There were a handful of occasions under the MetalReview banner where readers accused us of being “too underground for our own good,” likely stemming from some mediocre scores getting tossed toward a scattering of the more mainstream metal releases. Maybe we’re another case of too many people under one roof overly concerned about spotlighting the underground – quite possible. But look at it this way: if you count yourself a true enthusiast of Italian food, how often do you shit sideways with glee after being endlessly breadsticked over at the Olive Garden?
Still, it begs the question: does the idea of casting a wide net in terms of accessibility within a largely unconventional realm such as metal necessarily equate to mediocrity?
Of course not. Maybe…
Here’s the concern: popularity, or an “overall approachability” generally requires that moderation play a key role, and moderation is the enemy for a number of fans within this genre. Not just moderation in a melodeath or romantic black metal kind of way, but the real shit that cracks the door open to people who’d otherwise not really give a sniff and consider bands like Disturbed heavy metal. That’s the sort of moderation that makes the fevered connoisseurs uncomfortable.
And oh man, Mastodon really cocked things up, right? Or wait… maybe the media was to blame, seeing as how they were responsible for the ludicrous notion of the band being “saviors of heavy metal” – I forget who was the egg and who was the chicken in that scenario. Point being: Mastodon basically picked up where The Black Album left off in terms of voluminous metal appeal, and hardcore undergrounders and Vest Warriors have been gunning for them and all their Baizley-painted kin ever since.
In the case of Vancouver BC’s Anciients, the die was essentially cast right from the gate, thanks once again to the ol’ double edged hype blade. In a blink of an eye, bands such as Mastodon, Kylesa and Baroness got tossed into the ring as direct correlations, and Decibel even went so far as to call Heart of Oak “one of 2013’s most anticipated releases,” despite the fact that the band only produced a single two-song 7″ two years prior to this album. Ease the foot off the pedal, fellers; we’ll get there when we get there.
But Hell, even though I wasn’t a fly on the wall during any of the early hubbub, I’d have to imagine these kindly dudes didn’t exactly walk into the game with the impression that they’d be pushed into the ever-increasing line of modern bands responsible for finally getting your mouth-breathing cousin to finally shelve his Foo Fighter and old Paw CDs in favor of something a bit heavier. Anciients just wants to be Anciients, and they’re probably happiest when they simply get an opportunity to drink beer and get loose on a stage, so let’s toss all the amped hype and try to judge this thing based only on what’s kicking beneath the hood.
Without question, Heart of Oak flashes a key trait that ties it firmly to much of the “new-millennium metal” of our day: there’s an unwavering evenness spread across the board that bars the extremities’ potenial to fully swing elbows. Is it metal? Is it prog-? Is it straight-up heavy rock that could tour alongside a modern Soundgarden or Alice in Chains? Outside of the healthy nod to a softer Allman Brothers-styled jammy-ness in the closing “For Lisa”, it’s a moderately safe version of all those elements at the very same time, right down the line.
There’s heaviness afoot, for sure, particularly at the onset of “Faith and Oath”, but the band bio declaration of “fuck-off-huge chords with mind-altering riffage” is magnified. The riffs are heavier than, say, 40 Watt Sun, sure, but my biggest issue with Heart of Oak‘s heaviness is its intent. Obviously a metal band doesn’t always need to SMASH, but Anciients use of weight often feels as if it’s intended to pulverize, but falls short of accomplishing the task. As it stands, a good portion of the metal moments are driven by the simple fact that they split the clean vocals with matching amounts of snarls. Even the album’s highlight, “Giants”, could use more galumphing High On Fire tonnage when it eventually begins to lumber.
Similarly, the prog-head in me wants to hear an increased dosage of angular weirdness to the more progressive measures. All the players show judicious amounts of aptitude with respect to their individual wares, but outside of a few short pinches, the guitars don’t really share much of the spotlight to allow just the bass and drums to take more of the knotty segments for a stroll by themselves. That’s precisely the sort of thing that would give a lengthy 9-minute tune like “The Longest River” a lot more depth.
In the band’s defense, there’s a feeling that a fair share of the overall temperance that permeates the album could end up getting blown to the rafters in a live setting. In that regard, Anciients fall victim to the same sort of energy fleecing that a number of modern thrash bands abide when raw edges get smoothed over through studio trickery. And honestly, despite my blanketing criticisms, I’d still say there’s enough gratification delivered to consider Heart of Oak a good album. The band is particularly effective when delivering a mellow, moodier stance, which makes up for a good portion of the full hour’s worth of material. But without that extra bit of fire, without the spicy fringe elements getting exaggerated in further detail, you’re essentially left with an awareness that the full Anciients potential has yet to be realized.
