Album Spotlight: Rohnert Park by Cermony

 

By Ryan Germ
God do I love this record. I was probably in 7th grade? Maybe early 8th grade when I first listened to this. I credit End It and NAILS for being the 2 bands that got me into the modern side of hardcore but I’d be damned if I didn’t include this record as one of the things that also helped clue me in on hardcore post 2005. Before hearing this record I knew Ceremony as an indie garage punk band because of GTA V (shoutout Vinewood Blvd Radio) and then my dad showed me Violence Violence and this record which made my perception completely 180 on them. It took the best elements of 80’s hardcore, made it heavier, and shoved in some post hardcore bleakness for good measure. So what are we waiting for? Let’s get into this shit.

The record opens up with the very slow Into The Wayside Part I. Now despite this not being as upbeat as the intro to say New Direction by Gorilla Biscuits, I’d say this is like the 2010’s version of that intro as it’s generational. It can make multiple eras of hardcore go nuts just from hearing the first notes ring out, and honestly it fits the post 2008 housing crisis era it came out in, where pessimism ran wild like Hulkamania. 40 seconds into the record the real opener, Sick starts with heavy toms, a super 80’s Black Flag style riff, and Ross Farrar’s enraged vocal style. It feels like you’re bombing a hill in Northern California. Musically verse 2 features a two step part into a half breakdown thing before going back into the chorus. The final verse explodes in your face with a burst of rage before ending and transitioning into the next song.

The next track MCDF is more standard punk track. The instrumentation is more pummeling but the vocal style is easier to sing along to on this track while also being hard. At around the 45 second mark there’s a solo, normally I’m against solos in hardcore but this one fits well into the song. There’s one more verse and chorus before the song ends. The lyrics are obviously about incarceration, and for those outside of California (like me) MCDF stands for Marsh Creek Detention Facility, it’s also known as the farm because of their inmate agriculture programs.

The next song is Moving Principle. It starts with the main riff before the drums kick it into a 2 step part. It hits you fast and hard like you’re doing 100 MPH down a highway. The chorus has this nice part where the rhythm in the drums kind of stutters and goes back to full blast over the line of “the moving principle means going forward”. It’s loud, it’s in your face, and it fuckin rules. After the second chorus the song goes into its crescendo with a bold attitude before it ends.

The most “out there” track is next with The Doldrums (Friendly City). It shows more of that post hardcore pessimism and apathy that I love so much about this record. Instrumentally it’s so boring and that’s what’s so good about it. It feels like a depressive episode in the suburbs if you bottled it up and threw it in a song. It’s half sang, half spoken word delivery from Ross. The final minute is a chant of “Living in the doldrums/Walking in the doldrums/Floating in the doldrums/Wandering the doldrums all day”. There’s really not much to dissect musically as it’s literally in the doldrums from that stance. But that’s what makes this song one of my favorite depictions of being fed up with your town, and it’s not in the lame pop punk way either.

Open Head continues that energy but with more yelling. This song is slightly more straight forward while having mildly abstract tendencies. It starts off super punk but tells a story of a weird kid with “reptile skin”. The song ends with a chant of “Open my head/Open head” with a chant of open head getting louder and louder in the background, like you’re being engulfed in the chant.

Into The Wayside Part II starts with something playing in reverse. It gets louder and is revealed to be a guitar over a sample. The sample tells a story of a 12-13 year old boy who’s neighbor was wedged between his bathroom wall and door, he couldn’t get to him and the neighbor sadly died. It ends with a message of "Everyone's life is worth saving. Everyone has value. So, the next time you are confronted with having to make the most of a very sad amount of opportunity, be patient, and hope that an answer will come to you” before ending with a guitar solo.

A cowbell kicks off Terminal Addiction along with some of my favorite lyrics of any hardcore song with the lines “everyday, everyday, everyday I’m suffering/everyday I’m suffering from terminal addiction”. It’s basic as fuck but it works, and that’s what HC is supposed to be in my opinion. This song is made for sing alongs, it’s very mid tempo but not in a moshy way. More so in a way where it’s super chanty. It doesn’t do anything too crazy so there’s not much to write about, but I still think it’s an amazing hardcore punk song.

Don’t Touch Me starts with just drums, then some eerie chords, and the thickest bass ever. Then it goes full punk on you, back to that hardcore ferocity. It sounds like a lost b side from Black Flag’s Slip It In era with groove and stop and start parts over the most 80’s hardcore riffs. At a minute in it completely stops and throws you back into the flames as quick as possible. The riff in this song makes the best use of the tone outside of Into The Wayside. After verse 2 it transitions into the intro part with the drums, bass, and eerie chords. Before coming back strong and ending the track like a supernova. Hell yeah.

Another heater is next with Back In ‘84. This is like the Kersed of this record as it has blistering fast PV esque parts but it primarily features a huge singalong like the aforementioned Kersed. It features dark lyrics like “Back in 84 I nearly choked on the U chord/till my dad came and cut me loose”. It has a fuck ton of groove and that’s what I love in my hardcore, punkish groove.

All The Time continues that blistering fast energy shown in the end of Back In ‘84, whilst also featuring stop and start rhythm which is always a plus. It’s solid but other songs on the record do this style better.

The next song, The Pathos for example does that. It sounds like a song taken straight from Ceremony’s previous effort (and to be honest my least favorite out of the first 3) “Still Nothing Moves You”. Even faster than most this record but not powerviolence, still very much 80’s hardcore punk. At 41 seconds it begins a gradual slowdown before speeding back up and back into that blistering fast main part of the song until it ends. More please.

Nigh To Life brings back that Black Flag shit. It’s pretty cool, but again there’s better examples of songs like this on the record, that’s all I have to say.

The ending song Into The Wayside Part III feels like a weird end, a peek into how experimental Ceremony would become. it’s hard to explain. In a way it sounds like it’s The Wyatt Family’s theme but even more stripped back, samples galore, and it’s whisper sang but not in a shoegazey way. It’s like if Ceremony’s indie shit was even darker, and I love it for that. Perfect way to end the record.

In the Land of Lawmen and Lawwomen (that’s what it’s called according to Wikipedia and one Hard Times article) is the REAL closer and comes a few minutes after Into The Wayside pt III. There’s a sample that gets engulfed by a hard ass riff. It then moves full blast, super fast, and rips your face off, sample still going in the background. Ross screams his fucking mind out on this for the 15 seconds he’s on vocals for. It’s fast and arguably a better way to close off the record. No slow endings allowed here buddy.