ANCIIENTS Win JUNO Award for Best Metal /Hard Music Album

ANCIIENTS Win Second JUNO Award

Beyond the Reach of the Sun Wins Metal / Hard Music Album of the Year

Listen to an acoustic performance of "Melt the Crown" live on CBC Radio

After soul searching through the Canadian wilderness for the past eight years, once again, Anciients have reached the summit of progressive metal. The heavy, heady and heartfelt Canucks won Metal / Hard Music Album of the Year at the 55th annual JUNO Awards for their latest album Beyond the Reach of the Sun. Spiritbox, Devin Townsend, Kittie and Striker were also nominated.   

"We are completely ecstatic about winning the JUNO Award for Best Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year", says Anciients' vocalist and guitarist Kenny Cook. "Just being nominated alongside the other legendary nominees was huge for us. We never fathomed we could win it, but we are over the moon with excitement and surprised that we did. Thank you to the JUNO Committee for choosing Beyond the Reach of the Sun as Canada’s best Metal/Hard Music Album of 2024/25. It is a massive honor for us.”

Beyond the Reach of the Sun is available now on Season of Mist.

Order & Stream
https://orcd.co/anciientsbeyondthereachofthesun

Listen to Anciients perform "Melt the Crown" live on CBC Radio.

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-46-on-the-coast/clip/16136935-b.c.-junos-block-party-part-five

 

While Anciients were on hand to accept this year's award, when the band learned they won their first JUNO back in 2018, they were in Vienna, roughly 8,000 miles away from their Vancouver home base, where they were still wiping the sludge from their eyes after another blazing headline show.

Later this summer, Cook, steady drummer Mike Hannay and the band's new axe men Brock MacInnes and Rory O'Brien are heading back across the pond for Bristol's ArcTanGent Festival. They'll then make their long-awaited return to the States for the 23rd edition of ProgPower USA.  

"The hiatus is over", Cook says. "We're ready to hit it hard".   

ANCIIENTS Nominated for Second Canadian Grammy

It was a heavy road, but after soul searching through the Canadian wilderness, at long last, Anciients have come full circle. Seven years removed from winning a JUNO Award for their last album, the hard-hitting Canucks are nominated once more for the band's latest heady and heartfelt opus Beyond the Reach of the Sun.

"We are very honored and excited to receive a JUNO nomination for our latest record", says Anciients frontman Kenny Cook. "Win or lose, we are grateful to be recognized on a national scale and we feel privileged to be nominated alongside the other amazing artists in the Metal category. We wish them all nothing but the best of luck. See you soon in Vancouver!"

Anciients are nominated for Metal/Hard Music Album of the year. Also nominated are Devin Townsend (PowerNerd), Kittie (Fire), Spiritbox (The Fear of Fear) and Striker (Ultrapower). 

Beyond the Reach of the Sun is available now on Season of Mist.

Order & Stream
https://orcd.co/anciientsbeyondthereachofthesun

 

When Anciients learned they'd won the JUNO Award for Metal/Hard Music back in 2018, the band had just woken up in Vienna with eyes still caked in sludge after another blazing show during their headlining tour of Europe.

Now, in 2025, Cook, steady drummer Mike Hannay and the band's new axe men Brock MacInnes and Rory O'Brien are heading back across the pond for Britian's ArcTanGent Festival. Later this year, the band will make their long-awaited return to the states for the 23rd edition of ProgPower USA.  

"The hiatus is over", Cook says. "We're ready to hit it hard".   

With all being said and done, Anciients have returned! They stand ready to ascend the prog metal ladder and get back to doing what they do best with a weighty and dense, but wholly accessible, album. It’s a collection of ten songs that possesses the ability to have those furiously banging heads also tapping into their power of self-reflection and contemplation to ponder the finality of existence, the value of life and their place in the universe.  

“Totally! We’re going to take as many of the opportunities that come to us. The hiatus is over and I think with the new members and everyone being on the same page we’re ready to get out there as soon as possible. We missed out on a huge block after the last record, so we’ve got to make up for lost time. Now that everyone is happy and healthy, we plan to hit it hard.”


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
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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

THE AGONIST Nominated for 2022 JUNO Award in "Metal/Hard Rock Album of the Year" Category

THE AGONIST Nominated for 2022 JUNO Award in

"Metal/Hard Rock Album of the Year" Category for Latest Release, Days Before the World Wept

Order HERE

North American Tour Dates Supporting Hypocrisy Begin April 29

[Photo Credit: Eric Sanchez]

Death metal trailblazers THE AGONIST are thrilled to be nominated for a 2022 JUNO Award - Canada's most prestigious music award - in the “Metal/Hard Rock Album of the Year” category for their latest release, Days Before the World Wept, out now via Napalm Records! The 2022 JUNO Awards will broadcast and stream live on Sunday, May 15 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music, CBC Listen, and globally at CBCMusic.ca/junos.

Following yesterday's nominee announcement, the band offered:

"We are thrilled to learn that Days Before The World Wept was nominated for a JUNO Award! What can we say - what artist doesn't want their work to be recognized and appreciated? This was a very important release for us that will define us for years to come, and we're happy that it has made its mark on the metal world."

Inspired by real life experiences, fan and media acclaimed Days Before The World Wept explores a grim, conceptual tale of greed, gluttony, confusion, pain, redemption, and hope enveloped in a new level of aggression and cohesive, technical prowess. Soaring through a kaleidoscope of blistering metal mastery and hopeful lyrical dramatism, the opus dominates as one of the most impressive works of the band’s catalog.

In other news, the band recently announced their first North American tour dates of 2022! THE AGONIST will join forces with Swedish death legends Hypocrisy for their upcoming Worship Tour, kicking off on April 29 in Brooklyn, NY and concluding in Baltimore, MD on May 29. In addition to THE AGONIST, special guests on the tour include Carach Angren and Hideous Divinity. A complete list of dates can be found below!

THE AGONIST On Tour w/ Hypocrisy - North American 2022 Tour

+ special guests Carach Angren & Hideous Divinity

April 29th - Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw

April 30th - Boston, MA @ Middle East (Downstairs)

May 1st - Montreal, QC @ L'Astral

May 2nd - Toronto, ON @ Lees Palace

May 4th - Joliet, IL @ The Forge

May 5th - Minneapolis, MN @ The Cabooze

May 6th - Winnipeg, MB @ Park Theatre

May 7th - Regina, SK @ The Exchange

May 8th - Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Room

May 10th - Vancouver, BC @ Red Room

May 11th - Seattle, WA @ Club Sur

May 12th - Portland, OR @ Bossanova Ballroom

May 13th - Berkeley, CA @ Cornerstone

May 14th - San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick

May 15th - Los Angeles, CA @ 1720

May 17th - Mesa, AZ @ Nile Theater

May 18th - El Paso, TX @ Rochouse Bar & Grill

May 19th - Austin, TX @ Come and Take it Live

May 21st - Dallas, TX @ Amplified Live

May 22nd - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall

May 24th - Orlando, FL @ The Abbey

May 25th - West Palm Beach, FL @ Respectable Street

May 26th - Jonesboro, GA @ Furnace 41

May 27th - Greensboro, NC @ Blind Tiger

May 28th - Pittsburgh, PA @ Enclave

May 29th - Baltimore, MD @ Metro (w/ Carach Angren only)

THE AGONIST is:

Vicky Psarakis -Vocals / Piano

Danny Marino - Guitar

Pascal Jobin - Guitar

Chris Kells - Bass

Simon McKay - Drums