Vancouver metal outfit Anciients caught a lot of attention when they were long-listed for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize for their debut album “Heart of Oak”, a stoner-prog opus rooted in acoustic folk music. But despite opening for heavyweights like Lamb of God and Sepultura, they’ve only just completed their first Canadian headlining tour.

I met up with vocalists/guitarists Chris Dyck and Kenny Cook (who was pulling double-duty on tour, playing guitar for openers Black Wizard) before their performance at Toronto’s Hard Luck Bar to speak about how word-of-mouth has benefited the band, their acoustic roots and love of grunge, and how they don’t fit in to the modern perception of prog music.