The last time we heard from Canada’s Blood Ceremony was 2016, seemingly in a different lifetime, for the sublime and timeless “Lord of Misrule.” That album was a lustrous black pearl of occult rock; soaked in warm, amplified fuzz and full of leering eeriness and dread. It was an album a reality apart, the kind of record that took the listener to a frightening, curious and exciting world, akin to the great works of Shirley Jackson, Guillermo del Toro and Mike Mignola.
Some seven years later, the band returns to a wearier Earth with “The Old Ways Remain,” a prophetic title, but one that also belies the album’s true nature.
This new record maintains the Old Ways of Blood Ceremony in that the bones of this lich remain true; songs that swarm with the aural locusts of yesteryear, born from fantasy and imagination and psychedelic rock. What’s new is that this album leans heavily into the psych rock of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, the kind of motif that we last saw the band dabble in for the positively bopping single “Flower Phantoms.”
In contrast to the catalog we’ve come to the know from the band over their seventeen years, “The Old Ways Remain” removes much of the existential dread that Blood Ceremony trades in so well. That might be a misstatement, let’s be more precise – the crises of a haunting past and an uncertain present still ring true in the themes of the songs, but there is a sense of immediacy that’s been stripped away. No longer does an uneasy and likely grisly fate lurk just around the corner with ragged claws and fangs that glint in the full moon.
The real takeaway though, is that even for the stylistic shift, “The Old Ways Remain” is a damn good listen. In music, the best accomplishments often fall into one of two categories: the thing we’ve never heard before, and the thing we love done exceptionally well. “The Old Ways Remain” falls firmly into the later camp. The guitar tone has the perfect temperature for an album that aspires to channel the great fantasy/occult/folk rock of old. The album feels familiar, even as the listener hears it for the first time.
And for all the focus on the flute that’s made Blood Ceremony so distinct on all their records, the overlooked hero of all their albums, including this new one, is the flawless timing of the guitar of Sean Kennedy. Go no farther than “Ipsissimus” to hear Kennedy tail the song with a solo that fits perfectly into the pocket of the rhythm and melody, accentuating the previous three minutes and adding some snap to the outro.
“The Old Ways Remain” then moves in a few experimental directions, starting with “Eugenie” which sounds like a flute-heavy soundtrack piece, the kind of funky walking song that would be right at home during the opening scene set of an exploitation movie, following the main character as he walks through town and we see his life through his own eyes. It is atmospheric in all the right ways, even if these are ways we’ve never heard from Blood Ceremony previously.
“The Bonfires of Belloc Coombe,” incorporates some accenting violin throughout which adds dimension and depth to the piece, while the highly enjoyable “Hecate” lives at the strangest of all intersections; that of ‘60s progressive folk rock jam and ‘80s sitcom opening theme. These are all new facets of the diamond of Blood Ceremony, all unleashed at once in a single album.
If there is a place where the album could have used a little of the old menace, it would be for “Powers of Darkness.” There’s nothing wrong with the song on its face, except that the lyrical theme is the kind of thing that Blood Ceremony did with such accomplishment and aplomb for so long. To hear a song that in theory would be right up their alley consciously eschew that style is off-putting, and fans will miss the blackened edges of the band’s bread-and-butter.
That’s only one song on the album though, which is otherwise an unqualified success. It’s rare for a band to be able to recognize and utilize their old roots while simultaneously showing new elements and patterns in their music not just for one song, but for an entire record. Blood Ceremony should be lauded not only for the attempt, but for the success of their versatility. And all this is without even taking the time to address the steadying hand of Alia O’Brien’s vocal performance, which provides the anchor point between the band’s past and present. “The Old Ways Remain” is an enjoyable album for long time fans of Blood Ceremony and a good jumping-on point for those willing to dive in.
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