Ceremony is hateful and unrelenting hardcore/punk from California. Why people from California are so angry is beyond me, but since it results in hardcore as stellar as this, I'll let it slide. Ceremony formed from several mid-level (in notoriety) hardcore bands in the Bay Area a couple years back, and have since transformed themselves into one of the most promising hardcore bands in years.
The song "Kersed" opens with slightly out of tune guitar plucks before a collective crash of the drums, bass and guitars. The plodding basslines creep in and then, an abrupt pause followed by unrestrained mayhem as Ross Farrar commands the mic. "It's Going to be a Cold Winter" quickly follows, and I do mean quickly- step out of the room and you'd miss the 20 second blast.
If you're still out of the loop, Ceremony plays hardcore stylistically similar to early hardcore acts like Negative Approach and Black Flag or more recently Unbroken. The songs are usually pretty short, but what they lack in length they make up for in intensity. And even though the songs aren't written in style of much of today's hardcore, there are plenty of opportunities to sing-along. In fact, "You're all the Same" and "Throwing Bricks" are just that, entire songs as sing-alongs.
Lyrically, Farrar loves the world "fuck" and its varying forms. He loved it on the band's demo and he loves it on Ruined. So yes, like much of hardcore Farrar's lyrics are angry, but they're also very unique. Take this excerpt from "Troubled Waters" for example: "What the fuck has happened to me - fuck / what's life without love / what's love without hate / what good is your heart if it doesn't break - break!."
Though the year is young, 2006 has already been a great year for Ceremony. This EP is selling like hotcakes and they've got plans for a summer tour with Lights Out as well as a new full-length later this year. By year's end, expect to see one of if not both of their releases atop many "Favorite Records of 2006" lists (even though this EP was technically released last year).
