| CD REVIEW Ceremony |
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Band : Ceremony When trying to find the necessary info to give you somewhat of a history-of-the-band or an account on previous releases concerning this Hardcore outfit, I pretty soon found out that all my efforts (I went off on a search in spite of the warning, posted in the label's info sheet, telling me that the band never really cared about bios and had had a fake bio for which they even received compliments from Alternative Press) were of no avail. What IS known though, is that the Bay Area based band's previous full-length, 2006's Violence Violence (released as 13-track LP on vinyl and as 20-track CD) was immediately catapulted to an instant Hardcore classic by high profile press media [Punknews: "..Quite frankly, they have created a modern Hardcore masterpiece..."; Alternative Press did a full page feature on the band in this year's "100 Band To Know"issue, at the same time claiming they wouldn't stay Underground for too long]. Apparently the band has toured all over the world, from playing at shady basements and seedy clubs, to doing shows with the likes of Bleeding Through, doing Live 105 radio shows with AFI, and full European tours with Bane and Have Heart. 2007 saw a follow-up release in the Bridge Nine issued Scared People EP (dubbed Punknews' "EP Of The Year"). If indeed the info in the biography we got sent is correct, these two releases constitute the band's only outings (making their back catalogue come down to only 26 songs for a grand total length of only some 28 minutes). In order to make a worthy follow-up to their previous stuff, the band conceeded to work with producer Dan Rathbone (known from having worked with the likes of Tragedy and From Ashes Rise, amongst others) at Oakland's Polymorph studios, because he was certain not to touch the band's more seedy and gritty vision side of their music. The album is said to be everything but an casual listen, but that was of course counting without the somewhat eclectic ear of yours truly. True enough, if Hardcore is your main or only thing, you wíll find trouble adapting to the dynamics of this album, as they frequently allow for discordant and at times Ambient-like breathing passages (in the case of "Fading Sounds Of Your Life" a certain Black Sabbath-ism is well appreciated) in between the somewhat Crass-styled (they've even got that same fist fuck attitude towards all people/ institutions "governing" us) occasionally with a second singer jumping in) energetic parts. What makes the album's complexity, is the fact that the songs are put on the album without mute parts between the songs. To make things even more difficult on the unsuspectant listener, the first two songs (separate lyrics available) are brought together, and there's even two instrumentals. With track lengths varying from 48 seconds at the bottom end and 4:04 (for that album opening pair), it shouldn't be a surprise that the 15 tracks only last a mere 21:16. In another band's catalogue, such an album length would qualify for a mini-album, but in the case of Ceremony that really is enough! The nicest thing about the short length, by the way, is that you can listen three times to the album in only little more than one hour...and not get bored, thanks to its incredible dynamics! Listen to a couple of tracks off the new album by surfing to myspace.com/noflshinglights, and witness the unbelievable diversity of this band! Personally, I've found yet another band of which I'll be seeking to get more material from next time I'm passing in the record store...which should be enough of an indicator to you, dear reader, of the reasons why I'm putting Still Nothing Moves You into my year-lists?! 98/100 Tony. |