Ceremony: Refusing to stand on

“Being in Ceremony is exactly like growing up,” explains guitarist Anthony Anzaldo. “You don’t see it happening until you’re ten years older and you see old pictures of yourself.” Later on tonight, Ceremony will play their first London show in three years and in the process become the first band to headline the rejuvenated MOTH Club in Hackney. All polished brass and glittered ceilings, it’s a venue that demands attention but then Ceremony, ten years into the game, are a source of constant evolution. Starting life on the outskirts of hardcore, the band have slowly but surely toyed with the realms of possibility. Earlier this year they released ‘The L- Shaped Man’ and took another step away from where they started and into an assured, creative freedom. Sure, the glimmer of the venue is eye catching but the Californian five-piece shift before you, comfortable in change. “Ceremony fans know the drill with us,” continues Anthony. “This is our fifth LP and every one has been so drastically different to the last. They know that going into a new record. Obviously you lose certain people with every album but you hope that you gain more than you lose. The core fanbase that we have, they know it’s going to be different, they know we’re going to something else. With that, it’s always going to be good,” he offers before singer Ross Farar repeats “it’s always going to be good,” with steadfast conviction. Ceremony have a point. 2006’s ‘Violence Violence’ is different to 2010’s ‘Rohnernt Park’. ‘Zoo’ is further away still but by the time we reach ‘The L-Shaped Man’, the band are barely recognisable yet nothing stands out as awkward or forced. “They’re still there,” says Ross of their earlier material. “They still inhabit a part of our lives. When we first started getting into punk, we made those songs. They’re very nostalgic. It’s not like we think hardcore is lame but at the time that music felt honest to us and now, making these songs is honest to us.” “It’s all come back full circle,” offers Ross before Anthony explains. “We started the band with this name and this aesthetic and it was such a contrast. Our music was this abrasive, hardcore alongside this image of a rose and ‘Ceremony’ written across the top. Now it all makes more sense.” “It’s not as different as it used to be,” adds Ross with a smirk. “The energy changes,” he continues. “You’ve just got to ride the wave. Each time you make a song, you need to figure out how they feel and how you’re going to move to them. These new songs are very different to anything I’ve ever done. They’re not funky but they’re a little bit dancey and I dance. I love to dance. The fans are in the same situation as us. They’re still trying to figure out how to move to the songs but we have a lot of people upfront, very much in it with us and that’s a beautiful thing.”