The Skinny: In a time when the term “hardcore” often refers to teenage boys adorning sassy haircuts, low cut girl jeans, and bad makeup while playing drop-tuned radio hooks, a band like Ceremony is a breath of fresh air. This is some of the most pissed-off and deceptively clever aggressive music that I’ve heard in years. Hailing from the Bay Area, this 5-piece thrash hardcore outfit represents everything that a punk rock band should invoke. What’s more, they’ve been doing it increasingly well over the past four years. Ceremony’s previous releases, Ruined and Violence (on Boston's Malfunction Records) coupled with the intensity of their live shows captivated audiences and instantly made them a crucial part of the underground network. Scared People is their debut release on Massachusetts Bridge 9 Records.

The Rating:     What does this mean?

While the style of this newest release doesn’t stray far from older tunes, their formula has lost none of its potency. Ceremony is all about timing and placement. The opening track “It Rained Today inside My Head” moves gradually from a medley of drum builds, minor chords, and feedback to an explosive stomp that just floored me. The songs are over as soon as they come together, and that’s the beauty of it.

Another enduring quality that Ceremony possesses is the fact that they’ve mastered non-metal blast beat, something that anyone who is jaded on metalcore, like me, can appreciate. The lyric content of this EP is centered on utter contempt for society, which sounds a little cliché in regards to punk/hardcore but fits perfectly into Ceremony’s vein of angst. My favorite track is "Mothers and Fathers," another very short, and very to-the-point tune. The icing in the cake is the cover of Negative FX’s "Feel like a Man," a classic punk sing along.

I love this 7”. I feel like anyone that is into heavy music be it metal, punk, hardcore, or whatever can appreciate a band like Ceremony. They hit the studio in April this year to start on their next release simply entitled, The Full Length. If it’s anything like their last three EP’s, I’ve got a spot on my turntable with its name on it.

Not know them? Thier CD will fit in with: Outbreak’s You Make Us Sick, Black Flag's Damaged, and Bracewar’s Juggernaut