|
In
my humble opinion, Canada’s Blood Ceremony could make
good use of the services of an experienced keyboard
player. Vocalist Alia O’Brien is quite the chanteuse
and her flute playing skills are quite versatile, but as
a keyboard player she leaves a lot to be desired. Let’s
just say she’s no Jon Lord. Not even close. It’s not
like Blood Ceremony’s keyboardist can’t play the keys to
save her life, but the tonalities she indulges on and
the chosen keys she uses do not fit competently the 70’s
groove-laden stoner rock of Blood Ceremony.
The intent
is clear, this Canadian band plays 70’s prog stoner rock not
unlike that of Deep Purple and Uriah Heep from back when they
were good, so Blood Ceremony can make good use of the
expressiveness of an organ. The esoteric 70’s vibes of Blood
Ceremony are perfectly channeled by their inward and always
bending music, but the organ (an instrument as typical of 70’s
rock as handlebar mustaches) sounds seem haste, just fit for
kicks, sprinkled in a hurry, thrown about in adequate measure
and for required effect, but they don’t sound like they have
been carefully worked.
Too bad
really, because Blood Ceremony are the wunderkind children of
Jefferson Airplane and Uriah Heep, and the world may not know
it, but it’s yearning desperately for such a weirdo concoction.
The time of witches is now and if O’Brien could concentrate in
what she does best then Blood Ceremony could rule at least a
little bit more.
Some of the
songs in this debut remind me of Jex Thoth in their rustic
charm, except Blood Ceremony’s music hasn’t gelled completely
yet. The songs are a bit green around the edges with the
melodies usually stopping short before releasing their full
affecting effect. Blood Ceremony’s spellbinding songwriting
wizardry is not that poignant yet. Instrumentally, with the
exception of the organ, the three dudes basking in sound are
solid, proficient enough, low profile and subtle players
focusing on expelling music mysticism, which is great and dandy,
but there is too much canoodling around the record to bore the
full spell to the listener.
MySpace
BUY FROM AMAZON
|
|
