The musicians who make up The Anciients will likely be glued to a television set Sunday night.
The band – which boasts two members from Mission, Chris Dyck and Ken Cook – has been performing, touring and recording since 2009 and has been nominated for the best metal/hard music album of the year at this weekend’s Juno Awards being held in Winnipeg, MB.
“It’s pretty mind-blowing,” said Dyck of the nomination. “If you would have told me … we would have been nominated for a Juno this year, I would have told you to beat it.”
“I was baffled to hear that,” Cook added. “It’s really hard to say, but I think we have a decent chance.”
Their album, Heart of Oak, is up against fellow label-mates Gorguts (Coloured Sand), KEN Mode (Entrench), Protest the Hero (Volition) and The Flatliners (Dead Language).
Cook classed their music as “a mix of hard rock and definitely some metal aspects.”
The band has a wide range of musical influences, including Pink Floyd, Thin Lizzy and more, said Cook.
The Anciients formed from the ashes of another local band, Spreadeagle.
“When we left Spreadeagle, we didn’t just want to stop. I just wanted to be taken seriously as a songwriter,” said Dyck. “With [The Anciients] we didn’t have a set goal.
“But we wanted to have a cool name, cool songs and a cool logo before we even said, ‘Hi.'”
The quartet sees Cook at lead vocals/guitars, Dyck on guitar/vocals, Aaron Gustafson on bass and Mike Hannay at drums.
“We spent thousands of hours refining [our music],” and they rehearsed for a full year before doing their first live show, said Dyck.
And their popularity continues to grow.
While doing extensive touring throughout the region and province, The Anciients also did 70 shows in the U.S. last year alone. The band leaves April 8 for a 21-day European tour, and later this year, they are planning more U.S. shows, and a cross-Canada tour.
The Junos air on CTV starting at 6 p.m. March 30.
For more information on The Anciients, visit anciients.com.
