Listen to the JUNO Award winners new album a day early
"An obvious prog metal masterpiece" - Blabbermouth
"It's a welcome return from a band still at the top of their game" - Exclaim!
"A pure hit, a solid 10/10 and will no doubt be summiting many people's album of the year lists" - Everything is Noise
"Imagine the strongest moments of Voice Of The Void (“Ibex Eye”) and Heart Of Oak (“Raise the Sun”) and you’ll have an idea of what Beyond The Reach Of The Sun is like: nearly an hour of top-notch progressive metal" - Heavy Music HQ (Album of the Week)
"Every note seems calculated, and each track interconnected, but yet the album breathes, and deeply. This is indeed a new pinnacle of Progressive Metal, and the band carries that flag high" - Metal Temple (10/10)
"Anciients are probably the most talented prog band out there" - Metal Bite(10/10)
When Anciients learned they'd won the 2018 JUNO for Metal/Hard Rock, the hard-hitting Canucks had just woken up in Vienna with eyes still caked in sludge after another blazing show on their headlining tour of Europe. The road to their new album has been longer and harder than anyone could've expected. But after six years of soul searching in the Canadian wilderness, at long last, the band have returned to the summit of progressive metal with the heavy, heady and heartfelt Beyond the Reach of the Sun.
"A release that lives up to the hype and exceeds expectations" Blabbermouth continues. "Anciients have come back in a big way".
Beyond the Reach of the Sun comes out tomorrow, Friday, August 30th, but you can hear all 10 mind-opening songs today by listening to the full album stream on the Season of Mist YouTube channel.
Listen to Beyond the Reach of the Sun BELOW
Pre-order & Stream
https://orcd.co/anciientsbeyondthereachofthesun
Ask any hard rock enthusiast about Anciients and their shock and awe might lead you to believe they were describing Big Foot. The band left a sizable imprint on the metal scene after just two albums, but then seemingly disappeared without a trace. So what led them to go into hibernation?
“Basically, right after Voice of the Void was recorded my wife had our first kid”, says Kenny Cook, who on top of vocal and guitar duties handles the bulk of the songwriting. “She ended up having heart complications and almost died”. Everyone is happy and healthy now, but caring for his wife and new baby put a lot of stress on the typically laid-back front man’s mountainous shoulders. “It was a bit of a road”.
Beyond the Reach of the Sun also emerges from the shadows. The album follows the story of a society that's enslaved by evil forces from an alternate dimension. "A distant memory of hope", Cook sings on its epic, eight-minute opener. His cleans gently sail amidst cosmic synth smears, only to dig deep into the pit of his death growl as "Forbidden Sanctuary" meets a fiery end of blast beats and face-melting chugs. "Die by the sword / Or be reborn".
Lineup
Kenny Cook (vocals, guitar)
Mike Hannay (drums)
Brock MacInnes (rhythm guitar)
Rory O'Brien (bass)
Guest musicians
Justin Hagberg plays keyboard on "Forbidden Sanctuary", "Is It Your God", "Melt the Crown", "Candescence", "In the Absence of Wisdom".
Jess Gander plays synths on "Candescence" and "Cloak of the Vast and Black".
Recording studio
Rain City Recorders
Producer / sound engineer
Jesse Gander
Assisted by Szymon Wojciech
Mastering studio and engineer
Stu McKillop @ Rain City Mastering
Mixing studio and engineer
Jesse Gander Rain City Recorders
Cover artwork artist
Adam Burke @ Nightjar Illustrations
Bio
Kevin Stewart-Panko
Pre-order & Stream: https://orcd.co/anciientsbeyondthereachofthesun
Follow Anciients
https://www.facebook.com/ANCIIENTSRIFFS
https://www.instagram.com/anciients/
https://twitter.com/ANCIIENTS
https://www.youtube.com/user/ANCIIENTS
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/anciients/603538280
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3YQOcYukzO6U1MjFcavDUE?si=4QWahfZxQjOmAI7nYrav6g&nd=1&dlsi=0142e5e62ae54105