ANCESTORS
"Neptune With Fire" is a conceptual, two track record with a title track that tells of a metaphorical character and his cosmic, psychological ordeal through war, celebration, remorse and revelation."
LA-based quintet Ancestors head off into third-eye territory on their amazing debut for TeePee Records affiliate North Atlantic Sound. The thing we like the most about the Ancestors is their manipulation of the musical vibe -- alternating between Sleep's heavy riffing and lysergic freak-outs.
Ancestors take the listener on a trip to a place where space is heavy and sound is all that matters. Factor in some strategic organ textures here and there, and you've got an album with more dimensions than you know what to do with, just the way the Ancestors planned it. Blast off!
Words | Chico
We wrote the album over the course of several months –first as a three piece band, then a four piece, and finally as a five piece with organ and ambience / noise. With the additional musicians, we broadened our vision of what we wanted to create musically.
The two songs we recorded, "Orcus' Avarice" and "Neptune With Fire" are a reflection of that. We recorded at a studio in Santa Monica, CA called 48 Windows with our good friend Scott Crisp, who actually spent time on the weekends outside of his work schedule to record us. Because of the sporadic recording schedule, the album actually took several months to complete. We're proud of the end result, but we’re still progressing and very excited about recording our new material.
NEPTUNE WITH FIRE > On to the songs...
"Neptune With Fire" is a conceptual, two track record with a title track that tells of a metaphorical character and
his cosmic, psychological ordeal through war, celebration, remorse and revelation --four lyrical chapters that represent the four musical
movements.
The first song written was "Orcus' Avarice", which had a very loose concept at the time, and also minimal lyrics. However, it did consider the 'all powerful', which was then embraced in the writing of the title track, which progressed into taking more consideration into the lyrics and concept. Without too much basis from our own lives, the song is a consideration for the irrational approach to achieving success and more specifically that of desire, which without thought can lead to more woe than joy.
"Neptune" was used as a figure to encompass this perspective, ultimately for a representation of our enjoyment of mythologies, and also to coincide with the epic nature of the music that we attempted at the time. He is humanised in a psychological perspective, for even he realises his own mortality as he loses everything by risking it all -- warring, destroying and taking over the cosmos --which eventually leads to the penultimate and final chapters: remorse and revelation, where he is beckoned by an infinite loneliness that was of his own doing. Although anything is possible, we believe that it remarkably unlikely that we --all existence-- can achieve supreme existence.
NEPTUNE WITH FIRE > Albums of Influence...
Pink Floyd - "Meddle"
I think we wear our influences on our collective sleeves. Our music is definitely a reflection of what we listen to, and it's safe to say that in writing Neptune With Fire, this album was without a doubt lurking in our subconscious and seeping into the music. "Meddle" and the subsequent live performances of selections from "Meddle" in their "Live at Pompeii" performance is without a doubt some of the most inspiring music to have ever been committed to tape..
King Crimson - "In the Wake of Poseidon"
Another obvious one, though I assure you the Neptune / Poseidon crossover themes are an afterthought. But we certainly don't shake the comparison. King Crimson's entire catalog is brilliant and we’re all pretty avid Crimson fans. No band before them and no band since has ever sounded like this...but we certainly try to flavor our music with a tinge of Crimson. If only we had a Mellotron. Hawkwind - "Space Ritual"
So far ahead of their time, and yet so under appreciated. The solid rhythm section of Lemmy and Simon King meeting the way out psychedelia of the rest of the band massively influenced us. Keeping a concrete rhythm with the bass and drums while the rest of the band explores a sort of free jazz 'space ritual' is something we probably almost overdid when initially writing our album.
Nektar - "Journey to the Center of the Eye"
Another under appreciated masterpiece. So epic and well written / played / recorded. After one listen to this album, we knew that we wanted to sound like Nektar 'injected with iron and steel' as one of my band members so aptly put it. Not so sure that's how it turned out, but the influence is definitely there.
Neurosis - "Enemy of the Sun"
I'm pretty sure that I speak for every member of the band when I say that this album changed our lives. Each one of us discovered it in our own way at different times in our lives, but there is one common denominator: it changed the way we looked at music. It's pretty safe to say that anything musical that any of us has done since this album [and this band in general] came to our attention has been colored by it in numerous ways. Who knew you could take a good riff and play it over and over for 10 minutes without it getting boring? All heavy music will forever live in the massive shadow of Neurosis.
The first song written was "Orcus' Avarice", which had a very loose concept at the time, and also minimal lyrics. However, it did consider the 'all powerful', which was then embraced in the writing of the title track, which progressed into taking more consideration into the lyrics and concept. Without too much basis from our own lives, the song is a consideration for the irrational approach to achieving success and more specifically that of desire, which without thought can lead to more woe than joy.
