BLOOD CEREMONY with VOLUR
at the Trash Palace in Toronto on April 19th 2014
Photos and recap by Danielle Griscti
Yes, the Trash Palace Cinema. Toronto’s Blood Ceremony held an intimate show supported by Völur, playing early in the evening and screening a classic horror film from the venue’s vault afterwards. Despite the early set times, the small space was quickly filled with an interesting mix of people from a variety of different musical backgrounds. The genre-crossing appeal of these two bands is easy to see in the refreshingly diverse, and ever growing, crowds of fans at their powerfully heavy and energetic live performances.
Völur first shot up on the radar a few months ago when I happened upon them playing live at The Cage in Toronto. Doom with a decidedly pagan influence, something seemed so familiar that first time listening to the combination of vocals, an ongoing low chant and entrancing, warm accompaniment creating a dark harmony. With the pure resonance of a six-string violin piercing through the heaviness, enhancing it, intertwining with the commanding riffs and controlled drumming, they had me hooked. Their first release, Disir has just been made available through their bandcamp, and I look forward to hearing it and how their already captivating sound develops.
(note: the reason they looked so familiar was https://hellbound.ca/2013/09/blood-ceremony-biblical-cauchemar-horseshoe-tavern-toronto-on-september-14-2013)
Blood Ceremony are just embarking on a European tour, and from the electric atmosphere of this set, I have no doubt that every night will be an unforgettable performance. When a listener gets to experience their combination of psychedelic rock, doom and folk components, with vocalist Alia deftly weaving between her keyboard and flute, the overall effect is a lot of different things – fun, engaging, headbang-inducing (of course) and just irresistible. For lack of a better term, I’ll use crowd-pleaser, because tracks like “Goodbye Gemini” with its immensely catchy hooks are exactly that. Below is a glimpse of the experience:
https://www.facebook.com/bloodceremonyrock
Tour Dates (source https://www.facebook.com/bloodceremonyrock)
May 02 BRISTOL, UK – Temples Festival*
May 03 NOTTINGHAM, UK – Bodega
May 04 GLASGOW, UK – Stereo
May 05 MANCHESTER, UK – The Deaf Institute
May 06 LONDON, UK – Borderline
May 07 PARIS, FR – Batofar
May 09 MEZZAGO, IT – Bloom Club
May 10 RONCADE, IT – New Age
May 11 MÜNCHEN, DE – Strom
May 12 VIENNA, AT – Arena
May 13 WARSAW, PL – Progresja
May 14 PRAGUE, CZ – 007 Klub
May 15 BERLIN, DE – Magnet
May 16 COPENHAGEN, DK – Loppen
May 17 STOCKHOLM, SE – Debaser Strand
May 20 MOSCOW, RU – Volta*
May 21 HELSINKI, FI – Kuudes Linja
May 23 OSLO, NO – BLÅ
May 24 GOTHENBURG, SE – Truckstop Alaska
May 25 HAMBURG, DE – St. Pauli Rock Café
May 26 FRANKFURT, DE – Nachtleben
May 27 ZÜRICH, CH – Hafenkneipe
May 29 GEISELWIND, DE – Out & Loud Festival*
May 30 NETPHEN, DE – Freak Valley Festival*
May 31 NIJMEGEN, NL – FortaRock Festival*
*BC only
