Customer Reviews

Blood Ceremony

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Blood Ceremony, deliver a beautiful fusion of classic Sabbath Riffs mixed with 70's Jethro Tull inspired tunes, this canadian group's singer is not your typical vocalist, she plays exquisit flute passages and solo's and between her beautiful Vocals she jams the hammond B organ, This is a jewel for fans of Sabbath inspired riffs with searing flute solos and serious Doors influenced Organ playing, The vocals are wonderfully clear and you find yourself singing these cathy tunes, This is for fans that want a change of pace from there typical doom bands with more musicianship and horror and drug and occult type of lyrical content VERY FUN!

God bless Rise Above records. Not only have they unleashed the likes of Electric Wizard and Orange Goblin upon the world, they've also become a leading exponent of this retro-rock Movement Without a Name - either reissuing lost psych/doom/prog classics or creating all new ones via bands like Witchcraft, Diagonal and now Blood Ceremony, who are surely the most unapologetic homage so far.

The vocal style, lyrical themes, artwork, instrumental setup.... well, pretty much the whole thing harks back to a time when this sort of thing was new, underground, as heavy as it got, and somewhat dangerous too. It's a good job that these 21st Century exercises in nostalgia are authentic and reverential, undertaken by true fans, or the whole thing could descend into a kitschy waste of wax, but once this album is listened to more intently the clues to its youth become more apparent. For a start, these riffs are as Sleep as they are Sabbath - they are inclined to crawl away from the blues and towards more arcane and ominous atmospheres. The guitar is more up front than, say, Comus or Black Widow, and one gets a sense that the band has honed its ability to be powerful live act by today's standards, not just by yesterday's. All this has informed the delivery of these smart and colourful heavy rock songs, to the point where it feels like the songs themselves want to be heavier than they are.

In fact, that's the only problem with 'Blood Ceremony' - the music WANTS to be more powerful, more distorted, more hammered-home than it is. The keyboard and flute parts are lighter than their 1970 counterparts. It's a pretty minor gripe though, this album is a great listen and a worthy purchase for fans of many overlapping styles, past and present.

Blood Ceremony invokes a time when pagan rockers stalked the earth. Fans of Black Widow (of "Come to the Sabbat" fame), Black Sabbath, and early Jethro Tull/Blodwyn Pig will find this just the thing to celebrate dark (or not so dark) rituals by. Heavy guitar alternates with organ and flute as vocalist Alia O'Brien weaves tales of rituals and witchcraft fit for making it Halloween any time of year. Overall, the album has a classic rock feel that can't be faulted. As a side note, I would recommend buying the CD over the MP3 version, because the CD has a better mix and a more powerful presence. And really, this kind of heavy music needs to be played out loud, on big speakers. Excellent debut from these Canadian "witch rock" specialists and well worth having.

5 stars means "I love it," not "it's the best thing possible." I think that "Living With The Ancients" is a better album, but that doesn't mean that I don't love this one. I got this one after "Ancients" and I can honestly say that, while "Ancients" is better, this one is thoroughly enjoyable for several reasons. First, all the ingredients are there already, and you can tell that this is a band that has discovered their "voice" - their sound. Second, the song writing is interesting and is constantly giving you a great riff, feel, melody, mood, etc. And third, you can hear the band exploring and developing - learning how to use their "voice." It's as if the band has found their voice already, but they just haven't fully developed how to use it yet. Once you hear this, you'll definitely know where "Ancients" came from! The songs are strong and very cool, and they wander and keep things interesting. It's plenty heavy, plenty riffy, plenty raw, and sufficiently evil and mysterious! The flute, organ, and other instrumentation creates an overall eerie "pagan-like" feel. With "Ancients," you can tell that they really learned how to apply their sound with better (more mature?) songwriting from beginning to end - the songs just sound more natural, less exploratory and less "forced" in places. But that's really part of the charm that I do love about this album - you can hear them developing, and it's great. Definitely one for a metal lover's collection, and I do see myself listening to it over and over again through the years. One of my favorites, for sure!

wow - what an album. I listen to this almost daily - and I've had it for over a year! It's like a combination of Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull, and The Doors, but with female vocals... and it's a GREAT combination. Not as heavy as say, Electric Wizard, but not as 'out there' as OM - it's like a musical journey into the Roger Corman/Vincent Price classic "Masque of the Red Death"(which was originally written by Edgar Allen Poe), with abit of "Blood on Satan's Claw" thrown in for good measure! If these references mean anything to you*wink, wink*, you will like this album - BUY IT. I wanted to give it 666 stars, but amazon only allows 5. hehehehe

Not breaking any new boundries, but still a can't miss album. The woman's vocals blend nicely with the mucic. Not too hard, not too soft, perfect metal album!

Stunning record, not only does it sound superb, it also is made from a clear vinyl with red splatters. The record arrived promptly, on time, and in perfect condition.

Blood ceremony manage to create a Black Sabbath esque album without sounding like a direct rip off or wannabe stereotype. The slow riff and melody based songs are structured like Black sabbath songs, but the added twist is the addition of a flute into the mix, and organ parts here are there. This adds a new dimension and a sense of folk and charm to the music which gives it a unique sound. The foundation is strong, solid, melodic, chugging riffs, without flashy drumming, sticking to the groove. A Jethro Tull like flute offers the soloing duties, and a cool casual laid back vocal style complements the music perfectly. It's like the revival of black sabbath in a new form, the phoenix rises again. Its good to listen to classic old school metal that still sounds fresh.

This is a very cool album. If you're into Black Sabbath and the dark fantastic, then check out Blood Ceremony. I loved the reference to Jess Franco's Erotic Rite of Frankenstein in the track entitled 'Master Of Confusion'. The disc has a cool picture from Jean Rollin's film 'The Shiver of The Vampires' on it. There is something addictive about this band and I'm really looking forward to their next effort.

This is an awesome album, from start to finish, and has become one of my personal favs out of my entire collection. Easily the best album Ive picked up in a looooong time, and i pick up more than my fair share.

It has some hard, heavy guitar riffs, complemented by dizzying keyboard (organ, harpsichord?) and flute lines. A must buy for fans of stoner metal, tinged with folk and occult influences. Overall, it sounds a lot like the band Witch's self titled album, mysterious, beautiful, and laden throughout with sick guitars.