I first heard about BLOOD CEREMONY during the release of their previous album, "The Eldritch Dark", which sadly I didn't listen to it at that time, as I think I just brushed the band aside thinking it would not be interesting enough for me. Of course, that was the time, I wasn't as much into Stoner and Doom Metal as much as I am now. So when I found that BLOOD CEREMONY had a new full length album up for release and I had the opportunity to review, I simply couldn't resist. So "Lord Of Misrule" is the band's 4^th full length, which was released just a few days ago, on March 25^th.

The 44 minutes album starts with "The Devil's Widow", which starts off with slow guitar tapping, but soon turns into a fast paced Stoner song, with the unique vocals of Alia O'Brien giving the music a unique vibe to it. The vocals, along with the guitars, are extremely trippy mainly because of the song structures and the lyrics that the vocals spin out. Although the vocals can be compared to some other female fronted Stoner Metal bands, Alia's vocals are unique in her own ways and add new dimension to the band's music. The vocals can be described as lazy elegance, perfectly synching with the band's tempo and vibe. "Loreley" is another trippy and slightly chaotic song, but the vocals try to make it another trippy song, especially as Alia herself plays the melodic flute in different phrases of the song. In my honest humble opinion, the song made me wanting to go on a train ride! "The Rogue's Lot" starts and continues with a strong heavy thick sludgy riffs, but managing it to keep it slow and mid-tempo giving it a unique vibe, and add to that the interesting drums and unique vocals, you have another great song here. Within the 4:38 min, the song takes a different turn in the latter half, as the song gets really faster and almost sounds like a totally different band, giving new dimensions to the band's music. The title track "Lord of Misrule" has lot of atmospheric elements in it, along with some cool trippy riffs. As I was listening to this song, I felt the music, as a whole, was very similar to another Stoner band by the name of UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS. The lyrics here again are very catchy and are not of serious and peachy nature as is usually found in genres like Heavy Metal. The guitar and flute take turns to add new flavor to the song and this works really well here.

"Half Moon Street" sounds like one of those fun songs that you might see a street artist play in a colorful street of a European city. "The Weird of Finistere" sounds like a trippy lullaby, thanks to its slow tempo and melodic nature of the song. The song is one of the most emotionally touching songs on the record, in my opinion. With lyrics like "Lay down now, lay down now in the garden of dreams", "Flower Phantom" takes you to another trippy journey as you travel to another planet and drool into the journey and forget all the temporary problems that you currently have in your real life. "Old Fires" is one of the rare songs that may be a big crowd hit due to its headbanging and hair lifting riffs. The riffs are more Traditional Heavy Metal than just being Stoner, but still managing to keep the core sound of the band, along with the unique vocals of Alia. The album ends with what initially looks like a slow tempo song having resemblance to another Stoner/Doom band by the name AVATARIUM, in "Things Present, Things Past". The song is very easy on the ears and is one of those songs that you would want to listen to on a tired lazy Sunday afternoon, just lost in some random thoughts.

I haven't come across a Stoner or a Doom album in recent times that kept me engrossed and interested all the way through, and didn't rely on overtly crazy progressive riffs or song structures. BLOOD CEREMONY once again proves that with subtleness and simplicity, music can still be beautiful music that can still appeal to us metalheads. This is Stoner Metal at its best, and add to that, a great unique style of female vocals; you got a treat for yourself, if you're a Stoner Metal fan yourself. Press the play button, and take a ride!<