Review Summary: Aging hardcore band Ceremony pays tribute to their influences, shifting their sound to a new kind of dad rock.
With their last release, Ceremony moved away from their established sound. This is Ceremony stepping even farther away from the comfortable schtick of fast, short, hard, angry ***fests. This album is a step into another realm – the realm of 80’s hardcore. It’s a polarizing step to say the least. I’ve talked to people who hate the new direction and want Violence Violence *Violence* instead of something new, and I’ve also talked to people like me who never really understand why people disagree with a band changing its sound on principle alone – that is, before even hearing it or giving it a chance. The most important thing to consider when judging this album is definitely whether or not Ceremony has made something that is more than the sum of its influences.
To start off, I wasn’t too impressed with Hysteria, which was released as a “single” I guess shortly before the album leaked. It’s not a bad song, and I definitely like it more now that it’s an opener supported by the rest of the album, and not the only thing I have to go on. There’s quite a bit of variety on this album, and anyone who’s heard anything else by these guys will be surprised at how calm and restrained they can be. While there are plenty of in your face guitar solos and fast songs, they get downright groovy on a few tracks like Brace Yourself. Like many old hardcore albums, the basslines are catchy throughout the album, and rather prevalent in the mix. They really draw you in .The drumming on this album is fantastic as well, and there are parts like on Nosebleed where the rhythm section plays so well together and I couldn’t help but start bobbing my head.
The vocals are honestly the weakest point on the album. I like his voice, but some of the repetitive songwriting elements and voice effects just seemed to get in the way of a few songs that would otherwise be nearly perfect. This is most obvious in Community Service, which I consider the weakest track of the bunch. True to the genre to be sure, it just got a bit old sometimes. The lyrical content is rife with social commentary, which naturally fits the music quite well. I felt like the length of the album felt right, if sometimes a bit long by the time the second to last track came around as it’s my least favorite. Overall I found myself getting lost in the music and not thinking about time, as the songs flow well into one another – creating a cohesive package that does indeed work as an album.
While Zoo probably won’t be changing anyone’s minds about punk rock, it’s an awesome throwback to the hardcore punk of old while still managing to work in a unique voice of its own. They’re doing what they want, not what their fans want, and anyone bashing them for selling out or going soft should definitely rethink their ***. Nobody wants to yell “pack your fists full of hate” at 30 years old.
