Blood Ceremony conjures up the spirit of ’60s and ’70s bands such as Jethro Tull, Black Sabbath, Iron Butterfly, Black Widow, Coven and early Pink Floyd. Imagine if Ian Anderson, Syd Barrett and Tony Iommi got together for a “far out, man” jam session.
Some of the songs also tread on Graveyard and Witchcraft’s ’70s style rock territory, as well as having a foot in Ghost and The Devil’s Blood’s plot, although not as blatantly Satanic as the latter two. But lyrical subject matter such as the occult, necromancy, sorcerers and sorceresses, magicians, witches, wizards and black magic run rampant throughout Blood Ceremony.
Church organs, doomy Sabbath riffs, haunting flute solos and fuzzed-out and distorted guitar patterns combine magically with the mesmerizing and angelic female vocals of Alia O’Brien. There’s a mysterious and mystical vibe happening within the music.
The production is a little hollow, especially with the vocals, which sound echoey yet haunting. However, it does have an old school, organic, analog sound to it, which I believe is the whole point of this kind of retro rock. Sometimes the songs are plodding and slow, thus drifting aimlessly into improvisational territory and unrelentless jams.
However, Blood Ceremony is an interesting blast from the past. It utilizes old school prog instrumentation, hippie-ish and occult-like atmospheres and haunting moods to the fullest.
(released February 14, 2012 through Metal Blade Records)
