After winning a JUNO in 2016, Anciients were officially anointed as the guiding lights for progressive metal. However, keeping their momentum rocking and rolling proved to be no easy feat. For too long, metalheads feared these mighty Canadians had gone dormant. The road was threatened by many shadowy twists and turns, but after eight years of hermetic silence, Anciients have returned with a new lineup and a new album that now stands as their heaviest, headiest and most heartfelt offering.

Fans who’ve waited on bended knee for more fretboard heroics will not be disappointed by Beyond the Reach of the Sun. Lead single “Melt the Crown” fires off not one, not two, but three guitar solos. Each one comes with its own unique flavor, too, spanning from plaintive folk to southern blues and psychedelic prog. Of course, Anciients aren’t afraid to headbang. After a spell of acoustic fingerpicking, “Cloak of the Vast and Black” reveals itself as a chugging riff monster. Conceptually, the album is just as heavy. It tells the story of a society that’s enslaved by forces from another dimension. But at its core, Beyond the Reach of the Sun is about perseverance. Just as the enslaved discover spiritual knowledge by way of a cosmic entity, writing these songs also lead the band to uncover new wellsprings of inspiration. “Is It Your God” concludes with an epiphany of synths that dazzle like a lazer light show. “Searching for a better way”, sings Kenny Cook on the epic closer “In The Absence of Wisdom”. His voice booms with reverb, but its radiance comes from a fresh stroke of insight.

For fans of Opeth, Mastodon, The Ocean, …