We have found Gnarly Davidson’s evil twin, and his name is Voyager.

This trio of sludge-rockers is working the town into a frenzy. Their Replay show on Thursday night was only the second time they’ve played live, but the excitement surrounding these metal heads is already high.

Voyager are the guys you wish would invite you over to jam in the garage. They’re cool as fuck, and metal as fuck, with just a hint of Black Sabbath hanging in the guitar-saturated air. From the hair flips to the “ancient wang bars,” it’s hard not to fall hard for Voyager from the very moment their leather-vest clad guitarist set foot onstage.

This is music that automatically gives you a gratuitous confidence boost. It will conjure up your inner Brock Samson, your inner Viking (Viking-core is so in right now in Lawrence). If you paid attention, you noticed the space between the audience and the band growing smaller as the night went on. If that’s any indication of an immediate attraction between the scene and this beer-rock/viking-rock sound, then Lawrence will be sounding mighty vicious this year.

Here’s what it sounded like when they started slaying dragons:

Words and photos by Fally Afani