Blood Ceremony
The Eldritch Dark
Rise Above Records
Street: 06.04
Blood Ceremony = Jethro Tull + Pentangle + Jex Thoth
While many listeners may expect to hear the overdriven Black Sabbath worship of Living With The Ancients, Blood Ceremony take a clear step toward their folk influences on The Eldritch Dark. The production is warm, and the fuzzy guitar sound has been stripped away, leaving more room for the keys, flute, and violin to come forward in the mix. While “Goodbye Gemini” and “The Eldritch Dark” have the familiar heavy rock edge we’ve come to expect from Blood Ceremony, long segments of the record are devoted to a more primal folk-rock style. While they haven’t quite reached the level of a Witchcraft record, I’m interested to see where they can take this new sound. This band certainly has the potential to go great places, and The Eldritch Dark is proof that they know their roots. –Henry Glasheen