The debut album from Canadian progressive metallers Anciients is likely to draw many comparisons to the likes of Opeth and Mastodon and whilst the latter is quite apt, the only relation to Opeth that this band has is their love of gargantuan song lengths.
Averaging at around a solid 8 minutes apiece, every song is an impressive display of technicality with an aptitude for forward thinking and fresh song writing. The cleanly sung vocals are mixed up with the occasional blackened screech and the ambling rumble of the bass guitar would put most stoner bands to shame.
Whilst the music of Anciients is a never ending rollercoaster of pitch shifts, tempo changes and pure instrumental stamina, it does begin to feel rather lethargic at times. This record is in desperate need of a trim, in terms of song lengths; with well over an hour to listen to there are long passages of subpar and sluggish sounding riffs and hooks.
It seems these guys aren’t sure of which direction they wish to take within their music, so they are just placing a piece of everything into the mixing pot and hoping for the best; this may work on a demo or even an EP, but is an unwise choice for an full length album and just feels messy. However, they are a band that show immense promise and with a little sharpening up they could become something truly great.
(6/10 Angela Davey)
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