7 Occult Rock Bands That Are Way Fucking Better Than Ghost.

If there is one fucking sentence I can go the rest of my life without hearing it would have to be:  “Hey dude.  You should listen to Ghost.  You’d love them.”  If I had a penny for every time I heard that phrase I’d be a fucking millionaire.  I’ve given them a listen and I couldn’t fucking stand it.  I even waited a little while and gave them another listen.  I thought I might like it but I found that I liked it even less the 2nd time around.  After that people were just like, “Man, how can you not like Ghost?  You love [enter band name here].”  Well, I love ketchup but I fucking hate tomatoes.  Your point is?

I can dig what Ghost is going for but here’s the deal.  They fall completely flat in my opinion.  It’s a gimmick, it’s a shtick, and I get it, people fucking love shit like that but at the end of the day it’s just not done really well.  Matter of fact, I can think of seven occult rock bands that do this thing way better than Ghost does minus the corny Satanic Vatican thing.  So if you’re like me and you fucking don’t like Ghost, here are seven bands for you to help you forget that this shitty band even exists.

Purson

This London based psychedelic hard rock quintet first caught my ear with their song “Leaning on a Bear” from their 2013 debut album ‘The Circle and the Blue Door.’  Upon hearing this song I tracked down the album only to discover that this song was just a mere introduction to what this band is all about.  Their song “The Contract” is a much more fair representation of this band to be honest.  It is such a strong song and it embodies what I feel like this band is truly capable of doing.

Their utilization of instruments such as 12-string electric, Mellotron, Wurlitzer organ coupled with the warm, soulful voice of lead vocalist/lead guitarist Rosalie Cunningham create a very late 60’s psychedelic sound.  Hearing a young band playing like this gives me hope that real, authentic music will live forever and thrive even amongst all the fads and passing trends.

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Blood Ceremony

You remember how I talked about how people be like, “Dude, you gotta listen to this band…”?  Well, Blood Ceremony is another one of those bands.  My buddy Jeff was as a Kylesa show (who I don’t like) and he texts me saying, “Don.  I just saw your new favorite band.  Check out Blood Ceremony.”  Well, he was right on the money with this one because nothing about this band sucks.

From the Great White North comes a band of merry song makers led by the beautiful flautist/organist goddess Alia O’Brien calling themselves Blood Ceremony.  Sounding more like the bastard child of Black Sabbath and Jethro Tull, Blood Ceremony boasts three albums under their belt that sound like music that you would hear coming from around a campfire in the woods if someone could run an extension cord out there for the amps and shit.  Great fucking band with a very warm, mellow, yet heavy sound that is bound to tickle your woodwind.

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The Devil’s Blood

A couple of years ago a friend asked me if I would go review a band called The Devil’s Blood.  They were opening for Behemoth and Watain which right away had me second guessing it.  All of the sudden, yeah, you guessed it: “Don!  You’re going to love this band.  They’re not what you think.”  I went to the show with an open mind and without even hearing one note of this band.  From the first note of “The Thousandfold Epicentre” I was floored and I had once again found a new favorite to add to the tier.  These Dutch occult rockers had a sound that was such a great mix of classic bands such as Blue Oyster Cult, Hawkwind, and lead vocalist Farida Lemouchi this this soulful, hauntingly beautiful voice that possessed a kind of folkish quality ala Melanie (folk singer).

The Devil’s Blood disbanded after only 6 short years but left behind a legacy of three amazing albums full of timeless, hauntingly beautiful music.  You can’t help but feel moved by the music of this band.  Leader and songwriter Selim Lemouchi (RIP) used his music as a way to exorcise his demons and to express his tormented and troubled self.  The Devil’s Blood really made some powerful music that I feel every fan of this kind of music should at least hear once.

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Orchid

When I first heard this San Francisco based quartet my first thoughts were “What the fuck is this?  Some unreleased Sabbath stuff?”  I actually didn’t like it because if I wanted to listen to Sabbath, I would listen to Sabbath.  As time passed, the more crap metal bands I was hearing the more Orchid sounded like a good idea.  When I revisited them again by listening to their compilation The Capricorn Sessions I suddenly got it.

Over the years there have been plenty of bands that emulate other bands that I loved.  Kingdom Come did Zeppelin, Vindicator did Megadeth, so why can’t Orchid do Sabbath.  To be honest, Orchid actually does a better Black Sabbath than even Black Sabbath can do these days.  I really found myself enjoying the hell out of these songs and I think if you just let yourself, you will as well.  Great band and still better than Ghost.

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The Oath

Fronted by the songwriting duo of singer Johanna Sadonis and guitarist Linnéa Olsson, The Oath emerged onto the scene making quite a bit of noise with their Night Child/Black Rainbow 7”.  The band was quickly signed to Rise Above records and put out their mind blowing self-titled debut album.  With songs rooted deep in the occult and touching on the darker side of the spectrum, the Oath’s songs both grabbed me and fascinated me.  Musically the Oath pulls from many influences and covers everything from Merciful Fate to Black Sabbath to Motorhead and all else in between.

The Oath joins the ranks of many other female based bands that I have found myself loving so much these days.  Why is that?  Well, it’s for no other reason other than they just kick ass and have great songs.  Whether you’re a woman or a man or a goat or whatever, if you rock, you just flat out rock and that’s all there is to it.  The Oath delivers and does it well.

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Jess and the Ancient Ones

In my never ending quest to find new music, I suddenly found myself at a website where someone listed his top occult rock/metal bands.  On that list was Jess and the Ancient Ones.  At first I just laughed when I saw the band name as I thought it sounded a bit silly.  While it really did sound kind of silly, the name stuck with me and I felt compelled to seek out some music from these minstrels of psychedelic rock.  Well played Jess and the Ancient Ones, well played.

Jess and the Ancient one’s debut album Astral Sabbat is a grand collection of music that is eerily reminiscent of late 60’s icons The Jefferson Airplane.  Lead vocalist Jess (no last name thank you very much) has a strong captivating voice that draws you in and has you hanging on to every single word.  The songs are spacey, eerie,  mellow, and intense all at the same time.  There are so many layers of great playing on this album that this is definitely one to listen to with headphones.  Just get into that mindset (if you know what I’m talking about) and let yourself melt into this one.  You’ll be glad you did.

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Avatarium

Avatarium is Swedish.  SURPRISE!  I only say this because it seems that so many of my favorite bands are from Sweden.  Sabaton, Graveyard, Blues Pills, you name it.  I should start a saying, “If it ain’t Swedish, its crap” but then again, Kadavar being from Germany would trump that right away so nevermind.  Avatarium (much like almost all of these bands) came from a good friend of mine (this time from LA) telling me, “Don, you have to hear this band.”  Well, I did and 7 songs and 50 minutes later I was reaching for the play button once again.

Avatarium’s self-titled debut album made my top albums of 2013 list and rightfully so.  The album opens with the magnum opus “Moonhorse” and I remember thinking, “Whoa.  This reminds me of Candlemass meets Pink Floyd with a touch of Rainbow and Black Sabbath.”  Once I learned that the band featured Leif Edling (bass), Marcus Jidell (guitar), and Car Westholm (keyboards) all formerly of Candlemass it all just made so much sense.  The smoky, soulful vocals of Jennie-Ann Smith just completed the whole thing creating one very easy to swallow pill guaranteed to make you taller.  Just a fantastic band with an album that sounds exactly how I wish all metal albums would sound.  It has so many layers of crystal clear music and subtle intricacies that create a really amazing listening experience.  Put the headphones on for this one.

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