Ancestors

Pushing sludge rock to its ultimate excess, Los Angeles's Ancestors rumble forth with controlled severity on debut effort Neptune With Fire. Thick with gritty guitars, droning beats worthy of Black Sabbath's best jam-outs and the intricacy of more technically-based apocalyptic metal such as Baroness or Mastodon, Neptune With Fire's eerie atmosphere and wallowing passages may initially seem overdrawn when clocking in at two songs and almost 40 minutes but as the record unfolds, distinct segments are discernable within "Orcus' Avarice" and the title track. Ebbing and flowing, the album lolls from driving passages to loose, sublime space rockers, shifting tempos and overall groove without compromising heaviness. Occasionally, when Ancestors stretch out, they accomplish the same vocal-less melodic dexterity of Pelican before ramming back into broad, raging movements once again. Enticingly moody, desolate and bleak, Neptune With Fire sets a new pace for the space metal crew.