By Jim Rowland
After a lengthy recording hiatus, Finland’s greatest and eeriest heavy psych outfit Seremonia are back with their fifth album ‘Neonlusifer’, so, by their own admission, get ready for some ‘music for your funeral’ and some ‘death lullabies’…
Clocking in at the 35-minute mark, ‘Neonlusifer’ is a succinct slice of heavy psyche, perfect for the vinyl format, something that Svart Records specialise in – their vinyl issues are some of the best out there. What gives Seremonia a nice twist is that they don’t cower to international convention of singing in English/American, but proudly stick to their native language, which makes it difficult for those of us not fluent in Finnish to know what they’re actually singing about, but is something to be admired as far as I’m concerned. Having said that, it’s a safe bet to assume that what they are singing about is pretty dark.
The like of ‘Väära Valintä’, ‘Neonlusifer’, ‘Kaivon Pojalla’ and ‘Tuolle Puolen Auringon’ are rowdy, up tempo, punk-infused slices of psyche rock that pack a powerful punch, and are brimming with neat little guitar riffs and organ flourishes. ‘Unohduksen Kidassa’ retains the heaviness but is a little calmer with some fine folk-tinged vocals, whilst ‘Maailmanlopen Aamuna’ closes the album with a rousing lengthy epic slice of mid-tempo psyche.
One highlight, and the most unique sounding moment, is the nine-minute ‘Raskasta Vetta’, an eerie and doomy epic with a hypnotic bassline making good use of some freaky flute, and which manages to combine the vibe of the Stooges’ ‘We Will Fall’ with vintage early Hawkwind.
Whether or not you can work out what Seremonia are singing about, ‘Neonlusifer’ is a pretty irresistible album of hard-hitting, catchy, dark and heavy psyche rock.
- ‘Neonlusifer’ is released today (Friday 4 February). You can get your copy HERE.
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