The hiatus is over. Progressive Metal formation Anciients are back with a new single and album announcement. The Canadians will put out their third studio record, “Beyond The Reach Of The Sun,” on August 30th, 2024 through Season Of Mist. Recorded at Rain City Recorders with producer Jesse Gander. Mixed by Jesse Gander at Rain City Recorders and mastered by Stu McKillop at Rain City Mastering. The lead single, “Melt The Crown,” is already available for streaming via Bandcamp:
“The hiatus is over,” says Anciients‘ frontman Kenny Cook. “We missed out on a huge block after the last record. But with the new album and new members, we’re ready to hit it hard.”
After winning a JUNO in 2016, Anciients were officially anointed as the guiding lights for Progressive Metal. However, keeping their momentum rocking and rolling proved to be no easy feat. For too long, metalheads feared these mighty Canadians had gone dormant. The road was threatened by many shadowy twists and turns, but after eight years of hermetic silence, Anciients have returned with a new lineup and a new album that now stands as their heaviest, headiest and most heartfelt offering.
Fans who’ve waited on bended knee for more fretboard heroics will not be disappointed by Beyond the Reach of the Sun. Lead single “Melt the Crown” fires off not one, not two, but three guitar solos. Each one comes with its own unique flavor, too, spanning from plaintive Folk to Southern Blues and Psychedelic Prog.
Of course, Anciients aren’t afraid to headbang. After a spell of acoustic fingerpicking, “Cloak of the Vast and Black” reveals itself as a chugging riff monster. Conceptually, the album is just as Heavy. It tells the story of a society that’s enslaved by forces from another dimension. But at its core, “Beyond the Reach of the Sun” is about perseverance. Just as the enslaved discover spiritual knowledge by way of a cosmic entity, writing these songs also lead the band to uncover new wellsprings of inspiration. “Is It Your God” concludes with an epiphany of synths that dazzle like a lazer light show.
“Searching for a better way,” sings Kenny Cook on the epic closer “In The Absence of Wisdom.” His voice booms with reverb, but its radiance comes from a fresh stroke of insight.
On “Beyond the Reach of the Sun,” Anciients climb to the summit of Progressive Metal.
Pre-Order the album on Bandcamp: https://anciientriffs.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-the-reach-of-the-sun
Tracklist:
01. Forbidden Sanctuary
02. Despoiled
03. Is It Your God
04. Melt The Crown
05. Cloak Of The Vast And Black
06. Celestial Tyrant
07. Beyond Our Minds
08. The Torch
09. Candescence
10. In The Absence Of Wisdom
Lineup:
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
