Written By Kevin McSweeney
Anciients Humanist Re-Recorded 2026 Revisits an Early Heavyweight
Anciients Humanist re-recorded 2026 marks the return of one of the Canadian progressive metal band’s earliest and heaviest songs, rebuilt with improved production, the current lineup and backing vocals from original guitarist Chris Dyck.
Canadian progressive metal force Anciients have reached back to their earliest days for a newly recorded version of “Humanist,” one of the first songs the band ever put to tape and still one of their heaviest.
The revamped track arrives through Season of Mist, more than fifteen years after “Humanist” first appeared on Anciients’ 2011 debut EP, Snakebeard. The song was later included as a bonus track on their acclaimed 2013 full-length Heart of Oak, but the 2026 version gives the material a considerable sonic overhaul with the band’s current lineup.
Rather than simply dusting off an old recording, Anciients have rebuilt “Humanist” around the heavier production and evolved musicianship of the band they are today. The new version features the rhythm section behind their latest era while also reaching into the past with backing vocals from original guitarist Chris Dyck, who performed on the first recording.
Vocalist and guitarist Kenny Cook says revisiting the song felt natural after the band heard what improved production could do for earlier material.
“Humanist was the first song we recorded as a band,” Cook recalls. “After hearing the sonic improvements that came with re-recording ‘Built to Die’ last year, we wanted to give ‘Humanist’ the same treatment.”
The song may come from Anciients’ formative period, but its sprawling composition already contained many of the traits that would eventually define the band: crushing heaviness, progressive movement and an unwillingness to stay inside one stylistic lane.
Cook describes “Humanist” as representing “a wild dream,” adding that while it remains one of the group’s heaviest songs, they still “chuck a little bit of everything into the composition.”
The release also arrives at a fitting moment in Anciients’ history.
The Vancouver band recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of Voice of the Void, the album that earned them their first JUNO Award in 2016. Their latest full-length, Beyond the Reach of the Sun, brought them another JUNO win in 2025, making the group two-time recipients of Canada’s most prominent music award.
Now Anciients are preparing to take that momentum overseas.
At the end of the month, the band will embark on their first European and UK tour in more than a decade, marking their first return to those stages since the era surrounding Voice of the Void.
For longtime listeners, the new “Humanist” offers an unusual collision of eras: one of Anciients’ earliest compositions played by the band they have become after fifteen years of evolution.
Digging through the past isn’t always about nostalgia. Sometimes you find something down there that still has teeth.
Lineup
Kenny Cook (vocals, guitar)
Mike Hannay (drums)
Brock MacInnes (rhythm guitar)
Rory O’Brien (bass)
Guest musicians on “Humanist” (Re-Recorded)
Chris Dyck – Backing vocals
Recording studio
Rain City Recorders
Producer and sound engineer- Jesse Gander
Mastering engineer and studio – Stu McKillop @ Rain City
Mixing studio and engineer – Jesse Gander @ Rain City Recorders
Order & Stream here
Anciients 2026 Ascent of the Fallen Ones Headline European/UK Tour
September 26 – Leeuwarden, NL @ Into the Void [TICKETS]
September 27 – Cologne, DE @ Euroblast [TICKETS]
September 29 – Copenhagen, DK @ Stengade [TICKETS]
October 1 – London, UK @ The Black Heart [TICKETS]
October 2 – Nottingham, UK @ The Mist Rolling Inn [TICKETS]
October 3 – Manchester, UK @ The Lodge [TICKETS]
October 4 – Bristol, UK @ The Croft [TICKETS]
October 6 – Southampton, UK @ Joiners [TICKETS]
October 7 – Brighton, UK @ Dust [TICKETS]
October 10 – Nijmegen, NL @ Soulcrusher [TICKETS]
October 12 – Toulouse, FR @ Le Rex [TICKETS]
October 13 – Barcelona, ES @ Razzmatazz 3 [TICKETS]
October 14 – Madrid, ES @ Rockville [TICKETS]
October 15 – Bragança, PT @ JP Rock Cafe [TICKETS]
October 17 – Porto, PT @ Auditório CCOP
Follow Anciients
Bandcamp: https://anciientriffs.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-the-reach-of-the-sun
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ANCIIENTSRIFFS
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anciients/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ANCIIENTS
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ANCIIENTS
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/anciients/603538280
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/3YQOcYukzO6U1MjFcavDUE?si=4QWahfZxQjOmAI7nYrav6g&nd=1&dlsi=0142e5e62ae54105
About The Author
Kevin McSweeney is Metal Lair’s resident scribe of the underground, eternally rummaging through the global metal scene for riffs worth your time.
As the guiding hand behind Seven Deadly Songs every Friday, he has an uncanny knack for finding the track you didn’t know you needed, usually before finishing his pint.
Equal parts loyal, kind, and quietly razor-witted, Kevin brings deep knowledge, impeccable taste, and a steady, reliable presence to Metal Lair.
Read More From This Author:
EP Review: Beyond The New Horizon by iAtlas
EVERY TIME I DIE GUITARIST PASSES AT JUST 48
ALBUM REVIEW: GREEN CARNATION – A DARK POEM, PART III: THE MESSIAH COMPLEX
Album Review: To No Avail by Xenith
Album Review: Made Flesh by Untitled With Drums
No algorithms. No fluff. No watered-down corporate metal coverage.
Subscribe to Metal Lair and get weekly underground features, Seven Deadly Songs, Deep Cuts, interviews, and original metal journalism sent directly to your inbox.
Join the patrons of Metal Lair
MetalLair.net is a metalzine muttering to itself about seo and blastbeats at 3 AM powered by caffeine, riffs, a severe lack of sleep, and a dog wondering why the human is still awake.
Sometimes it’s Kevin passing out mid Seven Deadly Songs.
Sometimes it’s digging up forgotten records no one else is talking about.
Always, it’s built for people who actually live this music.
If that sounds like you, you’re already one of us.
Supporting Metal Lair means keeping it independent, loud, and real with no corporate filters, no watered-down takes. If you want to help keep it alive…
Become a patron of Metal Lair.
🤬 GOT A METALHEAD COMPLAINT?
“People roundhouse-kicking” in the pit grinding your gears?
Gatekeepers questioning whether you’re “metal enough”?
Frustrated with getting hit in the head peoples smelly shoes at a concert?
Whatever’s poisoning your particular corner of the metal community, file an unofficial complaint with The Metal Lair Complaint Department.
Vent all your venom. Name the offense. Make your case.