It was a heavy road, but after soul searching through the Canadian wilderness, at long last, Anciients have come full circle. Seven years removed from winning a JUNO Award for their last album, the hard-hitting Canucks are nominated once more for the band’s latest heady and heartfelt opus Beyond the Reach of the Sun.

“We are very honored and excited to receive a JUNO nomination for our latest record”, says Anciients frontman Kenny Cook. “Win or lose, we are grateful to be recognized on a national scale and we feel privileged to be nominated alongside the other amazing artists in the Metal category. We wish them all nothing but the best of luck. See you soon in Vancouver!”

Anciients are nominated for Metal/Hard Music Album of the year. Also nominated are Devin Townsend (PowerNerd), Kittie (Fire), Spiritbox (The Fear of Fear) and Striker (Ultrapower).

Beyond the Reach of the Sun is available now on Season of Mist.

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https://orcd.co/anciientsbeyondthereachofthesun

When Anciients learned they’d won the JUNO Award for Metal/Hard Music back in 2018, the band had just woken up in Vienna with eyes still caked in sludge after another blazing show during their headlining tour of Europe.

Now, in 2025, Cook, steady drummer Mike Hannay and the band’s new axe men Brock MacInnes and Rory O’Brien are heading back across the pond for Britian’s ArcTanGent Festival. Later this year, the band will make their long-awaited return to the states for the 23rd edition of ProgPower USA.

“The hiatus is over”, Cook says. “We’re ready to hit it hard”.

Praise for Beyond the Reach of the Sun

“It’s a welcome return from a band still at the top of their game” – Exclaim!

“…another classic album” – Vancouver Sun

“One of the heaviest prog metal bands of all time” – Loudwire (Best of 2024

“a welcome return and striking evolution of the Anciients sound and wondrous progressive metal showcase” – Angry Metal Guy (Best of 2024)

“A majestic mind-trip” – No Clean Singing (Best of 2024)

“Anciients have never been better” – MetalSucks (Best of 2024)

“An obvious prog metal masterpiece” – Blabbermouth

“Anciients deliver their message with power, finesse and soul” – New Noise

“A pure hit, a solid 10/10 and will no doubt be summiting many people’s album of the year lists” – Everything is Noise

“Imagine the strongest moments of Voice Of The Void (“Ibex Eye”) and Heart Of Oak (“Raise the Sun”) and you’ll have an idea of what Beyond The Reach Of The Sun is like: nearly an hour of top-notch progressive metal” – Heavy Music HQ (Album of the Week)

“Every note seems calculated, and each track interconnected, but yet the album breathes, and deeply. This is indeed a new pinnacle of Progressive Metal, and the band carries that flag high” – Metal Temple

“Anciients are probably the most talented prog band out there” – Metal Bite

Forbidden Sanctuary (8:15) Despoiled (5:14) Is It Your God (7:00) Melt the Crown (7:05) Cloak of the Vast and Black (6:18) Celestial Tyrant (5:47) Beyond Our Minds (4:07) The Torch (4:08) Candescence (4:08) In The Absence of Wisdom (6:35)