Reviews list for Blood Ceremony - Blood Ceremony (2008)

Despite being aware of their existence for many years now, I hadn’t ever seriously considered checking out anything from Canada’s Blood Ceremony before now but became intrigued after noticing an old Hall of Judgement post & followed up with a read of Sonny’s review which certainly sounded interesting. I decided I’d check out the band’s self-titled debut to see what it was all about I’ve come away feeling like I’ve experienced something that’s primarily centered in the past but somehow seems to sound fresh & invigorating at the same time.

Blood Ceremony’s sound can be difficult to describe using your traditional genre tags as there’s a whole bunch of components being used to make up the final product. Firstly you have the heavy doom metal riffs of Black Sabbath’s self-titled debut album only they're played with more of a hard rock tone which keeps the band in stoner rock territory despite the undeniable atmosphere of pure doom at times. Then you have the use of 60’s psychedelia, particularly in the use of organ which reminds me very much of The Doors at times. The incorporation of flute as a primary instrument was unexpected with the influence Jethro Tull, Black Widow & other 70’s flute-friendly progressive rock bands being easily apparent there. There’s even a little bit of folk thrown into the mix every now & then & when you top it all off with a female front woman & a seriously retro production job that could well have come from the early 70’s you’ve got yourself one very interesting mix of sounds.

So how did I enjoy it overall? Weeellll… “Blood Ceremony” certainly has its moments & rarely sees me losing focus despite there being a noticeable lapse in the middle of the tracklisting (see “A Wine Of Wizardry” & “Rare Lord”). I really enjoy the authentic feel & doomy atmosphere however I rarely see myself fully giving in to the band’s charms due to a couple of clear flaws. Front woman Alia O’Brien isn’t the most gifted of singers & can be a little pitchy at times however you kinda forgive her in the interest of atmosphere. Her contribution with the flute becomes greater as the album progresses & I have to admit that my patience wears a little thin after a while. I think they’ve overdone it a touch with the solos in the back end of the record. The lead guitar work is always welcome though & shows a great combination of feel & attitude. Album highlight “Return To Forever” is where the song-writing is clearly the strongest & everything just seems to completely gel at long last. A large portion of the remaining tracks seem pleasant enough but rarely push for higher honors.

At the end of the day I think “Blood Ceremony” serves its purpose pretty well for a very specific audience & offered a refreshing change from my usual listening habits. I would imagine that the late 60’s/early 70’s female-fronted doom rock trend that was growing in popularity at the time would have embraced it with open arms but I have to admit that I don’t find the song-writing to be strong enough to command return visits even though the riffs are certainly there in spades. I’d be interested to know if O’Brien’s vocals improve on subsequent releases though because she’s not bad as such. She just needs to work with some stronger material & reach a little deeper for the x-factor that can take a reasonably enjoyable release into much stronger areas.

For fans of Electric Citizen, Jex Thoth & Witchcraft.