Ancestors are a psychedelic metal band hailing from L. A., and In Dreams & Time is their third record. I've received some questions about these guys since I started sharing them, namely, "psychedelic metal? That exists?" People seem pretty excited to sum Ancestors tag up as progressive metal because psych metal can't possibly be a thing. It's happened to me a few times now.
But here's the thing: Ancestors are a mix of doom metal, gothica, stoner rock, psychedelic rock and a lot of other things. Their previous albums have their own place, but something about In Dreams & Time strikes me as an amazing, stealthy, really strong release.
Where it starts, with "Whispers", a straight up psych doom opener with this amazing, sprawling, destructive bridge, the album flows straight into "The Last Return", a piano led gothica-type thematic interlude, full on with female lead vocals. Afterwards comes the bulk of the album. The following three tracks are all just like the opener, "Whispers", except stronger.
"Corryvecan" stresses a mellow, riding guitar riff with a heavy synth right behind it, all accompanied by the return of singers with beards. "On the Wind" combines the interluding gothic pianos and female vocals with the heavy, full guitars to create something totally opposite the rest of the album thus far: an uplifting song. Or, sort of. The track is uplifting, but so unsure of itself. Well enough, "Running in Circles" follows, and it brings that uncertainty with it, and turns it into an amazing, well planned out jam fest, as well as the strongest hook across the whole album. When it comes, you'll hear it, and you'll scream along. Of course, all of this comes together on the closer, "First Light", a twenty minute epic, as per any band with "psychedelic" and "metal" in it's genre tags.
Tier: 1 [Album of the Year material]
[strap your beard on]
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