Ceremony is an American punk rock band from Rohnert Park, California. The band's current line-up features Ross Farrar (vocals), Anthony Anzaldo (guitar), Justin Davis (bass), Andy Nelson (guitar), and Jake Casarotti (drums). Ryan Mattos (guitar) left before the group's Matador Records signing in 2011, being replaced by Nelson.[1] The band have released six studio albums to date, and have changed their sound considerably across their discography – ranging from elements of powerviolence, grindcore, hardcore punk, punk rock, garage rock, post-punk, indie rock and new wave. Pitchfork once wrote that "Ceremony are hell-bent on not making the same record twice",[2] while Stereogum described the band as "a very good punk band executing old punk tricks to massive effectiveness".[3]
In 2005, the band released the EP RuinedonMalfunction 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.[citation needed]
In 2011, the band confirmed they had signed with Matador Records, and their final Bridge 9 release would be a covers-only EP, featuring the band's take on songs by Urban Waste, Pixies, Crisis, Eddie and the Subtitles, Vile and Wire.[10][11]
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.[12][13]
On May 19, 2015, they released their second album on Matador, titled The L-Shaped Man.[14] The record saw them move even further into the post-punk realm, with many comparing the album's sound to that of Joy Division. 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 on August 23, 2019. The album sported three singles: "Turn Away the Bad Thing", the title track, and "Presaging the End".
