Blood Cremony - Living With Ancients (2011)

This is quality rock from Finland - probably the last place you'd expect an occult rock band to emerge from. It seems that over the last few years a number of '70s inspired bands, tinged with occult influences, have been crawling from the dungeons, and Blood Cremony are one of the best. 'Living...' is the bands second opus, and it's a refreshing one at that, Blood Cremony happy to drift under the doom radar without fuzzing everyone out with over-elaborate and slug-like dirges, instead they have found a bit of a niche, mainly due to the dream-like vocals of Arla O'Brien who also injects a dose of woodland flute too. This is a solid record that, riff-wise, is happy to ape Sabbath at their most drug-induced and mellow, but elsewhere there's the ghoulish organ which evokes images of late '60s psych monsters, such as Jefferson Airplane, and coupled with those antiquarian lyrics this makes for quiter a creepy, creaky listen. If Jess & The Ancient Ones, or Purson for that matter, aren't quite heavy enough, then Blood Ceremony will provide that oake fix, but again, don't expect a doom drone, this is far more flaky and floaty in its approach, a record that teems with magical, and often elfish charm whilst all the while seeming knowing and authentic. Whereas I prefer Bloody Hammers to Ghost, I prefer Blood Ceremony to a whole host of doom acts, finding middle ground between Jethro Tull and Christian Mistress.
8/10