As much as I keep being impressed by what seems to be a never ending supply of old school rock bands from Sweden, Finland is beginning to do similar. The difference is that the bands from Finland are being cast in a more occult state. With the likes of Vinum Sabbatum and Jess And The Ancient Ones doing pretty cool things, spare a thought for Seremonia as well with their self titled debut.
Like Vinum Sabbatum, Seremonia sounds like they came right out of the late 60s/early 70s. Where their atmosphere might not be as dark, they make up for that in how eerie they sound. What makes this sound so eerie? The real echoing buzz in those psychedelic and grooving riffs and bass lines. They have such a buzz that you can just picture the walls vibrating in the small garage they may have rehearsed in while playing a song like 'Aamuruskon Kaupunki' (The spacey synths help too). On a side note, 'Rock'n'rollin Maailma' reminds me of a dark and haunting 'Sunshine Of Your Love' hehe.
Perhaps the most eerie instrument coming out of Seremonia is from the vocals. Mainly monotone but again, they carry that echo effect behind them which just further adds to that eerie dimension. It is like clones of Noora Federley have come together to lead a cold and hypnotic dark sermon. (eg: 'Lusiferin Kaarmeet' or 'Antikristus 666').
I do like how the drums sound for this style. The groove and rattle out but they feel and sound so old and flat. Cob webs must be sitting between the toms and cymbals. There is probably rust too. And you can just picture the drum set moving off place as the beats run along in a song like 'Kosminen Ruumisvaunu'.
The only gripe I have against this album is the production makes everything sound a little too smothered and there for I am not capturing the real energy or drive this could have potentially had. Vinum Sabbatum's album has the same problem. Even if you crank this as loud as you can, it still feels like a large blanket is still doing enough to try and suffocate the sound. I get what is being done, but oh well. That is just my opinion.
At the end of the day, it may take a little to sink in but compared to the above mentioned bands, this album has a more mesmerizing effect. I guess more of these bands are going to pop up from Finland in the next few years and if Seremonia is any indication, they are going to get even more strange.
Ikil
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