Man, what the hell is going on? All the joy I once derived from writing about music has just evaporated. Is it me? The last few months have been pretty rough, but fuck, it's not like I'm living in a warzone or the middle of a natural disaster. It's just like there are no words left any more and no ways to string them together to try to explain how I feel about this album, or that one, or the next one; nothing makes much sense and there seems to be very little point trying. Argh. Argh, I tell you.

None of this is Ancestors' fault, though. In fact, hearing their debut LP "Neptune With Fire" has been one of the highlights of the past little while. Ancestors is a five piece doom metal ensemble hailing from Los Angeles and this is what their press-kit would have you know about them:

Ancestors transmogrifies the epic nature of seventies psychedelic and progressive music into a form that also incorporates vintage, doom and drone metal. "Neptune With Fire" is a conceptual, two track record that tells of a metaphorical character and his cosmic, psychological ordeal through war, celebration, remorse and revelation. Combining the embrace of the grand storytelling featured in conceptual space and psychedelic rock song-writing, the soul of hard rock and vintage metal, and the transmundane ethic of epic, "Neptune With Fire" induces catastrophic experiences in the listener.

A little O.T.T. to be sure, but... I pretty much support everything said there. This sound is STRONG, yo. And one of the important things about Ancestors is that they're a five-piece; not only does this make for a more full-on, cosmic sound-production in general, but between them two of the members -- Chico Foley and J. Christopher Watkins -- contribute "textural incarnations, vocals, and organ". These textural and organ-ic contributions are quite innovative and very, very pleasing to my ears; probably even what sets "Neptune With Fire" apart. Otherwise think 'classic', though, cos this album is a stone-cold rock classic. Listening to it I'm constantly reminded of the wonders of early-70s Kraut heavy-psych. I'm thinking Gäa, I'm thinking Brainticket, I'm thinking Wallenstein, Gila, and even Ash Ra Tempel. Not to say that they are some kinda throwback band -- there're elements here of the best in Kyuss-like stoner groove-rock riffage and totally now-sounding psych (Mamatus, Om) as well as some doom-sludge-snarl with GREAT sounding guitars -- possibly the crunchiest downtuned chug I can remember for, like, forever. But then the last section busts out the heavy prog psych crescendo moves a la Yes or Pink Floyd at their glorious best and you can't help but be transported away on the wings of their transcendent noise.

Ever since I first listened to this record I have been frozen in the worst kind of writer's block. Perhaps this IS Ancestor's fault. Was that the "catastrophic experience" which was induced in me, and then reinforced as I've listened to this album countless times since? If so, then fuck it. In fact, I must offer my thanks to them. "Neptune With Fire" is actually pretty close to being perfect, and rousing myself from my torpor, forcing myself up and at 'em and back to work to write this while it's playing loudly in my cans has been a challenging but ultimately very rewarding trip.

Hey also, do look out for the gatefold vinyl with art by Arik Roper (Sleep's "Dopesmoker" and Earth's "The Bee Made Honey In The Lion's Skull"). 9/10 -- Stephen Clover (25 June, 2008)