Description
Chile pressed music cassette. Clear cassette with blue text.
In 2010, the four-piece Chilean Black and Thrash Metal group Ceremonial was forged. Their first demo came out in 2011, and the second one Ars Antiqua was unleashed about a year later. This demo carries a raw tone that captures the spirit of bands like Venom that perform Thrash Metal in a first wave Black Metal manner. Blackened, crispy thrash with gruesome vocals slathered in a reverb that cuts straight over the riffing passages, they sound like they had as much enjoyment making this as you will experiencing it. At under 14 minutes, the demo has come and gone like a night of beer swilling. Ars Antiqua might not prove anything special in the long run, because a number of the riffs here are truly cut and pasted from a number of their influences, ranging from the nearby Brazilian death/thrash scene of the 80s (old Sepultura, Mutilation, Sarcófago) to the seminal Teutonic tyranny of Kreator and Sodom, the raucous filth of early Bathory and all that old ‘blast first think later’ black metal out of the Scandinavian scene in the mid 90s. Repulsive, thick and distorted bass-lines moor a fairly standard slew of chords and tremolo picked guitar lines, but they manage to come off somewhat sinister nonetheless, and the tinny blasting skills of this drummer are constantly on fire. The icing on the cake, however, is the grotesque blackened vocal rasp of the front man which resonates off the roiling, hellish riff progressions. He’ll go for a haughtier bark, with just a few flecks of blood coughed up, and then inject some more snarling black metal passages to offer just a mild degree of variation; but it all sounds pissed off, even though it’s mixed at such a level that the actual syllables can get lost against the rapidity of the drums and guitars. So why not spend at least fifteen minutes out of your day to listen to a metal band from Chile? Ceremonial do so much for you and only ask for so little in return. On the downside, however, listening to Ars Antiqua is like getting a free sample of low quality amphetamines. You don’t sincerely enjoy the experience but in the end, it was thrilling. And after it’s all over, you are craving more and you can’t explain why. Maybe this could be a gateway that leads to other Chilean metal acts.
Track list:
1. The Cloud Upon The Sanctuary
2. A.·.R.·.C.·.
3. Havohej
4. Tribulations