ANCIENT ASTRONAUTS

4.5 stars. This might be the last in that great run of albums that started with 2012's "The Death Defying Unicorn". A ten album run ending with "Ancient Astronauts" which also just makes it into my top five favourite studio albums for this band as well as taking that fifth spot for 2022. I really like how spacey this is and that's not surprising given the album's title but there's a fair amount of mellotron and lots of atmosphere on here. It does feel like an extension of the "N.O.X." suite from the previous album "The All Is The One" but not as interesting or intense when it comes to the repetitive sections on that long closer. Still, when they do get heavy it really stands out as a contrast.

Just four tracks and over 43 minutes, I like it already. The opener "The Ladder" is a great way to start this with those distant sounds including mellotron before it kicks in hard and turns uptempo. It settles with vocals and some cool guitar sounds. I really like the soundscape that is "The Flowers Of Awareness" at just over 2 minutes it's short but a trip and worth putting the headphones on for.

"Mona Lisa/ Azrael' is the third great track in a row and the longest of those at over 12 minutes. Violin, light beats create melancholy before fragile vocals without the violin takes over. Mellotron when the vocals step aside and the violin returns. More intense 4 minutes in with violin over top then heavy before 5 minutes. This is insane after 7 minutes, check out the drumming! Some relief after 9 minutes as it settles right down but then it explodes once again before a spacey calm. "Chariots Of The Sun" is the over 22 minute closer and the one that brings the "N.O.X." suite to mind the most. If this track was better I would be giving this record 5 stars but there are some extended passages here that could have been so much better.

Still, a very good album that hits the spot even more than "The All Is The One" did which I found a little inconsistent not surprisingly given it was a double album.