The new Opeth record is still some 60 days away and Mastodon are only musing about writing a new one. But right now, we hunger for some feisty and heavy progressive soundbites heading our way. Specifically, since one Mikael Åkerfeldt1 decided to reintroduce growls in his future prog release. Luckily, the Canadians from Anciients were ready to step in for about a month now. And they got heavy written into their DNA. In spades.
Anciients is yet another band valiantly sailing right past us back in 2016. So, some eight years later we’d all but forgotten about them. It was therefore somewhat of a surprise when they suddenly appeared from hibernation with Beyond The Reach of the Sun.
And true enough, BtRotS roars forth on Progressive Death, Psych, and Post Metal wings with a fair dose of that sludgy sound ‘n’ feel introduced for good measure. The RMR crew appreciated the somewhat subdued yet measured prog style far removed from the overwrought shenanigans today’s self-proclaimed masters of the realm like to claim for themselves. Folk, red-hot rock, and dreamy blurbs of refreshing acoustics give way to metallic frenzy if and when required. Frequent passages of clears trade places with an abundance of growls, snarls, and rasps when the theme calls for it. And let me commend the vocal performance of one Kenny Cook at this point. The ease by which he’s shifting from clears to growls and back is often mindboggling. And this without one note out of place and manning guitar duties at the same time.
Case in point, the outstanding guitar work carries the aforementioned vocal performance with an often groove-laden, ebullient cartload of riffs, leads, and some outstanding solos thrown in for good measure. There’s a delicate ebb and flow between harsher and softer parts that never gripe at all. And that, as we all know, isn’t an easy feat at all. Meaning, the elaborate arrangement fully supports a production that holds its water.
In other words, Beyond The Reach of the Sun often feels like a bubbly mountain stream. Sometimes majestically flowing in the middle of a valley. Then again, suddenly, hitting a few rocks followed by rowdy rapids that will be overcome with a lot of delicate gusto. And that means Anciients proficiently toed this fine line to balance their undoubtedly very complex piece of work.
And while this balance definitely is present, not all is groove, peace, and weed smoke Beyond The Reach of The Sun. For instance, the somewhat lengthy 59 minutes or so of airplay could have used some restraint. Also, methinks that the band had a ton of good ideas. And then they decided to stuff ’em all into this here production. And that gets the whole chebang a slightly crowded feel that removes some of the aforementioned balance. Unfortunately.
The RMR crew also felt a flattening of the quality curve as the piece moves into the second half. You get an extremely strong start with the feisty Despoiled and the excellent Is It Your God leading the charge. But as we move further South, tracks such as the meandering Candescence or In the Absence of Wisdom failed to convince. Whereas Beyond Our Minds or the sludgy and very technical The Torch both provided some welcome uplift.
Ultimately though, Beyond the Reach of The Sun turned proof positive that combining Extreme Metal’s often inherent complexity and a refined style of Progressive Death Metal actually works. I salute the band that they went for melodies, often pretty snazzy harmonies, and outstanding guitarwork to drive this boat forward. To go for the somewhat neurotic and high-strung prog shenanigans currently en vogue in the progosphere would have killed the neat quality present on this album. As it stands, and we say it again, this still is a well-balanced record. A piece where the harsh and the softer moments never gripe. It takes a ton of songwriting skills to pull that one off and not crash and burn like one of Musk’s infamous space rockets.
Recommended.
Record Rating: 7/10 | Label: Season of Mist | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 30 August 2024
- The guy from Opeth.-↩