SEREMONIA's influences still come from the most psyched out acid vinyls the 60's, 70's and 80's have to offer. On ihminen, the influence of old finnish punk and prog rock is more audible than before. The prevailing theme in Ilkka Vekka's lyrics is the lunacy and evil in man. It's not a concept album with a clear storyline, but every single song paints a coherently pessimistic picture of these dark times we're all living in.
SEREMONIA comes from Finland, plays heavy psychedelic rock and sings in their native language. Their eponymous debut album was released by Svart Records in 2012. Since then, the band has played their creepy brand of psych rock on very different venues, be it small punk rock dives or bigger festivals like Finland's Tuska, Denmark's Heavy Days in Doomtown or Holland's Roadburn.
On their sophomore album ihminen (finnish for human) the band both continues the primitive pounding of their eponymous debut and expands their trademark sound into more epic directions.
Review
Essentially this is a very chaotic hybrid sound with a myriad of influences. Take "Itsemurhaaja" where the morbid, gravitating sexuality extends from the vocals into the music giving a brief California dark Psych sound, the Dream Pop feel to "Tahtien Takaa" or the thick rumbling fuzz of the bassline in "Painajaisten Maa" that is the stage for the Jethro Tull-esque flute sections to dance on. It may sound like a mess, but a cohesive vision isn't what this band is about. Even when taking the route more travelled Seremonia seem to find doing things the conventional way anathema. - War on All Fronts 4/5
