley, our new guitarist. What you hear is 95% close to the original demo, where I just messed around with the riff.
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STORY ANGLES / FUN FACTS ABOUT THE BAND
1. We wanted to be just a straight-up doom metal band. But we all have such eccentric personalities and can’t stand playing that slow.
2. We synchronize a lot of our stage movements that bring a lot of smiles to our fans.
3. AJ forgets to bring gear to jam almost weekly! Poor guy. One time his kids borrowed his pedal power supply for their Easy Bake oven and fried the circuit.
4. Kyle is sponsored by Los Cabos drumsticks because he has been in 1000 bands!
5. Staci always takes 4 hours to get ready at gigs so she doesn’t have to help with load-in. Sneaky!
6. Kyle disassociates and still thinks he’s playing Rock Band or Guitar Hero on stage
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Top L-R: Kyle Summers (Drums) | Harley D’Orazio (Guitars/Vocals) | Terry Savage (Bass/Vocals)
Bottom L-R: Staci Stardust (Lead Vocals) | AJ Bergin (Guitars/Vocals)
Photography Credit: Brad, YYC Visual Media
The Astral Prophets rose out of the ashes of Scythia, the Calgary-based folk/progressive metal act, when guitarist AJ Bergin, bassist Terry Savage, and drummer Celine Derval joined forces in 2019 to chart a course in a new, heavier direction.
Trading the folk-metal storytelling of their previous project for something rawer, more grounded, and more accessible for all, the trio built The Astral Prophets and formed it into what they call “Power Groove.” They added guitarist Brandon Macneill and then released three consecutive singles, “Firewall,” “USB Humanity,” and “Lazerwitch,” in October 2021.
Shortly after, Celine moved out to the coast, being replaced by Jordan Tworek on drums. The band then found Staci Allen to take on lead vocal duties. With a fresh, new, and improved sound, they then followed the three singles with their first EP release. “Anywhere But Here” came out in March 2023, featuring five tracks including a fan-favorite cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song.”
Now, in 2026, with the final form of the band featuring Kyle Summers on drums and Harley D’Orazio on guitars, The Astral Prophets prepare to deliver the masterpiece. The full-length LP “Invasion” will be delivered to the masses in Fall 2026!
Discography:
LP: Invasion – October 2026
EP: Anywhere But Here – March 2023
Single: Lazerwitch – October 2021
Single: USB Humanity – October 2021
Single: Firewall – October 2021
SHARED STAGE WITH:
Enforcer, Psychostick, Crimson Shadows, Greyhawk, Lunar, Owlbear, Solarus, Tyrants Demise, Aggression, Vaegon, SYRYN, Boneyard, Under the Mountain, Luminator, Tylor Dory Trio, Glyph, Tower Hill, Red Cain, Serpent Rider, and Crüzer.
TOURS AND FESTIVALS YOU HAVE PERFORMED ON.
Hyperspace Metalfest 2025 (Vancouver, BC)
The Electric Highway 2023/2025 (Calgary, AB)
Decimate Metalfest 2024 (Millet, AB)
Ampfest 2024 (Canmore, AB)
Moments Fest 2024 (Siksika, AB)
Artist Endorsements:
Kyle Summers is sponsored by Los Cabos Drumsticks
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