Two years ago I was at a party with a close bundle of buds. Three of them, despite the nicest of atmospheres, where slouching and had gestures that showed a great deal of sore bodies and wearing muscles. I had to ask, "Dear hombres, why so bogged down?" But instead of a reaction of guilt, pain or sorry, one turned to me with a smile and said, "Oh man, we totally saw Blood Ceremony. It fucking rocked." The past year was bittersweet for metalheads and Torontonians. Both music circles experienced a boom of public interest, so on one hand it brought a sense of pride for each but on another took the glimmer out of once hidden treasures, and everyone hates it when "the secret is out." But fear not friends, we have one crimson gem that applies to both fields with pulsing ability. Local rockers Blood Ceremony do both Toronto and metal proud with a sound that is as refreshing as it is authentically retro. Their heavy, glooming riffs mixed with Alia O'Brien's haunting flute portions make for an exeperience so genuine you could fool your highest pothead into thinking you've been warped back into the age of Black Sabbath. I joined Alia, guitarist Sean and drummer Andrew (bassist Chris snuck off... somewhere) back at their studio where Sean took the drummer's stool and we spoke of heavy things.

*Sean Performs a 28 Second Drum Solo*

Okay how did Blood Ceremony get started?

Sean- We were jamming with our friend Jeremy Finklestein to Sabbath tunes and started a band called “Corpse Wolf” but then we had a brainstorm and asked Alia to join up with us and came up with Blood Ceremony. And now Andrew is drumming it up with us, it’s been about a year now... Yeah we played our first gig with Andrew about a year ago during the summer solstice. So he’s our new drummer but he’s not even new anymore.

How did the flute come in? Was it always part of the new plan or was it just a magical discovery?

Sean- *To Alia* I think we wanted you to play organs?

Alia- No no, this is what happened, I remember clearly. There was actually another person singing in the band at the time and Sean thought it might be a good idea if I joined in just playing flute. I played ONE show where I just played flute without singing. The singer went to India and didn’t really want to continue playing with the band.

Sean- So after a couple months we just asked Alia to sing as well. Now Alia is playing organs, flute and vocals.

Alia- That’s sort of why I was asked to join the band initially.

Andrew- It just took off, it felt right.

Sean- Alia’s been playing flute since she was very young.

Alia- We did a basement jam, I remember.

Sean- We had a bunch of really sucky shitty songs and then when we had a little bit of flute sprinkled over those crappy songs it makes the crappy songs better. So imagine when you translate some good songs and then also have flute, you have better songs.

Talking as if I was high as shit (which I totally wasn’t, I’m a lil’ angel y’all) what is the “journey” in people’s minds you want them to be taking while listening to your music?

Sean- Heh, you should ask Alia that one.

Alia- I’ve been in school doing my masters degree in ethnomusicology so I’ve been studying a lot of music and Sufism, just because you speak of “the journey”. Whenever I play, anyway, it’s probably not true but everyone else may have a different take on things, whenever I play I think I’m thinking about the things that alters people’s faith. In Sufism and I think a lot of music there’s an arch form that’s really common where you bring people from a sort of grounded space and take them into a sort of... weeiiird and cosmic territory and them bring them back down. Whenever I play a solo or whenever I’m at a part I feel this desire to build an energy and bring people back down. It exists in our music too but it’s prominent in music played by Sufi to transform people’s state of consciousness. I think it’s useful when applied to any sort of music.

You guys really nail this authentic old school metal sound. How do you know when you’re getting it right, when it feels legit?

Sean- The riffs are all just written with bands like Pentagram and Black Sabbath along with a lot of other proto-metal in mind.

Alia- It’s also just what we listen to. We listen to this stuff and therefore the sounds that we make emanate organically.

Sean- It’s all sensibility. There’s a lot of Canterbury folk is in it.

Alia- I don’t want to sound contrived or anything but in my case and probably anyone’s case is that what they’re playing is what they know and what they love.

Sean- The strength of the songs come from y’know, Sabbath-y riffs. It’s only going to get less heavy from there. Starting at the core. It’s the beginning of metal. Doom metal too, from Sabbath, the very beginnings. A good place to start.

In a somewhat related but far more stupid question, if you had say, a heavy metal time machine where would you take it to?

Sean- Hah, pretty easy. Nineteen-seventies for me.

Alia- Yeah.

Sean- And I’d arrive somewhere in like, the middle of England. Somewhere in between London and Bristol.

Alia- You get beamed into the fucking filming of Rock and Roll Circus, when Tony Iommi was playing with Jethro Tull.

Sean- I’d go see May Blitz, I’d go see fucking all my favourite bands. I don’t know maybe Alia would go back further?

Alia- Ahh, no. No. I think it’d be early seventies for me as well.

And uhm, Andrew?

Andrew- Oh, uhm... I probably... Shouldn’t answer that question.

Okay now I REALLY want to know.

Andrew- That’s just... A good question. Maybe probably to the nineties.

Sean- Andrew, we kidnapped him. We grabbed him and blindfolded him. Gave him some liquor and made him listen to Pentagram for about two weeks straight until it was drilled into his soul. It immediately clicked with Andrew.

Andrew- I just generally rock out, I’m the drummer. I know it’s clicking when we’re all rocking out.

The one member who ISN’T here right now told me you guys will soon be touring with Electric Wizard in Europe, which must be incredibly exciting. How are you guys feeling about that?

Sean- Excited. Excited. Really excited. We have all summer to get the show ready which is really good because we’re just going to have to full throttle and get it really tight.

Alia- We want to be a worthy supporting act.

Sean- Electric Wizard has been one of my favourite bands for years. Chris and I saw them about seven years ago when they played with Enslaved. It was a life changing show.

Alia- We found out we’re going to be sharing a tour bus with them.

Sean- They never play North America and now we’ll get to see them play every night for two weeks.

In a perfect world it will never get tiring. It will be just as magical as the night before.

Alia- I bet it will be anyways.

Sean- I think so. Totally psyched. Fucking. Great. Awesome.

Metal in general hit a sudden popularity spike last year in indie crowds, were you guys affected and if so how did you react to that?

Sean- First of all, I would say I don’t really consider ourselves a metal band. We got back to those sounds of proto-metal bands for sure but definitely not metal. We’ve played shows with thrash bands and proper metal bands and the difference is obvious. That being said I think you’re starting to see a lot of things become more experimental. Albums bringing jazz musicians into droning...

Oh, so you heard the new SUNN O))) release?

Alia- Dude, yeah! Woah it was crazy. It’s just cool what they do with all the different instruments.

It’s a lot lighter, it’s still heavy but not necessarily as dark as you may be expecting.

Alia- Yeah, it was like they were using all these other instruments to help paint the colours of the overtones.

There’s horns in it now!

Alia- And choirs!

Andrew- I haven’t heard it yet. The only one I’ve heard is the one that is literally just four or five tracks on it and each of them are just fifteen minute drones, which is funny when you hear those albums, there’s certainly no picture of the man or some art that has to do with science. It’s just like “KKCCCT” this albums is all just like “KKCCHHT”, never going anywhere just heavy drone for a long time and it gets a little heavier and there it is!

Sean- I think you are talking specifically about hte Stephen O’Malley designs too.

Finally any sound advice (HYUCK HYUCK) for aspiring artists?

Sean- Uhh, ask Andrew.

Andrew- Oh... Oh god, uhm, I don’t know. Aspiring artists? Don’t stay in school? Yeah, don’t stay in school and just rock out every day. Get drunk and do a lot of drugs. Have a lot of sex.

Sean- So I guess according to Andrew every artist is ruled by his or her desires.

*Hits Crash Cymbal*

Alia- The ego.

*Rimshot*

Sean- I think you are supposed to do that after a joke.