The Toronto purveyors of psychedelic doom, Blood Ceremony, are back with their fourth studio album, Lord of Misrule, which follows up their very fine The Eldritch Dark from 2013. Once again, their brand of heavy rock, influenced by Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, and Jethro Tull, is led by the enchanting Alia O'Brien on lead vocals, flute, and organ, and she's joined by exceptional guitarist Sean Kennedy, drummer Michael Carrillo, and bassist Lucas Gadke. Featuring 9 tracks, Lord of Misrule combines doom, hard rock, psychedelia, folk, and prog for a fascinating listen that provides a little something for everyone.
For those that prefer the dark, crushing doom of the Blood Ceremony sound, there's the ominous "The Devil's Widow", complete with massive riffs and O'Brien's stabbing flute & ethereal vocals. "The Rogue's Lot" and the title track also rock pretty hard, while "Half Moon Street" and "Loreley" both take a more bluesy, psych approach, with the Jethro Tull influence hard to ignore. The band go for a more eerie, occult rock approach on "The Weird of Finistere" , but then bounce right back on the catchy, pop/psych laced "Flower Phantoms", a hook laden ditty with alluring vocals, Mellotron, and a real hippy vibe. Those lumbering riffs and Heep/Purple styled organ breakouts permeate the uptempo "Old Fires", another of Lord of Misrule's heavier numbers, and the band pull out the acoustic guitars, percussion, and flute for the tranquil, folky closer "Things Present, Things Past".
Perhaps not as 'out and out' doom as their earlier releases, Lord of Misrule shows Blood Ceremony more than willing to venture off into different territories, and it works spectacularly. This is a band that is growing up leaps and bounds right in front of our eyes, embracing their '70s prog roots as well as all things doom, hard rock, psych, and folk. Highly recommended!
See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!
Track Listing
1) The Devil's Widow
2) Loreley
3) The Rogue's Lot
4) Lord of Misrule
5) Half Moon Street
6) The Weird of Finistere
7) Flower Phantoms
8) Old Fires
9) Things Present, Things Past
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