Ceremony is an American punk rock band from

Rohnert Park, California Rohnert Park is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located approximately north of San Francisco. The population at the 2020 United States Census was 44,390. It is an early planned city and is the sister city of Hashimoto in ...

. The band's current line-up features Ross Farrar (vocals), Anthony Anzaldo (guitar), Jasmine Watson (bass), Andy Nelson (guitar), and Jake Casarotti (drums). Ryan Mattos (guitar) left before the group's

Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts. History Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City apart ...

signing in 2011, being replaced by Nelson, while Watson joined in 2022 as a replacement for founding bassist Justin Davis. The band have released six studio albums to date, and have changed their sound considerably across their discography – ranging from elements of powerviolence,

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. ...

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier pu ...

, punk rock,

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

and new wave. ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' once wrote that "Ceremony are hell-bent on not making the same record twice", while ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awa ...

'' described the band as "a very good punk band executing old punk tricks to massive effectiveness".

History

Formed in

, the band originally formed under the name of Violent World before later changing the name to Ceremony. The name was chosen for the song of the same name by New Order. In 2005, the band released the EP ''Ruined'' on Malfunction Records. This release was followed by their critically acclaimed first full-length album, '' Violence Violence'', which included a re-recorded version of the ''Ruined'' EP. 2008 saw the release of ''

Still Nothing Moves You ''Still, Nothing Moves You'' is the second full-length album from the American hardcore punk band Ceremony. It was released in August 2008 through Bridge 9 Records. Reception Ceremony's sophomore full-length release was received by generally fav ...

'', the band's first release on Bridge 9 Records, described by Keith Carman in ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' magazine as "hardcore's equivalent of Hiroshima", which placed on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s Top Internet and

Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

charts in August 2008.Charts
, ''

''. August 23, 2008, pp. 40–41. Retrieved December 25, 2011. After touring with bands including

Blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...

, Converge, and AFI, they released their third full-length album ''

Rohnert Park Rohnert Park is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located approximately north of San Francisco. The population at the 2020 United States Census was 44,390. It is an early planned city and is the sister city of Hashimoto in ...

'' in 2010. In 2011, the band confirmed they had signed with

, and their final Bridge 9 release would be a covers-only EP, featuring the band's take on songs by Urban Waste, Pixies,

Crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...

, Eddie and the Subtitles, Vile and

Wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is co ...

. In March 2012, the band released the album ''Zoo'' on Matador Records, which was a departure from the harder style even more so than the ''Rohnert Park'' album was, with the new record focusing on a more proto-punk sound in the style of Wire's '' Pink Flag'' album. On May 19, 2015, they released their second album on Matador, titled ''

The L-Shaped Man ''The L-Shaped Man'' is the fifth album by American punk rock band Ceremony. Produced by Drive Like Jehu guitarist John Reis, the album was released on May 19, 2015 through Matador Records. It marks as a further shift to a Joy Division-influen ...

''. The record saw them move even further into the post-punk realm, with many comparing the album's sound to that of

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after att ...

. Three singles were released from the album: "Your Life in France" and the double-A side "The Separation"/"The Understanding". Their sixth album, In the Spirit World Now, was released through

Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The label w ...

on August 23, 2019. The album sported three singles: "Turn Away the Bad Thing", the title track and "Presaging the End".

Musical style

The band's main influences include

The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the ...

, Joy Division, T.S.O.L.,

Christian Death Christian Death is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles County, California, in 1979 by Rozz Williams. With major line-up changes over the years, Christian Death has retained "a relentlessly confrontational stand against organized religi ...

, and

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

. The band have also expressed their love of bands and artists such as

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Violent Femmes Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza (joined 2 ...

Prince A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

and

The Cure The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...

. They are known for the consistent evolution of their sound, gradually leaving behind the powerviolence and

style exhibited on

Ruined Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberat ...

and Violence Violence with subsequent releases, exploring elements of 80s-inspired hardcore punk (

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has bee ...

(

( Zoo),

(

) and new wave ( In the Spirit World Now). The band's early sound has been compared to that of

Infest Infest may refer to: *Infest, wild animal overpopulation, much in the same way that cockroaches do * ''Infest'' (album), a 2000 hard rock album by Papa Roach *Infest (band), American hardcore band *Infest (festival), an alternative electronic mu ...

, Crossed Out, and No Comment, described as a "non-stop bludgeoning of sonic fury" and "fast, brutal hardcore".

Members

;Current * Ross Farrar –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of th ...

(2005–present) * Anthony Anzaldo –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

keytar The keytar is a lightweight synthesizer that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is supported by a strap. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement onstage, compared to conventional keyboard ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

, keyboards, synthesizers,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

(2005–present) * Jake Casarotti –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

(2005–present) * Andy Nelson – guitar, backing vocals (2011–present) * Jasmine Watson –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, backing vocals (2022–present) ;Former * Ryan Mattos – guitar, backing vocals (2005–2011) * Justin Davis – bass (2005–2022)

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Violence Violence'' (

Deathwish Inc. Deathwish, Inc. is an American independent record label conceived by Jacob Bannon of Converge and Tre McCarthy in 2000. Their first release was '' Deeper the Wound'', a split album between Converge and Japanese band Hellchild on April 23, 2001. D ...

/ Malfunction Records, 2006) *''

'' ( Bridge 9 Records, 2008) *''

'' ( Bridge 9 Records, 2010) *'' Zoo'' (

, 2012) *''

'' (Matador Records, 2015) *'' In the Spirit World Now'' (

, 2019)

EPs

*''

'' ( Malfunction Records, 2005) *''Scared People'' ( Bridge 9 Records, 2007) *''Ceremony 6 Cover Songs'' ( Bridge 9 Records, 2011)

Singles

*"He-God-Has Favored Our Undertakings" ( Bridge 9 Records, 2008) *"Sick" ( Bridge 9 Records, 2010) *"Hysteria" (

, 2012) *"Adult" (

, 2012) *"The Understanding" (

, 2015) *"The Separation" (

, 2015) *"Your Life in France" (

, 2015) *"Turn Away the Bad Thing" (

, 2019) *"Vanity Spawned by Fear" b/w "California Poppy" (Relapse Records, 2022)

Compilation contributions

*"Tourette's" (originally by

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo. ...

; tribute album '' In Utero, in Tribute, in Entirety'') (2014, Robotic Empire)

Music videos

* ''World Blue'' (2012) * ''Adult'' (2012) * ''The Separation + the Understanding'' (2015) * ''Your Life in France'' (2015) * ''Turn Away the Bad Thing'' (2019) * ''Vanity Spawned By Fear'' (2022)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 2005 establishments in California American post-punk music groups Bridge 9 Records artists Deathwish Inc. artists Hardcore punk groups from California Matador Records artists Musical groups established in 2005 Musical groups from the San Francisco Bay Area Musical quintets Rohnert Park, California