I presume a bit too much, I fear.

Ceremony is a band apart. I mean this in the greatest sense of the word. Their songs are short, unrelenting bursts of aggression that last just as long as a standard guitar solo. I say this because at least on their 2006 record, Violence Violence, which I enjoy far, far too much for my own good, the 20 songs come out to 20 minutes. The best demonstration of their remarkable capacity is Living Hell, which if I have not mentioned on here before, I will do so now.

It is both economic and profoundly angry. I'd direct you to an mp3, but I can't find one, and just reading the lyrics doesn't give you the full laconic-ness of the song. But, if like me, you're a lyrics whore, and you want something to grab a hold of, here's the best line from that thirty two seconds of fury.

Here's to fucked up youth/here's to burning lies/here's to each fucking day that just passed me by.

Aside from the f-bombs, dropped with a ferocity that matches or exceeds dire bears, the delivery packs a punch full of rage and indignation that I haven't heard, outside of Paint It Black's Paradise, (which, is, coincidentally, another CD you ought to be listening to, but Paint It Black, like guitarist/mastermind's Dan Yemin's previous acts, is far, far more melodic than Ceremony, though still not terribly melodic by anyone else's standards.) If that doesn't help you, then perhaps this will.

I use Zombie Apocalypse as a touchstone for understanding Ceremony's art, though that might be less helpful than I like it to be, since it's quite possible Zombie is less well known than Ceremony. But. Both groups, with a couple exceptions, both bands play absurdly fast, unyieldingly abrasive hardcore punk rock music, with songs that don't break a minute. Yes, the forbidden beat is welcome in this house. (Du-cha, du-du-cha, in case you're wondering.)

There's veneer of cartoonishness from Zombie Apocalypse, but a closer look at those lyrics will reveal something else entirely. It's not so much about actual zombies, as the working dead in suits and ties.

On that note, I really should stop, but one thing stuck out to me. Friday night, I swore I was only going to listen to one Crime In Stereo song ("Abre Los Ojos", in case you're wondering, you can listen to here) and then I was going to head out and be social, but I've since gotten through "Slow Math", "the Return Of...", "When the Women Come Out to Dance", "Long Song Titles Aren't Cool Anymore Because the Rest of You Fuckers Are No Good At It" and finally, "New Harlem Shuffle". So, it takes 10 minutes to shake off Crime In Stereo's influence from me. That's how you know a band has you in their palm.

Should we pick up the torch of weekly themes again?