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Blood Ceremony’s distinct style of flute-tinged witch rock evolves from an infernal marriage of occult inspired acid folk and vintage hard rock riffing.  After a mind-numbing study of hundreds of witchcraft themed films, the group began to pour their energies into crafting songs, transforming their fascination for horror into a profane musical vision.

 

Invoking the mischievous Pipes of Pan, Blood Ceremony songs are distinguished by singer Alia O’Brien’s alluring flute solos, accenting an instrument long-associated with a list of devilish figures.

 

A celebration of Euro-horror, ’60s saturnalia and occult miscellanea, their self-titled debut album was mixed by Billy Anderson and released by Rise Above Records in 2008. Following this they completed a successful European tour alongside Brit doom legends Electric Wizard.

 

Blood Ceremony finished recording their second album ‘Living With The Ancients’, working alongside producer Sanford Parker in Chicago. The album displays a definite improvement in songwriting skills and a strong musical maturity. Wider influences from obscure areas can be heard fluctuating beyond the more obvious comparisons associated their aforementioned 2008 debut.

 

http://www.myspace.com/bloodceremony

 

Sally

Altogether more experimental, their ultra-heavy guitar rock owes more to the psychedelic world of Sonic Youth and Mudhonev than anything intrinsically metal. This is the ultimate in head music, cupping your brain and lifting it into the clouds before dragging it down an alley and kicking the crap out of it. C-Earth is a heavy and oppressive pressure wave. Heavy and hypnotic. Billy Anderson’s production drenches everything in a nice layer of mud, which suits the grimy, semi-liquid nature of the sound perfectly.

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CANCELLED – We’re very sorry to announce that this event has been cancelled, here is the statement from Elastic Artists –

“We are extremely sorry to announce that we have been forced to cancel
Blood Ceremony in Birmingham and the rest of the band’s scheduled UK
dates.This is due to a conflict in schedule with Ghost who had been due to
tour as a package with Blood Ceremony. We have tried everything we
possibly could to keep the shows on but unfortunately it has not been
possible owing to the complex logistics involved. Blood Ceremony will
be returning to the UK in the Summer of 2011”

 

But keep the date in your diary as we’re planning a Capsule party of some great Brum bands – you can’t hold back the grannies!

 

Blood Ceremony

Born out of an obsession with ’70s occult rock, Blood Ceremony’s music resurrects the spirit of groups such as Coven, Affinity, and Black Widow. After a mind-numbing study of hundreds of trashy witchcraft films, the group began to pour their energies into crafting songs, transforming their fascination for horror into a profane musical vision. Blood Ceremony is interested in musical sorcery, the members having made a firm pact dedicating themselves to the twilight world of saturnalia and occult lore.

Blood Ceremony plays a distinctive brand of flute-tinged witch rock. Early on, their sound revealed an infernal marriage of Black Sabbath and the manic piping of Jethro Tull. Eschewing the affectations of modern rock music, Blood Ceremony keeps it simple and heavy; yet their songs are tempered with strong, brooding melodies. This effect is enhanced by their use of the flute; an instrument once prevalent in progressive rock, but which is uncommon in today’s scene. Invoking the mischievous “Pipes of Pan,” Blood Ceremony songs are distinguished by singer Alia O’Brien’s energetic jazz-flute solos – accenting an instrument long-associated with a list of devilish mythic characters. Writing of Blood Ceremony’s situation in heavy music, NOW critic Jason Keller points out: “Once (the flute) enters the forum of heavy metal, there aren’t many other bands you can reference.” Although the tag of Heavy Metal may be a stretch, there is a sense of heaviness and funereal gloom in Blood Ceremony’s music, as well as a lyrical obsession with eldritch themes, that aligns them with much of traditional Doom.
http://www.myspace.com/bloodceremony

 

Ghost

Ghost is the name of a devil worshipping ministry that – in order to spread their unholy gospels and, furthermore, trick mankind into believing that the end is ultimately a good thing – have decided to use the ever so popular rock music medium as a way to achieve their ends.

Standing motionless and anonymous beneath the painted faces, hoods and robes which their sect demand, the six nameless ghouls of Ghost deliver litanies of sexually pulsating heavy rock music and romantic lyrics, which glorify and glamorise the disgusting and sacrilegious, with the simple intention to communicate a message of pure evil via the most effective device they can find: Entertainment. This is Black Metal at its most original and deceiving; compositions such as “Ritual” and “Death Knell” majestically weave their melodic spell of evil through the senses until the listener finds themselves utterly possessed and open to any diabolical suggestion.
http://www.myspace.com/thebandghost

 

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ELECTRIC WIZARD is the heaviest band in the world. The oblivion and ecstasy of crushing doom and high grade marijuana, a sonic aural trip far, far away from this world, where only cyclopean walls of crackling vintage valve amplifiers set to the full overdrive and primal ritualistic beats can wash away all the filth and drudgery of everyday life. Our music is DoomMetal, the only true definition. We toll the bell of hell, our sound is a crushing behemoth of funeral march psychedelia.
Violent, bleak and ritualistic, we bow to the black altar of the RIFF. We do not rock, we kill!

Born in Dorset, England in 1993, in a quiet country town, initially we were the product of frustration, unemployment and excessive drug abuse. But through hallucinogenic experimentation and occult sciences we realised our true potential. Eventually becoming a multi-tentacled paen to dark and weird subjects. A celebration of outre low brow art like Weird Tales, 70’s horror and B-movies, head shop art, drug comix, italian pornohorror comics, Crepax, Lovecraft, Howard etc. etc…coupled with a morbid fascination in cults, witchcraft, freemasonry, biker culture, nazi mysticism and ancient occult sciences and how these dark arts can be applied to music. We have created a true one way ticket away from this dead planet.
http://www.myspace.com/electricwizarddorsetdoom

 

Born out of an obsession with ’70s occult rock, Blood Ceremony’s music resurrects the spirit of groups such as Coven, Affinity, and Black Widow. After a mind-numbing study of hundreds of trashy witchcraft films, the group began to pour their energies into crafting songs, transforming their fascination for horror into a profane musical vision. Blood Ceremony is interested in musical sorcery, the members having made a firm pact dedicating themselves to the twilight world of saturnalia and occult lore.

Blood Ceremony plays a distinctive brand of flute-tinged witch rock. Early on, their sound revealed an infernal marriage of Black Sabbath and the manic piping of Jethro Tull. Eschewing the affectations of modern rock music, Blood Ceremony keeps it simple and heavy; yet their songs are tempered with strong, brooding melodies. This effect is enhanced by their use of the flute; an instrument once prevalent in progressive rock, but which is uncommon in today’s scene. Invoking the mischievous “Pipes of Pan,” Blood Ceremony songs are distinguished by singer Alia O’Brien’s energetic jazz-flute solos – accenting an instrument long-associated with a list of devilish mythic characters. Writing of Blood Ceremony’s situation in heavy music, NOW critic Jason Keller points out: “Once (the flute) enters the forum of heavy metal, there aren’t many other bands you can reference.” Although the tag of Heavy Metal may be a stretch, there is a sense of heaviness and funereal gloom in Blood Ceremony’s music, as well as a lyrical obsession with eldritch themes, that aligns them with much of traditional Doom.
http://www.myspace.com/bloodceremony

poster designed by Ben Javens