BLOOD CEREMONY

The Eldritch Dark

Metal Blade/Rise Above
rating icon 7.5 / 10

Track listing:

01. Witchwood
02. Goodbye Gemini
03. Lord Summerisle
04. Ballad of the Weird Sisters
05. The Eldritch Dark
06. Drawing Down the Moon
07. Faunus
08. The Magician


BLOOD CEREMONY's third album, 2013's "The Eldritch Dark", arrives in the midst of a historically busy time for parent label, Rise Above, which is obviously counting on its partnership with America's mighty Metal Blade to help juggle virtually simultaneously released new efforts from CATHEDRAL, CHURCH OF MISERY, UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS and the suspiciously similar PURSON.

Wow!

Fortunately, the Canadian quartet has already fared quite well when left to their own devices over the course of a highly respected, but far from celebrated career, so there's nothing radically different about "The Eldritch Dark" that threatens to upset their poisoned applecart now.

In fact, opening statement "Witchwood" alone comprehensively covers every element of the BLOOD CEREMONY template revealed on albums past: gothic tales, proto-doom and proggy experiments enlivened by the perky flute, nimble organ and haunted vocals of Alia O'Brien - the band's major difference-maker and ultimate raison d'etre.

Let's be honest, without her, BLOOD CEREMONY would have little chance of standing out, as evidenced by abundantly competent but never transcendent guitar-dominated efforts such as the title cut and "Drawing Down the Moon" (indeed, in a live setting guitarist Sean Kennedy and his chums are anything but "charisma city").

Even the prospective single, "Goodbye Gemini", while effectively harnessing these elements to more concise arrangements for maximum immediacy, plus heightened psychedelics, isn't anywhere near irresistible enough to blaze a fiery trail right up to the top of the Ninth Circle's occult rock charts (the sophomore LP's memorable, "Demon Brother", is as close as BLOOD CEREMONY has come to achieving that feat thus far.)

But then, backing up O'Brien's respectable charisma and versatile talents is obviously these Canadians' greatest strength, and to that end, the aptly named "Ballad of the Weird Sisters" sees the quartet borrowing a folky fiddle; "Faunus" condenses the JETHRO TULL aesthetic into a fat-free medieval metal interlude; and "Lord Summerisle" sees O'Brien ceding lead vocals to bassist Luke Gadke for a largely acoustic, pagan folk hymn whisking listeners away to Wicker Man island, there to be greeted by eerie string sections.

By way of closing, the band goes back to the start by weaving every weapon in their arsenal into eight-minute showcase, "The Magician", featuring a particularly sinister guitar lick, melancholy strums and church organs to soundtrack O'Brien's evocative fantasies.

These qualities once again remind us that BLOOD CEREMONY's career prospects fully depend on the young woman's unique set of capabilities, but then most occult bands can't even fall back on that! And there's little doubt that in "The Eldritch Dark", the Toronto quartet have conjured up the most eclectic and mature LP of their career - here's hoping discerning retro-metal fans take note.

Author:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).