Ancient Warfare

"Ancient Warfare have hit upon a singular lonesome-highway energy, the kind that you can study but cannot fake" - Ned Raggett

"Echo Wilcox is haunted by voices – sometimes these voices will briefly emerge, half-heard in the background static, but more often they are unheard and unseen, part of the dark background in Ancient Warfare’s cinematic new album, The Pale Horse." - John Schaefer

"The band’s sound is relentless; even its quiet moments are full of barely contained emotions." - j. Poet

"A steady rocker with a unique vocal and lyrical approach, “Gunsmoke” builds into a burst of atmosphere and textured “ahhs.” - MAGNET MAGAZINE

"After those who pick up The Pale Horse run front-to-back with it (and you will readers - you might not know it yet, but you will), they'll understand what it means to have fallen in love with someone they've never met; this band will hold their hearts. They'll want more - they'll need more - and they'll find the fact that they have no idea how long it will be before Ancient Warfare releases a follow-up frustrating and the wait required a tedious chore. They'll be won by this, but it will be hard to feel as though it's a prize, because of that." - Bill Adams

"Sometimes, you want a song to set you up on a pop high and carry you to the next track on a wave of euphoric melodies and hummable harmonies. Other times, though, you want something a bit darker and more impressionistic. And that's where Lexington, Kentucky-based group Ancient Warfare comes in, with a sound that's completely ethereal and hard-hitting in equal measure. Every note seems to build into some kind of rhythmic fever dream of apocalyptic unease and questions about the nature of love and death. The band isn't looking to take the easy way out and has crafted a sound that feels drawn from your darkest and deepest fears." - Joshua Pickard

"A band that’s a perfect match for my darker moments: This August, Ancient Warfare is releasing their debut album, The Pale Horse, on Alias Records. While everyone else will be releasing songs about popsicles and dance parties, The Pale Horse grapples with the apocalypse and the “universal plagues of love and death.” - Sarah Mirk

"These folks are creating music with darker edges and a more rough spontaneous feel. Ms. Wilcox has a killer voice that really makes these tunes kick. Hard to compare these songs to any one artist or band, but you will probably hear a ton of influences swimming around in the mix. If you loved underground bands from the 1990s, there's an excellent possibility you'll totally dig this album. Uniquely rewarding cuts include "Darlin," "Gunsmoke," "Rolling Tides," and "Wintertimes." - BABYSUE.COM

“Ancient Warfare’s dark and quiet intensity transcends the band’s tough-chick exterior. The quartet designs a sonic atmosphere the same way Saul Bass once designed logos: with elegant simplicity and ferocious creativity. The psychedelic aspect to Ancient Warfare’s presentation is more about texture than actual sound, as their languid, fuzzy melodies drift through their ethereal yet solidly constructed songs, like the heavy smoke in an opium den.”
- MidPoint Music Fest | Critic's Pick 2014 (Sep 20, 2014) - Mike Breen

“Modern alternative pop grows up. Delightfully slushy echoes rise to a tension that give way to rich and bright melodies. You will enjoy Ancient Warfare.” -

“You don’t need Raoul Duke to throw the radio in so you can ride the waves of Jefferson Airplane to a more fanciful high. Ancient Warfare will ride that grungy wave with you. Echo Wilcox’s cryptic vocals bring the haunting contralto spirit of Grace Slick to complement a slow rock progression that brings Forget Cassettes to mind. But what really sets their vibe apart from fellow folk is the violin… Reva William’s looming bass lines twist with Rachel Yanarella’s strings to produce a melancholy whine that floats through slow progressions with easy rests...a slow ride that still doesn’t lose you along the way.” - Ryan Schatzman

“Their sound is like a storm blowing in at the edge of town, all foreboding shadows and thunder. They mix bits of 60s folk and psychedelic groups with the edge of PJ Harvey and the narcotic blues of Mazzy Star with a dash of gothy gloom” - Ross Compton

“Sometimes it is not the musician that finds music, but music that finds the musician...Echo Wilcox was destined to become a musician...Ancient Warfare’s new album The Palehorse is a project three years in the making Wilcox says paints a picture of not only her life, but the life of the band as well.” - DeBraun Thomas

"The band’s songs were slower than that of most alternative bands, but the distortion was cranked up and reverberated throughout the room." - Kyle Grimm

"Driven by Wilcox’s timeless vocals and well-crafted songs, Ancient Warfare’s sound is expansive yet organic" - Mike Breen

"...The point these tracks radiate around seems to have a gelatinous base in a fuzzed-out psychedelia, heavy in the melody and led by Wilcox's rich vocals. She sings in a lowered pitch, matching the subdued tone of the guitars. The songs tangle and sway in darker, introspective sounds..."
- Brine

"Mesmerized by their haunted sound and certain darkness that was not expected"
- Izzi Krombholz, Women In Rock (Nov 21, 2012) - Izzi Krombholz