Release Date: August 30th 2024. Record Label: Season Of Mist Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
Beyond The Reach Of The Sun: Tracklisting
1.Forbidden Sanctuary
2.Despoiled
3.Is It Your God
4.Melt The Crown
5.Cloak Of The Vast And Black
6.Celestial Tyrant
7.Beyond Our Minds
8.The Torch
9.Candescence
10.In The Absence Of Wisdom 0
Members
Kenny Cook - Guitar, Vocals
Brock MacInnes - Guitar
Rory O'Brien - Bass
Mike Hannay - Drums
Keyboards on Tracks 1, 3, 4, 9 and 10 by Justin Hagberg
Synth on tracks 5 and 9 by Jesse Gander
Review
Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal visionaries Anciients return after an eight year absence after they released their landmark second album Voice Of The Void. Their new album Beyond The Reach Of The Sun takes everything that album delivered and turns everything on its head with Anciients becoming fully immersed with their own unique style of Progressive Sludge/Stoner Metal which has the added movements of Groove Metal, Prog Rock, Psych Rock, Thrash Metal and Folk Rock tendencies to give this record a truly original feel and sound.
Taking creative cues from bands such as Mastodon and OPETH whilst still creating their own highly original sound. The music is wonderfully progressive and offers a more transcendental style of Psych Metal compared to their previous album. The vocals once again are a mixture of clean vocals, harsh growls and death chants which are all delivered with intense delivery especially the death growls within the epic opening tracks of Forbidden Sanctuary and Despoiled.
The music moves along at a stunning THUGGISH pace where the Thrash/Death/Groove instrumental beats appear though Anciients surround that aggressive style of music with first rate Psychedelic Stoner Metal and Post-Doom creative energy. Taking heavy savage grooves and re-creating them in their own unique way which moves between the finer moments of Hard Rock, Heavy Metal and Extreme Metal. The songs are quite long and very multi-layered for the most parts with Anciients providing a classic way of storytelling that I haven’t heard since the early days of OPETH when matched against the cynical world-building mysticism of early-era MASTODON.
The real beauty and power of this record is the engaging and non-stop switching of melodies and harsh sonic landscapes which allows Anciients to create their own genre of music at times. Not just Hard Rock or Heavy Metal but music in general with each track telling their own individual story whilst fitting in with the whole creative storytelling of the whole album.
My favourite tracks on the album are: Despoiled, Is It Your God, Cloak Of The Vast And Black, Celestial Tyrant, Candescence and In The Absence Of Wisdom.
These tracks resonated personally with me the most especially within the most soulful, uplifting and challenging vocal melodies from lead vocalist Kenny Cook. The amount of technical ability he provides within his vocals and instrumental ability is an absolute joy to listen to. Though, everyone on this record brings their “A” game to the album.
Anciients perhaps over-deliver on the SONIC and PSYCHEDELIC movements on the record but that aspect is still another one of my favourite things about the whole album. As Anciients could be playing an outlandish Post-Stoner rhythm or instrumental passage before switching gears and playing an intense burst of Death, Thrash and Groove Metal which left me completely breathless at times.
This album could have easily suffered from a real case of identity crisis with the amount of different musical styles that Anciients play here. However, everything musically speaking feels LOUD, VIBRANT and ORIGINAL that moves along at such a breakneck pace.
Beyond The Reach Of The Sun is boosted by first rate production values and allows Anciients to beoome one the scenes most shining creative lights within the Progressive Sludge/Stoner Metal field. This has all the makings of being another classic album from Anciients and perhaps propel them ever so closely into the grasp of the HEAVY METAL MAINSTREAM.
An absolutely incredible record and one that will become regarded as one of the years must have albums.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Season Of Mist for the promo.
Beyond The Reach Of The Sun will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Season Of Mist Records from Friday 30th September 2024.
ANCIIENTS Links
Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram
