Progressive RockMetal
Anciients have released a re-recording of «Humanist», a seven-and-a-half-minute track that originally came from the EP «Snakebeard» (2011) and later appeared as a bonus track on their first full-length, «Heart of Oak» (2013). It’s out digitally through Season of Mist’s channel.
Singer and guitarist Kenny Cook explains why they went back to it: «After hearing the sound improvement that came from re-recording ‘Built to Die’ last year, we wanted to give ‘Humanist’ the same treatment.» The new version is played by the current line-up, the one that won the Juno for Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year last year for «Beyond the Reach of the Sun», and former member Chris Dyck, who was present on the original recording, returns to sing backing vocals.
The timing isn’t a coincidence. The Canadians kick off their «Ascent of the Fallen Ones» tour on 26 September, running through the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, the UK, France, Spain and Portugal until 17 October.
We’ll catch them here on 13 October at Razzmatazz 3, sharing the night with Germany’s Wucan. Anciients went eight years without releasing anything between «Voice of the Void» (2016) and «Beyond the Reach of the Sun» (2024), the record that earned them their second Juno.
Text by Roger Estivill