![]() ![]() Further, the group also seems to enjoy creating new combinations from unanticipated source materials. In a live setting, this approach is fun for both the audience and band members alike. Soon after, Maranga abandons the standard metal growl for a cleaner intonation, and what started as an obvious Black Sabbath tribute ends with an elaborate trip into progressive rock territory.Ĭlearly, Ancestors take devious pleasure in building expectations in one direction, then quickly heading toward another. ![]() It’s a radical choice in such a guitar-oriented genre, but having the organ take the lead is undeniably refreshing. With this shift, the band confounds all expectations. Up to this point, Of Sound Mind sounds like every other psychedelic metal album out there, but then, unexpectedly, the tempo slows and Watkins’ organ moves to the foreground. “Mother Animal,” the first of the longer pieces, begins with a monumental guitar homage to Sabbath, complete with doom-laden lyrics that reference pagan rituals: “Slowly the season brings release/ From the famine of the beast…/ August has come/ Harvest has begun.” The song continues along well-established patterns low-tuned guitars weave through pastoral passages, while Maranga screams indecipherable phrases. Intended as a double LP on vinyl, the new album consists of four long pieces bracketed by shorter instrumental interludes. ![]() Here’s the irony: the band that began as a trite retread of metal’s recent history spends most of their latest release, Of Sound Mind, asserting themselves as one of the genre’s next pioneers. Not only did the resulting quintet incorporate a wider range of instruments and influences - King Crimson, Karl Stockhausen, Miles Davis - but they also found new ways to explore familiar terrain. Thank goodness the trio grew bored with this direction and decided to expand their sound to include organ (Jason Watkins) and keyboard/electronics (Chico Foley). But with artists like The Melvins, Sleep, and Neurosis already having claimed similar territory, I’m not sure what Justin Maranga (guitar, vocals), Nick Long (bass), and Brandon Pierce (drums) could have added. Presumably, they wanted to fuse massive Black Sabbath-styled riffs with The Grateful Dead’s loose sense of song structure, a combination that, in concert, would have wandered aimlessly at maximum volume. The word “sh*t” is heard in the game.It's funny that L.A.’s Ancestors initially formed as a stoner-metal jam band in 2006. During the course of the game, characters are sometimes depicted under the influence of drugs (e.g., overdosing on pills players' screen blurry/distorted) some environments also contain drug paraphernalia (e.g., bongs). The game includes some sexual material: a cyber-sex scene in which a woman-stylized with doll skin-orders a fully clothed man to perform various actions (no real sexual act occurs) a strip-club sequence depicting robotic pole dancers stylized posters of women/robots with exposed breasts. ![]() Blood is depicted as characters are injured/killed some environments depict pools of blood around victims' bodies. Some interactions lead to instances of violence: robotic police gunning down club patrons terrorist bombings killing non-adversary civilians a woman dying in a car crash. Players explore a dystopian, cyberspace-themed world interact with characters and solve various puzzles along the way. This is an adventure game in which players assume the role of a journalist uncovering lost memories in a futuristic Berlin. ![]()
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