One of the most eagerly-anticipated records of 2018 within our staff is Ancestors‘ Suspended In Reflections; this might be down to our particular penchant for all things heavy and dreamy, or the fact that the previous song they released off of it, “The Warm Glow”, is utterly fantastic, keeping with the band’s tradition of releasing progressive, intriguing, and instantly recognizable material. Over the course of their eleven-year career, they released four records, bridging the realms of doom/post metal and progressive/psychedelic rock at a beautifully meandering pace.
Six years and some line-up changes (read: going from a five- to a three-piece band and adding Horse the Band drummer Daniel Pouliot to the mix) after their latest album, In Dreams and Time, they are now back with a promising single under their collective belt and a new release up their sleeves. Partnering with Pelagic Records for the first time, Ancestors seem all but set to wow audiences across the globe once more with Suspended In Reflections, which is due out on August 24.
We are exceedingly proud to premiere the band’s second single in promotion of this album for you today! It is simply called “Gone”, and you can check it out below:
“Gone”…
…instantly excels at creating a warmly immersive atmosphere around the listener; from the opening drum fill on, we are surrounded by swathes of psychedelic, swirling guitars, crunchy bass, and wonderful clean singing. Especially the harmonized background vocals are almost terrifyingly gorgeous. Slow but vast in scope, “Gone” comes across as a much more progressively-slanted take on the sound equally evocative bands like 40 Watt Sun have explored in the past few years. The way Ancestors combine the melancholic tone of doom metal with various elements from across the genre spectrum is nothing short of breathtaking, and the end result doesn’t have to shy away from comparisons to acts like Pink Floyd, Stars of the Lid, or Neurosis in terms of composition and atmosphere.
Here are some brief words from Ancestors guitarist/vocalist Justin Maranga on Suspended In Reflections:
‘I think that as songwriters we’ve grown exponentially over the past six years. But the most important change was the removal of ego from the writing and recording process. We tried to step out from behind our respective instruments to write the best album we could. We made a beautiful record as a team.‘
I think this new approach to their craft really shows on this new track. They sound tighter than ever before, and even more expansive (which says a lot, seeing that they only have 60% as many band members as before at their disposal to work on the music). Their willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty for their upcoming record culminates in the use of an Aeolian-Skinner church organ throughout its six songs. Enough of my long-winded praise, though; it’s best to let the actual music speak for itself when it eventually rolls around on August 24. In the meantime, check out the record’s achingly beautiful cover artwork and tracklist:
Suspended In Reflections
1. Gone
2. Through A Window
3. Lying In The Grass
4. Into The Fall
5. Release
6. The Warm Glow
Make sure to follow Ancestors on Facebook to stay notified about new singles, upcoming tours et cetera! They will definitely be back on European shores this fall, so be ready. Preorders for Suspended In Reflections are available here (North America), here (Europe), and here (Australia). DO NOT sleep on this album; it’s poised to be an AOTY contender!
