Jess and the Ancient Ones-Castaneda

Svart Records
2014 

Due out November 14th, "Castaneda"  is the latest release from Finland's Jess and the Ancient Ones. Available as a digital download and on 10" vinyl only, "Castaneda" features two exclusive songs in the form of the title track and "As to be With Him". Combined these two tracks run just over 11 minutes long and for this female-fronted occult rock band it's once more all about the psychedelic scene of the sixties and early seventies! Having covered both their 2012 debut (http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2012/09/jess-and-ancient-ones-jess-and-ancient.html) and last year's EP, "Astral Sabbat" (http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2013/02/jess-and-ancient-ones-astral-sabbat.html), "Castaneda" is by far the strongest material of the lot. More consistent and original than previous recordings, "Castaneda" finds a unified Jess and the Ancient Ones growing as musicians and songwriters while playing up to their own strengths and natural abilities. And frankly-speaking that is nothing short of marvelous!

Jess and the Ancient Ones-Astral Sabbat

Svart Records
2013

Having just covered Jess and the Ancient Ones self-titled debut album last September (see the link below) this 3-track EP came as a bit of a surprise. Indeed it's only been 9 months since that recording so it does seem as this Finnish band has been burning the midnight oil. "Astral Sabbat" sees the band covering "Long And Lonesome Road" by the Dutch rock band Shocking Blue in grand fashion while also tapping into new forms of energy on their own original music. At times this takes the form of the original members of Jefferson Airplane and Black Sabbath converging at a goth convention (headlined by The Damned) for the title track. It's quite the change then to hear the soft tones of "More Then Living". "Astral Sabbat" is clearly the attempt of a young band to shake things up and avoid falling into a creative rut. Sure that might seem a tad strange for a band with such a small catalog, but there's no way you can find fault when the material at hand is as stronger constructed as this.







http://metalmark.blogspot.com/search?q=jess+and+the+ancient+ones 

Jess and the Ancient Ones-Jess and the Ancient Ones

Svart Records
2012


This 7-track affair has actually been out for more then a few months, but I'm just now getting around to tackling it. Call it boredom or being business or both, but it is what it is and here we are in September staring at a release from May that may or may not be extremely cool. Honestly I can't quite decide how I fall on this one. For the uninitiated out there Jess And The Ancient Ones are an occult rock band from Kuopio, Finland. Lead by one "Jess" it almost sounds like some sort of bad bar joke. An "enigmatic front woman and three guitars" walk into a studio...yeah, so this is nothing really new under the sun. Coven was doing some of the same mojo back in the 60's although whereas Coven leaned more on psychedelic rock Jess and the Ancient Ones are said to draw their influences from heavy metal and rock groups such as Mercyful Fate, Roky Erickson, Iron Maiden and (yes that's right folks!) even ABBA. As the promo says "lyrical concept is based upon the personal occult experiences of the writers" so yes, it's all kinds of spooky. Or it's supposed to be. More then anything it comes off as more groovy then spooky which is fine by me. Imagine another world, another place and time I guess, in which Black Sabbath was the biggest influence of ABBA. But, instead of leaning on pop or disco ABBA instead leaned more on straight-ahead rock. That about sums up Jess and the Ancient Ones music-wise. Vocals wise? Well, Jess reminds me of someone, but for the life of me I can't pinpoint it. Oh yeah, that is going to drive me bat-crazy tonight. I'd wager it is more a rock artist then a pop one. She certainly has a bit of 70's/early 80's grit in her voice although, as stated, I cannot for the life of me remember where I heard that voice before. Regardless this is one of those releases where I enjoy it sure enough, but is it epic and brilliant or just one of those deals where I would listen to it for a week or so and then put it aside and have it collect dust? More then likely the truth falls somewhere in between.