Time Signature
Rock 'n' rollin world...
Genre: retro hard rock
Step into the musical wayback machine, as Seremonia take you back to the hashish-fogged flower-strewn suburbs of the 70s and place you alone in a dark corner while you are having a bad LSD trip.
Musically, this album is very good. It teems with 70s hard rock grooves, and the fuzzy distortion of the guitars is not unlike the characteristic guitar sound of early proto-metal. In addition to the hard rock fuzz, Seremonia's music is also considerably psychedelic and at times even spacey. It does have a slight taste of Hawkwind, but with a dark Southern twist.
Unfortunately - for me - there is one aspect of this album that really turns me off: the vocals. And let us not confuse lyrics and vocals here. Noora Federley sings in Finnish and, yes, when you are used to English-language lyrics, you might need some time to adjust your ears to a different language. But that is not a problem. On the contrary, I have tons of respect for non-English speaking bands for singing in their native languages. What does not sit well with me is the vocals. Federley's droning and monotonous singing style just does not do it for me.
I understand what she is doing. Her singing style has the same type of entrancing effect as in religious prayers and chants at sermons and goes very well together with the psychedelic feel of the music. And, if people are looking for that sort of atmosphere, then Seremonia's debut album should give them everything they want.
If you like psychedelic introvert hard rock with a retrospective look back at the early 70s, then there is no doubt that you should check out this album.