Metal Underground.com

Playing with sounds much different than what most metal fans may be used to, Blood Ceremony invokes the rock of eras gone by for an unholy musical resurrection. “The Eldritch Dark” is most definitely more for fans of Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin than extreme metal, but the overall vibe and occult atmosphere will appeal to the metal crowd in the same way as Ghost or The Devil’s Blood.

The big question here for any metal fan is: just how much do you dig the flute in your music? Nearly every song features the airy instrument prominently – in solos or as a major instrument that even sometimes replaces the guitar. Nature is the devil’s church and all, so an organic instrument like the flute makes sense here, but the significant down time it comes with on low-key tracks like “Lord Summerisle” may simply be too soft to fully grab the metal masses.

“Lord Summerisle” aside, several of the track do have clear metallic sheens, like the distorted guitar-driven title track, the doom aspects of closing track “The Magician,” or the occult rock meets metal atmosphere of opening song “Witchwood.” There is a devilish amount of seductive bass groove to be found on the album, along with some psychedelic organ material for a vintage touch that will bring to mind Opeth’s latest ‘70s rock excursion “Heritage.”

“The Eldritch Dark” is truly a throwback album, letting its classic rock influences shine through brightly, but there’s also just enough darkness to potentially reach the underground metal enthusiasts. If worshipping the devil to you means tambourines and lady vocalists more than growls and blast beats, there’s no question this is the album to pick up.