Review by Jeger on July 26, 2024.

Just beyond life's many awe-inspiring moments there lies the valley - that dreadful place during your existence where all hangs in the balance and you have very little control over the outcome. Even our bravest dreams and ambitions cannot stand when death calls…For British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada's Anciients, the world was their proverbial oyster following the release of their debut Heart Of Oak LP in 2013; dropping jaws and solidifying themselves as more than contenders for prog metal dominance. But life has its fun little ways of jamming its flagpole into your spokes, and for Anciients guitarist/vocalist Kenny Cook, said face-plant came in the form of my would be worst nightmare. Just before their sophomore effort, Voice Of The Void LP, was recorded, his wife gave birth to their first child and her life was in jeopardy due to post-natal heart complications from which she almost passed. She survived, but then lies the task of raising a baby. All of this along with some departures and various other turmoils effectively put the brakes on any momentum Anciients may have possessed going in. But now… All is copacetic at Anciients camp, and from out of the valley and back into the azures we ascend as we anticipate 2024's Beyond The Reach Of The Sun, scheduled to be released on August 30, 2024 via Season of Mist.

Opeth and Mastodon? Cute stuff in comparison to Anciients. Only the likes of Katatonia are possessing of such class and only the likes of Haken or Rivers Of Nihil are possessing of such vision. Likely the product of these dudes as kids hunkered in their bedrooms with their instruments while other kids played Xbox online and ate chicken nuggets… With Beyond The Reach Of The Sun, Anciients put world-dominating adeptness on display, all the while as they exercise musical wisdom beyond their years. The resulting masterpiece is one that is wholly accessible to any and all levels of extreme metal connoisseurism.

Progressive but not flamboyant or masturbatory, no sense of overindulgence and no inclination that these guys are just trying to impress other musicians. An album designed with you in mind is Beyond The Reach Of The Sun, and as stunningly produced tracks like the riff-happy 'Despoiled' unfold, it will undoubtedly be to a bong rip or two. Ah, that’s better. What better way to enjoy those savory leads and galloping rhythms? Åkerfeldt-heralding cleans giving way to brutal gutturals and mid-tempo'd progressions carrying over into slow doom-worthy passages before a tempestuous riffing maelstrom fit for Tornado Alley transpires. Put this on and just drive, man. Don't think about where, just get on the highway and allow your mind to wander. So what if you end up in bumfuck nowhere, because following this record lies an awakening to the fact that Anciients are probably the most talented prog band out there and that you need gas…

So much to take in during each epic chapter, so crisp, clear and yet not sanitized. Styles ranging from a little prog-death brutality during moments of 'Is It Your God' to some darkly elegant, almost blackened atmosphere during the intro to the following track 'Cloak Of The Vast And Black'. But always back to the album’s riff-laden foundation do Anciients return for your listening pleasure. And it wouldn't be a prog album without that bizarre sense of 70's Atari nostalgia. You'll experience some of that peppered in and some funk? Some very unique stuff going on during 'Celestial Tyrant', like if Les Claypool decided to play a guitar… Groovy and reciprocal, technical and of course progressive to its core.

When the coveted balance between what's progressive and what's musically proper is achieved, the resulting sonic emanation will undoubtedly sound like Beyond The Reach Of The Sun. And is that a sleazy rock lead I hear now during 'The Torch'? You could fuck to this one! Okay, maybe not but I think Slash just got an unexplained hard-on. And now some aquatic smooth jazz to bring forth the end of what's been a remarkable journey. With such striking audiovisuals to be absorbed during the closing track, 'In The Absence Of Wisdom', you'll be gripping onto what's left of this album until your knuckles turn white. And to end with such energy is refreshing as opposed to what I was expecting, which was the overly-drawn-out and utterly pretentious epic.

As we embrace forward-thinking music even more now than ever before, this particular era in extreme metal history is proving to be fertile soil for bands like Anciients. These guys just get it. They're not scrambling to release such cutting edge material that no one understands it, but instead this glorious sonic elixir that does push the envelope but not beyond where one would dare grasp. Class cannot be taught! Just an organic understanding of what constitutes important music to be found here. To go beyond the Sun's reach into the cold expanse of the unknown. An escape! An excursion into places beyond imagination lies just ahead. Bon voyage...

Captivation: 10/10
Concept: 10/10
Cover Art: 10/10
Production: 10/10
Revisitability: 10/10

Rating: 10 out of 10