The Ancient Order - The Ancient Order

The Ancient Order

The Ancient Order
self-released; 2015

​3.5 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

Between their name and cover art I was already thinking about conspiracy theories, The Knights of Templar, Egyptian Pyramids, Persian myths before I heard any music from the self-titled album The Ancient Order from The Ancient Order. After digging a little deeper it turns out their album according to the band is based on the progression of the Mayan calendar and takes listeners on a voyage through the evolution of consciousness. I can’t say the album enlightened me about the evolution of consciousness but it does contain some solid rocking riffs and infectious melodies. 

It’s obvious to me that the band has a lot of reverence for the music they make. Like an album from Tool there isn’t any levity here and they seem unwilling to poke fun at themselves in any way. I feel somewhat indifferent about this approach but will say I have to be in a certain kind of mood to really appreciate what the band offers.

Things get going with “Totem” which was an excellent choice for an opener. It slowly builds and I was immediately attracted to the violin in the song, which is the factor that made the song stick out. The lyrics are indicative of what you can expect on the other songs. Matthew Allen (vocals) sings, “And we’re connected as a collective, lost in our minds consciousness has evolved from logical to intuitive fine-tuned with a universal presence a residue of the heavens sublime truth transcendence.” The song is quite dynamic and goes into engaging territory.

The next song “Amen Ra” was a standout. The seven-plus-minute song is impressive with eastern scales, a memorable vocal performance and a slew of engaging transitions. You won’t want to miss the last two minutes or so. “Temple” contains a surplus of energy while “Shadow” is a heavier song that is as close to metal as the band gets. The most intense violin playing happens on “[r]evolution.” You won’t want to miss that one either. They close with “DMT” which is almost certainly named after the psychedelic drug. The band reaches impressive peaks on this song. 

This album is a lot to take in and it took me multiple spins to get through the entire thing. I feel like at thirteen songs of formidable lengths it might have been better to split this into two EP’s or even trim it down to nine or ten songs. That being said there is still a lot to enjoy but it may take some effort from the listener. Although the band at times reminded me of when Spinal Tap sings about Stonehenge I can appreciate their vision and ability to stick with it. Recommended

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