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░ ██ ██ Artist: Ice Dragon ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Tome of the Future Ancients █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2014 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2015-02-14 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Psychedelic Rock ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: PRC Music ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Reissue ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ Ice Dragon's fourth opus of psychedelic stoner █
█ doom, Tome of the Future Ancients, was originally █
█ released in 2012, independently. Like the band's █
█ second and third albums, The Burl, the Earl, the █
█ Aether and The Sorrowful Sun, the fine folks at █
█ PRC Music are reissuing the band's fourth album as █
█ well (for the first time on CD). Where The Burl, █
█ the Earl, the Aether was focused on fuzzed out, █
█ psychedelic doom with heavy leanings towards █
█ Sabbathian riffing and The Sorrowful Sun focused █
█ more on trippy and ethereal passages with stoner █
█ grooves and prog rock tendencies, Tome of the █
█ Future Ancients sees the Ice Dragon treading █
█ darkened, gloomy waters of slow and trudging doom █
█ with tons of fuzzed out riffs and descents into █
█ folk-laden acoustics. █
█ If anything can be said about the works of Ice █
█ Dragon, it's that they are constantly shifting and █
█ evolving; never content to rest in one spot for █
█ long. While the band has certainly cemented a █
█ sound that is decidedly Ice Dragon, they never █
█ really repeat themselves from album to album. █
█ Songs like ôSteal Away From Hellö showcase the █
█ band's penchant for slow paced rhythms and █
█ Electric Wizard styled fuzz while ôThe Black Book █
█ of Hoursö and ôNightö focus on heavier riffing and █
█ a darker presentation. Once again Ice Dragon █
█ incorporates moments of ethereal trippiness, with █
█ interlude tracks like ôAstronomical Unionö and █
█ ôCrystal Countdown Into Alphaö. The entire affair █
█ sounds like a fuzzy and reverb laden tribute to █
█ the late seventies doom scene with tons of █
█ psychedelic classic rock influence. █
█ While the whole of Tome of the Future Ancients is █
█ certainly darker and more menacing in nature than █
█ its predecessors, there are still moments of the █
█ psychedelic nostalgia woven throughout, like the █
█ trippy bass lines, sparse melodic guitar chords █
█ and fuzzy background keys on ôAdoration of Raö. In █
█ the same token, the vocals are much more diverse █
█ than before. The work on the previous albums █
█ ranged from a psychedelic crooning similar to Jim █
█ Morrison to a more reverb laden Ozzy Osbourne or █
█ Dan Foundelius, but there's more of a harsh sound █
█ presented here amidst the classic vibes. ôThe █
█ Bearded Mageö, for example, even showcases a █
█ gruff, gravelly shout, that fits within the █
█ heavier riffing extremely well. █
█ I would say that Tome of the Future Ancients is █
█ business as usual for Ice Dragon, but what is █
█ considered usual business for Ice Dragon? There █
█ are just truck loads of fevered stoner fuzz, slow █
█ and plodding rhythms, ethereal and trippy vocals, █
█ all topped off with a general embodiment of the █
█ late seventies doom scene with scatter shot █
█ influences of classic rock. This is definitely a █
█ solid addition to the works of Ice Dragon. This █
█ doesn't really top their previous efforts, rather █
█ it stands parallel; another divergence in the Ice █
█ Dragon catalog. These Bostonian psychedelic doom █
█ lords have proved themselves unstoppable and any █
█ listeners inclined to hear a little Electric █
█ Wizard and Black Sabbath worship mixed with some █
█ psychedelic hard rock will find no better place to █
█ get your fix. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Manuscript 408 9:53 ░
░ 2. NATIAIWS 5:51 ░
░ 3. Man Sitting in a Field of Green Grass 4:49 ░
░ 4. Illuminations Foretold 7:32 ░
░ 5. Steal Away From Hell 7:13 ░
░ 6. Astronomical Union 4:58 ░
░ 7. The Black Book of Hours 7:08 ░
░ 8. Night 7:22 ░
░ 9. Crystal Countdown into Alpha 2:34 ░
░ 10. The Bearded Mage 10:18 ░
░ 11. Adoration of Ra 5:01 ░
░ 12. Infinite Requiem 3:03 ░
░ 75:42 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
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