Fat, doom laden fuzz soaked riffs, pounding rhythms, psychedelic leanings, catchy melodies, and trippy female vocals sung in the Finnish language...this is Seremonia, and their debut album for Svart Records, Kristalliarkki. From start to finish, the album is a lot of fun, though a tad bizarre at times, as the band seems to be struggling through an identity crisis on whether to be a doom, psychedelic, proto-metal, or punk band. The latter comes through on the upbeat "Lusiferin lapset" and frantic "Kuolema voittaa", but tracks like "Tee mitä tahdot", "Vapauden polku " and "Alfa ja Omega" show the bands penchant for brooding Black Sabbath styled heavy riffs, Hawkwind flavored space rock, and the psychedelic aspirations of Jefferson Airplane. Noora Fdererley's vocals are ethereal yet eerie, floating about mysteriously over the Iommi inspired riffing from Teemu Markkula & Ville Pirinen on the ominous "Jokainen askel", a tune that also has some effective organ & flute, giving the song a sort of Sabbath meets Deep Purple meets Jethro Tull feel. The massive two part title track is especially nightmarish, as the band combines folk, psych, prog, jazz, and doom for a disturbing yet exciting ride.
Kristalliarkki probably isn't going to be for everyone, as at times it's a bit all over the place, and the Finnish vocals might present a barrier for some, but overall there's some pretty enticing ideas here and plenty of fun moments. Without a doubt a band to watch very closely.
Track Listing
1 Vihkimys
2 Alfa ja Omega
3 Tee mitä tahdot
4 Musta liekki
5 Lusiferin lapset
6 Vapauden polku
7 Kuolema voittaa
8 Jokainen askel
9 Kristalliarkki I
10 Kristalliarkki II
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