Progressive RockMetal
Anciients announced on Monday that Justin Hagberg is now a full member of the band. Hagberg, who has played in 3 Inches of Blood, Ritual Dictates and The Organist, put the keyboards on “Beyond the Reach of the Sun”, the album that won the Vancouver band a JUNO Award for Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year.
Singer and guitarist Kenny Cook traces the whole thing back to a cover version. “It all began when we decided to cover an Alan Parsons’ song,” he says, referring to “Some Other Time”. “We asked Justin if he’d like to be a part of the recording, and within a few hours, he sent us 15 tracks of keys and synths that sounded perfect for the song. From there, I sent him a few demos for songs from what was to become Beyond the Reach of the Sun.”
“It’s been an absolute pleasure working with Anciients, from providing synths on their latest record to performing live with them,” Hagberg says. “They’re all incredible musicians and, above all, brothers.”
The band have just come off their first tour of Europe and the United Kingdom in more than a decade. To go with the announcement they are releasing the visualizer for the re-recording of “Humanist”, which came out on 14 September: the song was on the band’s first EP, “Snakebeard”, from 2011, and later appeared as a bonus track on their first full-length, 2013’s “Heart of Oak”.
The band say they want Hagberg in the fold “from the ground floor” for the next album. Neither a title nor a date has been announced.
Text by Guillem Cardós