Jury's Top Ten Records of 2013: #9

#9: Anciients - Heart of Oak

Accomplished, well played,  with a good balance between growling vocals & strong, clean vocals.  There are many epic moments with several parts that were reminiscent of Mastodon's more proggy moments.  I was also strangely reminded of an early Durutti Column record on parts of cuts like Raise the Sun.  My only complaint would be that many of the riffs that drive the songs are similar, or of a similar tone.  Still, it's a very enjoyable record and really, is everything I’ve hoped The Sword would amount to but have always fallen just short of.  Among my favourite tracks, oddly, are the two bonus tracks which, admittedly, are a little different than the rest.

Also considered:

417.3 – 2  Very capable instrumental post-rock.  Not always dazzling but possessing enough fine moments  to set it apart.  Diabolically hard to find any info on these mysterious Russians with the band name and CD title being numbers.

A Shelter In The Desert - Maze of Memories: Plodding, dull, unimaginative post-rock.