FIRST OFF, open this and blast it while you read the following. It sets some atmosphere. Cere-fucking-mony is a hardcore punk band from the California Bay area. Part hardcore, part powerviolence, and a bit of thrashiness to it. So genre-wise, they draw from a lot of music, even things outside of the heavier spectrum (think music from the 80s, but not just hardcore). So intense. They started out with a demo, then thier first EP, Ruined. But then re-recorded those songs, with some new ones on Violence Violence, their first full release:
I enjoy this album ("enjoy" read as: "punch and kick down walls with"). I remember just being initially blown away by the relentlessness of the thing. Pure anger in such a raw. Crazy. When I first heard it, my nose started to bleed and I my heart raced for a minute until it stopped beating. I woke up in the hospital and the doctor just diagnosed my problem by simply stating it was all a result of having listened to Ceremony for the first time and then went on about how fucking awesome the band is.
Also, the vocalist, Ross, really throws out some rad lyrics. Real angsty shit. Just fucking look at him:
Their second EP, Scared People marked a change in their sound. They maintained that energy and fervid anger, but added a sort of darkness feel to it (most of these lyrics were written during a month long stint that Ross spent in jail). That new tone was elaborated on their second LP, Still Nothing Moves You. Compared to their earlier music, as far as attitude goes, they are far less "mean" as Ross puts it. But with the tone of Still Nothing Moves You, Ross admitted he feels he may have been trying a bit too much to convey this change in writing style. He also stated that although the lyrics of their older songs may not reflect the current state of mind of the band today, they are still tunes that are iconic to the group, and nonetheless, very fun to play.
Their third full-length (Rohnert Park) marks an even more dramatic change in the band's sound. Less thrashy and fast. More old-school hardcore punk oriented rhythms and riffing. A lot more stripped down with their sound overall. The lyrics are still influenced by some personal experiences, but they seem a bit more up-front and direct, and more or less aggravated than violent I would say. And of course, its still angry as fuck, just in a different style. Despite being so very unlike the way they started, this album is pretty solid. It took me a while to warm up to it though. I talked to the guitarist Anthony about the new LP. He said how he felt it wouldn't be right to try and push the same original sound onto a third album, so they changed to avoid spiraling into the inevitable redundancy that can occur in a band's third full length release. So they made something new.
Ceremony doesn't have a Myspace. No Twitter. No Facebook. They are way too cool for that shit. Below is a link to their site, which has links to merch. Also, some videos of live jams.
TL;DR: Get the album Violence Violence.
PS: This band is named after the Joy Divison/New Order song. There's a pretty big reference to it at the end of their demo. Anthony is really into 80s music. He fucking loves Prince.
