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From the Ages is the third full-length studio album by American rock band Earthless. It was released on October 8, 2013 by Tee Pee Records. It had been six years since the band’s last full-length studio album, Rhythms from a Cosmic Sky, as all three members of Earthless were pre-occupied with other matters, including other bands.

The album comprises four songs, all instrumental, and was recorded in two days. Much of the album’s material had existed in the band’s live repertoire before – in particular the album's title track had been released in an early form on the band's 2008 live album Live at Roadburn – and the rest of it was created during the recording sessions and rehearsals.

The album was released to critical acclaim, with criticisms largely directed at the length of the material (and of the title track in particular) amid praises for its composition and depth. A number of publications cited the album as one of the best to be released in 2013 on year-end lists, and Earthless earned two nominations at the San Diego Music Awards after its release, with From the Ages becoming the band’s second album to earn the Best Hard Rock Album award.

Background and recording

It had been six years since Earthless released Rhythms from a Cosmic Sky and five since Live at Roadburn, on which an early version of "From the Ages" had been recorded, as members of Earthless became increasingly pre-occupied with other matters. Constant touring in 2008 and 2009 kept the band out of the studio, drummer Mario Rubalcaba began playing with Off! and guitarist Isaiah Mitchell became involved with Howlin' Rain. Mitchell also moved to northern California, which reduced the available time to rehearse as Earthless (who are based in San Diego). After three rehearsals, the band recorded the album in two days, recording much of it live the first day and additional details the following day, in San Francisco with producer Phil Manley in his studio, Lucky Cat Recording.

Song information

The songs on the album began as "very loose, general ideas" according to Rubalcaba, who also said "Violence of the Red Sea" was the most organized, structured song on the album (although he later said much the same of the title track instead). Eginton wrote the bass lines for "Violence of the Red Sea", inspired by funk and "prog-psych" bands from the UK and Europe. The song, which had existed in the band's concert setlist for the last few years prior to recording, was named for the combination of riffs and tempos which "collid together like an angry sea". The song's finale had existed in the band's repertoire for almost a decade and was used to close the song for the tension it created, whereas the opening of the song was considered more of a "laid back groove". After Rubalcaba and Eginton had outlined the song's bass guitar and drum parts in Mitchell's absence (due to now living elsewhere), Mitchell was allowed to improvise lead guitar over them when he was able to play with the duo.

"Uluru Rock" was named for the Uluru rock formation in Australia, as an homage to the country, and was written by Mitchell and Eginton as an improvisation while they waited for Rubalcaba to come onto the stage to begin the band's first show in the country (although at the time the band had not been to the landmark). As a tribute to the natives, the song was specifically named Uluru as opposed to Ayers Rock, the landmark's other official name. "Uluru Rock" became the opening song on the band's setlist for all shows going forward.

"Equus October" was born out of a song that the band were considering discarding because they were never able to finish it until they entered the studio and changed their minds, wanting more material on the album. They decided to use a riff from it only as an interlude that ran 30 seconds long, but they came up with more ideas about what to do with it during the mixing process, and eventually made the song much longer. Rubalcaba explained that the bass guitar line remained a constant fixture of jam sessions between himself and Eginton, and they decided to give it a chance by recording it at the album's sessions. Once Mitchell also began adding material to the song, Rubalcaba felt it began to take on a "strong & majestic yet mournful" sensation, almost as if it were about a ritualistic sacrifice. He later discovered the ritual of the October Horse and based the song's name on that of the ritual. "It took on the feeling I had about the jam & how it just completely comes crashing down so abruptly at the end," he explained. Expanding the song in the studio led the group to want to use it as an interlude to lead into the album's title track.

"From the Ages" was recorded for the band's live album Live at Roadburn five years before and, being very long, has been described as "a bastard to play ". The band wanted to record it in as few takes as possible in spite of its length, which they addressed by recording the song in Pro Tools as they expected it could be up to forty minutes long; in the past they used analog tape which only allowed for about twenty minutes of music but, according to Rubalcaba, yielded the best recording quality. Earthless rehearsed "From the Ages" for three days before recording it in about three takes. In the last five minutes of the song, the band very gently ease into the end, to avoid having to end the song abruptly. Although he had said the same of "Violence of the Red Sea" with respect to the album itself in a previous interview, Rubalcaba later described "From the Ages" as the most organized, planned song the band had yet recorded at all, let alone recorded for this album. He described the mixture of influences in the song as "A supreme psycho-delic buffet served up with all the sour Kraut, all the freshest sushi Japan has to offer & what not". The song expanded constantly during rehearsals and evolved after its debut on Live at Roadburn, and Rubalcaba reiterated the "pre-historic, caveman, dry & mysterious wasteland feel" inspiration for which he named it on that album.

Release and reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	84/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
PopMatters	8 out of 10
Pitchfork Media	7.2/10
Exclaim!	8/10
eMusic
NOW Magazine
About.com	4/5
Rolling Stone	Favorable
Magnet	Favorable
The Austin Chronicle

From the Ages was released on October 8, 2013, by Tee Pee Records. The artwork was created by artist Alan Forbes, whose work Rubalcaba commended as "captur to a T".

From the Ages charted at #25 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart for a week. Critical reaction to the album was largely positive, though the album's length was commonly cited as a minor flaw. Metacritic reported a score of 84 based on five reviews, indicating "Universal acclaim". "Though the silence may have been deafening for their small but devoted cadre of fans, the wait was worth every moment," wrote Erik Highter for PopMatters, who described the chemistry between the band members as "near telepathic connections between the players" and the roles of Eginton and Rubalcaba as being to bring Mitchell back from freely soloing independently of the other two. He rated the album 8 out of 10, his only complaint being that listeners may consider the title track too long. Conversely, Grayson Currin of Pitchfork Media said the rhythm section did not serve to restrain Mitchell at times, but to "instead follow his ecstatic lead everywhere, fellow travelers on his odyssey of enthusiasms". He echoed Highter's opinion regarding the title track's length, calling it "the one moment where the band's patience might test your own" and asking regarding the length and repetitive nature of the album as a whole, "…is there a need for an hour of three dudes tracing and retracing a melody?" The length of "From the Ages" was also criticized by Exclaim! reviewer Trystan MacDonald who cited it as the record's "only flaw" and rated the album overall 8 out of 10.

eMusic contributor Dan Epstein rated the album 4.5 stars out of 5 and described the interaction between band members in much the same way as Highter and Currin did, saying that while Mitchell's guitar leads are prominent, Eginton and Rubalcaba are "locked-in" with him and each other, "never los focus or intensity for a second — not even during the rolling 30-minute title track." Reviewing for NOW Magazine, John Semley said that while inferior to Rhythms from a Cosmic Sky, its high point was the opening track, "Violence of the Red Sea", and the album is "an essential record for anyone who likes the sound of guitars sounding like guitars". Karen A. Mann also wrote, for the heavy metal section of About.com, that the opening track was the band's peak performance on the album, which she rated 4 out of 5. Rolling Stone referred to the album as one of the 20 best metal albums of 2013, while Magnet named it the third best of the year's top ten hard rock releases. Likewise, the Austin Chronicle ranked it ninth in the top ten metal releases of 2013, and later reviewer Raoul Hernandez gave the album a perfect four-star review. Earthless were again nominated for Best Hard Rock Artist at the 2013 San Diego Music Awards, and the record won the 2014 award for Best Hard Rock Album, being the band's second record to do so (their debut Sonic Prayer won the award for 2007).

In support of From the Ages, Earthless toured the western coast of the United States in October 2013, and with the Shrine in Australia from December 2013 to January 2014 and the east coast of the US in August 2014. They also embarked on a tour of Europe that fall. Earthless had planned a tour of Japan with Eternal Elysium, but were forced to cancel the engagement to tend to ill family members; they rescheduled it for January 2015.

Track listing

All songs written by Earthless.

1. "Violence of the Red Sea" – 14:46
2. "Uluru Rock" – 14:08
3. "Equus October" – 5:42
4. "From the Ages" – 30:55

Personnel

Earthless

• Isaiah Mitchell – guitar
• Mike Eginton – bass guitar
• Mario Rubalcaba – drum kit

Additional personnel

Credits taken from the album's liner notes.

• Phil Manley – producer, mixer
• Isaiah Mitchell – mixer
• Mario Rubalcaba – mixer
• Carl Saff – mastering
• Alan Forbes – cover art
• Mike Eginton – inside art
• Ake Arndt – album layout
• Operation Mindblow – liquid overlays

Chart positions

References

1. ^ Gluck, Robert. "An Interview with Earthless: Ready to Rumble". The Aquarian Weekly. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
2. ^ Tucceri, Daniel (December 22, 2013). "AMH Network Interview with Earthless". AMH Network. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
3. ^ Weiderhorn, Jon (September 26, 2013). "Earthless's "Equus October" Is Just Another Example of Why They're the Best Sober Stoner Band on Earth". Noisey. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
4. ^ Marchese, David (October 9, 2013). "Journey to the Center of Earthless: A Heavy Chat With the Psych-Rock Gurus". Spin. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
5. ^ Treppel, Jeff (November 12, 2013). "EARTHLESS: "From the Ages" Track-by-Track Breakdown". Decibel. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
6. ^ Muldoon, Ryan (February 13, 2014). "Earthless Official APF 2014 Interview". Austin Psych Fest.com. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
7. Live at Roadburn (inside sleeve). Earthless. New York City: Tee Pee Records. 2008. TPE-089.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
8. ^ "From the Ages Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
9. ^ Highter, Erik (November 14, 2013). "Earthless: From the Ages". PopMatters. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
10. ^ Currin, Grayson (October 22, 2013). "Earthless: From the Ages". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
11. ^ MacDonald, Trystan (October 7, 2013). "Earthless - From the Ages". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
12. ^ Epstein, Dan (August 14, 2013). "Earthless, From the Ages". eMusic. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
13. ^ Semley, John (October 17–24, 2013). "Earthless - From The Ages". Now. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
14. ^ Mann, Karen A. (October 8, 2013). "Earthless - 'From the Ages' (Tee Pee)". About.com. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
15. ^ "20 Best Metal Albums of 2013: Earthless, 'From the Ages'". Rolling Stone. December 11, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
16. ^ Ryan, Matt (December 4, 2013). "Best Of 2013: Hard Rock". Magnet. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
17. ^ Hernandez, Raoul (May 2, 2014). "Austin Psych Fest 2014 Preview - Review: Earthless". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
18. Terich, Jeff (July 23, 2013). "Earthless announce new album". San Diego CityBeat. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
19. ^ "Earthless - Chart History (Heatseekers)". Billboard. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
20. Hernandez, Raoul (January 13, 2014). "Top Tens: Tired of Brooklyn indie rock? Me too". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
21. King, Anthony (August 2, 2013). "San Diego Music Awards nominees released". San Diego Uptown News. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
22. "San Diego Music Awards - 2014 Winners". San Diego Music Awards.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
23. "San Diego Music Awards - 2007 Winners". San Diego Music Awards.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
24. "Earthless Streaming New Album "From The Ages"". The PRP. October 1, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
25. "Earthless Confirm Australian Dates". theMusic.com.au. October 28, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
26. "Earthless And The Shrine Plan August East Coast US Tour". The PRP. June 20, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
27. ^ "Earthless Tour!". Tee Pee Records.com. July 2, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
28. "ヘヴィ・サイケデリックの新世代支配者アースレス、初来日公演が実現". Yahoo! Japan. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
29. From the Ages (booklet). Earthless. New York City: Tee Pee Records. 2013. p. 1. TPE-158-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

External links

• From the Ages at Discogs
• From the Ages at MusicBrainz (list of releases)

• Pages with empty short description
• 2013 albums
• Earthless albums
• Tee Pee Records albums