While crushing stoner metal is the easiest way to describe the vast, fuzzed-out sound of Vancouver-based Anciients, to limit them to this description is a disservice. Beneath the fat, distorted guitar tone and acrid smokiness is a deep vulnerability. There are moments of wonder, of tentative exploration on their debut, Heart of Oak, that speaks to a precocious musical and emotional intelligence.

“Raise The Sun” is an excellent example of everything that makes Heart of Oak an extraordinary debut. The sludge-heavy, powerful riffing comes to the fore, but it is cut by the clarity of the soaring vocals, transforming the contrasting heaviness into a throbbing ache. For all the weight they are capable of conjuring, Anciients are also skilled at wandering off into intricate, light progressive passage with surprising deftness, which they showcase repeatedly on this nonetheless lean and compact album opener.

“Anxiety Puke/ Lovelessness” is a nine-minute semi-titular track that forms the core of their newest album, Lovelessness. Deeply involved in the aesthetics of the abject, this track is a tribute to loss and disgust. Guitarist/vocalist James Farwell wrote every song on the album, using Lovelessness to purge some of the emotion poison that had been swelling within him after a year that saw the death of friends and his beloved dog and the end of a long-term relationship. The rhythm recalls the sensation of muscles clenching in agony, and the riffs have a clutching, convulsive quality. Feverish and ugly, but also still powerful and defiant, “Anxiety Puke/ Lovelessness” is the definition of bloody yet unbowed.

“Lucky Animals” is a cheeky, catchy piece with a throbbing, slightly groovy rhythm and plants itself firmly in your head and refused to get out. The track, which as first listen seems silly and light to the point of almost being frivolous, with repeated listens shows itself to be more sophisticated and even a little ominous. The lyrics reflect upon the fact that animals are lucky, presumably because they are driven my instinct and unbothered by the complications of consciousness, whereas people are constantly worried about whether or not they are in control of themselves. “Lucky Animals” reminds us that the conscious mind is not a light switch that can be turned off, but rather a complex and constantly whirring machine that can break down.

To suit the ridiculous/seriousness of “Lucky Animals,” the unofficial music video for the song features Devin Townsend dancing.

“Hic Svnt Dracones” caught my attention in particular because of the various techniques in employs to attack and unsettle the listener. There is complex, discordant guitar work, buffeting the listener with sludge and crust. There are rancid grindcore vocals that ache and creak with suppurated foulness. There are alienating electronic effects that hiss and grown in warning. And, in the background, an eerie tin whistle makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

If you’re in the mood to be deeply unsettled, give this track a listen on Column of Heaven‘s bandcamp page. And if you’re hungry for even more disturbing noise, the band will be celebrating the physical release of Mission From God on Friday, September 7th 2012 at the 460 (460 Spadina Ave.). Column of Heaven will be playing with fellow Toronto locals Purity Control, Farang and Spearhead. Doors open at 9pm, and cover is only $5.

Also worth your time: vocalist and bassist Andrew Nolan’s blog.

“Ideomotor” is one of the harsher, more mechanical and grinding numbers on this record, and shows off how the band has evolved perfectly. Tight and metallic, this song illustrates how The Agonist have become a cyborg of a band, screaming machine and taught flesh together.

This Hisses will be performing at NXNE at The Rochester (423 College Street) on Saturday, June 16^th at 8pm. Listen to Gold on Fire here.