BLOOD CEREMONY's distinct style of flute-tinged witch rock evolves from an infernal marriage of occult-inspired acid folk and vintage hard-rock riffing. After a mind-numbing study of hundreds of trashy witchcraft films, the group began to pour their energies into crafting songs, transforming their fascination for horror into a profane musical vision.
Their sound bears witness to the heavy bands of yesteryear, fusing progressive rock elements with folk and an early '70s downer vibe. Invoking the mischievous Pipes of Pan, Blood Ceremony songs are distinguished by singer Alia O'Brien's flute solos - accenting an instrument long-associated with a list of devilish figures.
LIVING WITH THE ANCIENTS, Blood Ceremony's sophomore album, expands the group's dark and regal sound with a heavy dose of vintage organ, gritty guitars and stirring flute harmonies. The album was recorded in Chicago by Sanford Parker. With LIVING WITH THE ANCIENTS, the band continues its journey through the mire of ancient occultism and flute-infused downer rock. The album was released on March 1, 2011.
Since the release of LIVING WITH THE ANCIENTS, Blood Ceremony have performed at the prestigious Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Holland. In the fall of 2011, they completed their first headline tour of Europe culminating in a performance at the Hammer of Doom VI Festival in Wurzburg, Germany. In 2012 they supported Sweden's GHOST on the highly successful "13 Dates of Doom" North American tour. After performing at the celebrated NOCTIS V Festival in Calgary, the band enclosed themselves within a dank, tomb-like chamber to begin preparations for a third Blood Ceremony album.
After a short spell in the analogue womb of Toronto's ProGold Studios, they are now ready to unveil their newest, and most accomplished, musical offering: THE ELDRITCH DARK.
Tales of witch-cult gatherings in wooded glens, pacts made in torch-lit abbeys and Victorian magic are accompanied by vintage-style hard rock riffs, snaking bass lines and killer flute melodies. THE ELDRITCH DARK also sees the band exploring a folksier side of their sound; most evident in the hymn-like "Lord Summerisle" and the murderous folk-rock epic, "Ballad Of The Weird Sisters". Nineteenth-century sorcerer Oliver Haddo makes a return appearance in the riff-hypnotic album closer "The Magician".
SPIDERS is a Gothenburg based band featuring Ann-Sofie Hoyles, John Hoyles, Matteo Gambacorta and Ricard Harryson.
SPIDERS was formed in Gothenburg in February 2010. A few months later the band appeared at one of Sweden’s most successful music festivals, Way Out West. It was around this time SPIDERS for the first time as a band stepped into the studio with producer Don Ahlsterberg (The Soundtrack of Our Lives, International Noise Conspiracy) and started recording.
By the end of January 2011 SPIDERS released their debut record, a 10” vinyl EP on Crusher Records containing four tracks. The self-titled release was very well received and noticed in Record Collector as well airplayed on Sweden’s largest radio channel P3. In March 2011 those four previously released tracks came to be released in the USA as two separate 7” singles, one on Kemado Records the other on Valley King Records, the latter with an artwork made by the well-known Alan Forbes.
Around this time drummer Axel Sjöberg, former drummer, left SPIDERS to work full time on Graveyard and came to be replaced by Ricard Harryson (Fox Machine, The Maharajas). In May 2011 SPIDERS stepped into the studio for the second time recording a two track single to be released on vinyl by De:Nihil Records in August and digital by Crusher Records in September.
