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. Despite the band's preference for analog tape, the title track had to be recorded digitally to accommodate its length.
The album was released to mostly positive critical reaction, with criticisms usually 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 2013 releases on year-end lists. Earthless earned two nominations at the San Diego Music Awards, and From the Ages became the band’s second album to win the Best Hard Rock Album award there.
Background and recording
Earthless' last studio album, Rhythms from a Cosmic Sky, had come out in 2007, and their live album Live at Roadburn (on which an early version of "From the Ages" was recorded) in 2008; further releases had been delayed since then as members of Earthless were becoming 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 with 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 the same of the title track). 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 been included in the band's concert setlist for the last few years prior to recording, was named after the combination of riffs and tempos which "collid[ed] together like an angry sea". The song's finale was present 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 after the Uluru rock formation in Australia, as an homage to the country, and was written by Mitchell and Eginton through improvisations while they waited for Rubalcaba to get on stage to begin the band's first show in the country 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 thereafter.