(((O))) : Blood Ceremony – The Eldritch Dark

At the risk of sounding like the sort of person who berates modern culture and music but there’s something about Toronto’s Blood Ceremony that reminds me that a lot of the best music was 30/40 years ago. A bold statement? Indeed. Correct? Well…

On The Eldritch Dark, Blood Ceremony have fused the most interesting and best bits of 70s rock, folk, 60s psychedelia and the creepy, unsettling vibes of films like The Wicker Man, (more on that later). The results are an album that engages you and challenges you with your perceptions of instruments such as the flute. An instrument that is often talked about disparagingly. Traditionally associated with prog rock acts like Jethro Tull and Gabriel-era Genesis, there is something twee about the flute. In fact prior to this album I myself used the flute as a joke when stereotyping certain styles of prog bands (“Right, so after the 28 minute section in 48 different keys and 892 different time changes…. FLUTE SOLO!”). But now… well I love the little bugger. The flute weaves in and out of the songs leaving trails of sparkles and gold in its wake. It works, it really does, most notably in ‘Ballad of the Weird Sisters’.

There are two standout tracks for me on this album. Firstly, album closer ‘The Magician’ is a sprawling 8 minute tune that throws in enough changes to make it feel like half that running time. It features a wonderfully woozy ending that  relies heavily on a repeated organ pattern to soothe you as the album closes. Voices fly in and out of the mix and it feels as if the blackest part of night is draping itself over your shoulders. Enthralling and unsettling. Secondly ‘Lord Summerisle’ perfectly captures the melancholy of Sgt Howie yet lyrically manages to encapsulate the ritualistic moments of the film from which the title is liberated. Beautiful.

Wikipedia (sponsorship deal pending) calls Blood Ceremony a “doom metal band”. Just goes to show that sometimes Wikipedia can talk out of its arse (sponsorship deal now cancelled). I suppose that the lyrics of witchery, spirits and all manner of folklore might lead to that conclusion but musically nothing could be further from the truth. This is band that approaches their music with passion and zest which translates into the music. You see, no matter how hard Blood Ceremony try to be dark, I will always listen to their music with a big, fat smile on my face.