Blood Ceremony

Doom is like an organism in a petri dish. It replicates and replicates with very few mutations. But if labels like Rise Above want you to keep buying their records, there have to be new twists on the formula. In come Blood Ceremony
Take some Sabbathy prog doom grooves and add in a female singer(who sounds a bit like Geddy Lee...) and some organ action that sounds straight out of ? Mark and the Mysterians more than Deep Purple. If that isn't enough bust out the flute-played by the singer of course. Mix in an obsession with horror flicks. Name check Black Widow and Coven.
Sounds like the recipe for disaster (and that is before you find out they are from Canada!), but it is actually a pretty good retro
record. Do not expect any surprises. Some of the grooves and rock action is by the numbers Fu-Manchu'ish (ie journeyman 70s rock reproduction), but it occasionally rises above average. The flute is played with real abandon. She is wailing more than Ian Anderson on a viagra binge. I don't think anyone who wouldn't feel a little embarrassed to get caught listening to the flute intro to "I'm Coming with You"
I am often helpless when confonted with generic boogie rock that has an organ jamming along and when these guys get cooking it is oddly compelling.
This record is kind of like a car wreck. I shouldn't keep listening to it, but I do. I should hate it, but I don't.
I would much rather listen to this a few more times than be subjected to the keening salsa-prog of say mars volta.......