More flute, sir? Don’t mind if I do…

I’ve always had a soft/hard spot for Blood Ceremony; their combination of doomy goodness and airy flute make a splendid contradiction both above and below the abyss so my anticipation levels are set to high for their new album Lord of Misrule. Fortunately I’m not disappointed as the band has pumped out another nine tracks of delight, albeit they seem to be delving deeper into the past than their previous offerings, possibly aiming for a more mid to late sixties vibe?

Opener The Devil’s Widow is like early Pink Floyd with Sean Kennedy‘s guitar laying down a sweet melody before Alia O’Brien busts out a combination of flute/organ, bolstering the song enormously, and reiterating the band’s identity. Drop in Lucas Gadke‘s bubbling bass and some excellent drumming from Michael Carillo and it’s a great (fat and fuzzy) start. Roaming solos and a mellow mid-section give the song some proper character – and the album was recorded to analogue tape, which makes for a warm and hearty affair for all. The track returns to the opening riff towards the end before building up for another bout of fat doomishness. Lovely.

Lorely highlights my initial point about the band delving further into the past; it’s got jaunty organ (ooer) and reminds me of The Turtles Happy Together with its twinkling notes and pop-tastic ways – but the album is certainly not some airy-fairy fluff. Most definitely not. The Rogue’s Lot struts about like a mod on speed while The Lord of Misrule offers well-crafted lyrics that delve into the whole ‘Feast of Fools’ fun-times when all the devout religious folk would get saucy and sacrifice some poor dupe. There’s an electro-folky-pop vibe with Half Moon Street that will get you shaking your rump – particularly when it gets its funky flute groove on (the percussion on this one is glorious). Everything gets a bit watery (but certainly not weak) with the haunting airs of The Weird of Finistere, which is a fine lead-in to the totally sixties pop flavour of Flower Phantoms (which I love). It’s pure kinky boots and flailing mini-skirts, baby…

Old Fires and Things Present, Things Past round off the album in a suitably spectacular fashion. A solid, solid affair, and another sweet release from those groovy cats Blood Ceremony.