Halifax, Canada’s Ancient Thrones have teamed up with Metal Insider to premiere a guitar playthrough video for their crushing new single, “A Turning Point.” The track is taken from their upcoming full-length album, Melancholia, which is scheduled to arrive on September 19, 2025. The record sees the band shift into a heavier sludge and groove territory while retaining their progressive style.
Formed in 2011 and rebranded in 2018, Ancient Thrones challenge themselves with a unique blend of blistering speed, atmospheric storytelling, and raw intensity. Melancholia marks their strongest piece yet, a 42-minute concept album exploring cinematic soundscapes layered with extreme-groove metal intensity.
On the album, bassist Matt LeBlanc comments:
“For this album, a big focus for us was on the production. We meticulously, painstakingly spent several hours dialing every tone, note, layer, vocal, etc. We were fortunate to have time and a slower world on our side during production. Everything on this album was thought out and brought to life in a fully fleshed-out way. It took us 5 years to make this album, with 1 of those years used just levelling up our musicianship and techniques in order to play the material. We’re faster, more technical, and have a singular focus to make sure this album was beating you down from head to toe.”
The band adds:
“A turning point is exactly that; a complete shift from speed into a groove-focused, more sludge-influenced sound, with twists and turns as our character in the story sinks his feet into the muddy path ahead, going deeper into the trip. Originally, this song was meant to be a bit more straightforward rhythmically, until Sean flipped the drum part to channel influences like Brann Dailor on Mastodon’s “Leviathan’, big energy and lots of fills. Featuring a ground-shaking bass performance by Matt LeBlanc and ending with a standout finger-bleeding solo from Dylan Wallace, the song offers something to satisfy all metal fans.”
Watch the playthrough video below and pre-order the album here:
Track List:
01) A Moon Fused Key
02) Achromatopsia
03) Melancholia
04) A Turning Point
05) A Pellucid Prism
06) Sacred Swollen Glass
07) Blight
08) A Pale Palace
09) Vacant
