In late 2012/early 2013, BLOOD CEREMONY enclosed themselves within a dank, tomb-like chamber to begin preparations for their third album. After a mind-numbing spell in the analogue womb of Toronto's ProGold Studios, the band is now ready to unveil their newest, and most accomplished, musical offering: "The Eldritch Dark". The debut single, "Goodbye Gemini", can be heard now below.
Recorded and mixed by producer Ian Blurton (CAULDRON, CURSED) and mastered by Canadian recording legend Nick Blagona (DEEP PURPLE, RAINBOW), "The Eldritch Dark" is a full-length paean to the darker corners of folklore and legend. Containing eight tracks of black magic rock 'n' roll, the album crackles with the excitement of a nocturnal ritual.
Tales of witch-cult gatherings in wooded glens, pacts made in torch-lit abbeys and Victorian magic are accompanied by vintage-style hard rock riffs, snaking bass lines and stirring flute melodies. "The Eldritch Dark" also sees the band exploring a more folksier side of their sound; most evident in the hymn-like "Lord Summerisle" and the murderous folk-rock epic, "Ballad Of The Weird Sisters". Nineteenth-century sorcerer Oliver Haddo makes a return appearance in the riff-hypnotic album closer "The Magician".
"The Eldritch Dark" will be released via Metal Blade/Rise Above in North America on May 28.
BLOOD CEREMONY will join KYLESA on tour in North America throughout May and June.
BLOOD CEREMONY is:
Alia O'Brien - Vocals, Flute, Organ
Sean Kennedy - Guitar
Lucas Gadke - Bass
Michael Carrillo - Drums
I'm the lost one chasing colors to the sun
Colors bleed but never fade
Pour ceux qui cherchent un groupe pour compenser la perte de The Devil's Blood je ne peux que vous conseiller Jess And The Ancient Ones et leur 1er album.
Vous ne serez pas dépaysés
Sinon j'attend également ce nouveau Blood Ceremony, le dernier était bien cool.
Following the success of last year's third album, "The Eldritch Dark" (reviewed here), Blood Ceremony is back with a brand new single.
Released and recorded to coincide with a forthcoming headline European tour in May, "Let it Come Down" further displays the uniqueness of this Toronto based band. Besides the title track, the single will also feature a cover of "Loving You," originally recorded by early 70's obscure Scottish proto-metal band Iron Claw.
This limited edition vinyl comes in several different colors with a lyric insert. The single will be released June 24th in North America on Rise Above Records.
I'm the lost one chasing colors to the sun
Colors bleed but never fade
Rise Above recording artists, Blood Ceremony, share with us a new single, entitled "Powers Of Darkness", accompanied by a new music video. The track, taken from their fifth studio album, The Old Ways Remain (released in May of this year), "Powers Of Darkness" finds the band tapping in to new areas of mystical melodies, with poptastic allure.
As founding member Sean Kennedy comments: “It’s been a decade since our last music video, and we're thrilled to unveil a new promo for ‘Powers of Darkness.' We drew inspiration from iconic ‘60s music programs such as Beat Club and Ready, Steady, Go!, and director Mark Cira captured a moody, live-off-the-floor atmosphere. The song is about invoking sinister elements, so there’s a heavy dose of pop-occult madness threatening to intrude on the performance.”
Watch the new clip below.
Seven years have passed since Blood Ceremony last released a full-length album, but that all changes in 2023. Pieced together during lockdown months, and brought to fruition with a host of esteemed special guests, the Canadians’ fifth album, The Old Ways Remain, is diverse, hypnotic and eminently groovy.
The new songs push Blood Ceremony’s sound into new territory while also honouring the atavistic ethos that has led them to such triumphs in the past. Initial plans to repeat the successful formula that birthed Lord of Misrule and fly to the UK to record again at Toe Rag Studios in London, fell victim to Covid restrictions, and so Sean and his comrades – Alia O’Brien (vocals/flute/organ), Lucas Gadke (bass) and Michael Carillo (drums) – switched to a simpler but equally satisfying Plan B.
“By late 2021, we realized that if we were ever going to finish a new album, we’d just have to record locally and do it ourselves,” says guitarist Sean Kennedy. “And that’s what we did. We started rehearsing the material again and were still really excited by it. Once we revisited everything, we had a new burst of energy. We found a local studio that had what we needed and we were off! Recording nearby allowed us to bring in friends like Laura Bates from (fellow folk-doom crew) Völur to play fiddle, Joseph Shabason added saxophone to 'Eugenie', and Mike Eckert played pedal steel on 'Hecate'. We produced ourselves, along with our friend, Paul Keyahas. We worked with an engineer named Chris Snow who immediately got what we were trying to do. Richard Whittaker mixed the tracks at his London, UK, studio, and we think he did a great job.”
I'm the lost one chasing colors to the sun
Colors bleed but never fade
