{ "ok" : true, "artist" : { "name" : "Ceremony of Darkness", "page" : "ceremony_of_darkness", "description" : "Step into the darkness and surround yourself in intense rock", "location" : "IL, USA", "bio" : "Born in Champaign, IL, Ceremony of Darkness is comprised of members unique even among their brethren inhabiting the darker corners of the music scene. With backgrounds in literature, music theory, the military, and even boxing, the members of Ceremony of Darkness are as varied as the tracks on their premiere album \"13\".\n\nSin and J started the band with a predominantly metal focus. Over time they found that some of the slower songs they threw into sets during longer shows were taking hold within certain segments of the fan base. There was enough demand for their more melodic works that they began to get booked regionally for acoustic sets. Eventually, Ceremony of Darkness was able to find its balance and could play its melodic works, basic rock songs, and its heaviest metal tracks together in a way that honestly displayed the band's identity and appealed to all corners of their diverse fan base.\n\nWhen asked about the approach of Ceremony of Darkness, Sin explains, \"Look, I may personally love metal, but even the heaviest fans like to slow it down or lighten it up now and then, just so long as they don't feel like they 'sold out' along the way. It is all about identity and balance. If you lose who you are by not writing in the same exact key or style every time, you are probably not being yourself anyway. Our music is intense for the most part, but it isn't as if we sit around mad or sad all day either. At shows we will party and joke with our fans as much as they will let us. I just don't think you can take yourself too seriously, no one else does.\"\n\nThough they may not take themselves too seriously, they do take their music seriously. Tempo changes, intricate guitars, and varied vocal styles are utilized to create just the right effect for each individual song Ceremony of Darkness writes. Their premiere album \"13\" showcases 13 of the over 100 songs Ceremony of Darkness has worked to perfect. \"13\" forms a unique expression of dark rock appealing to mainstream listeners as well as fans of metal, and those within the darker subcultures of music. Ceremony of Darkness does not fear displaying the varied nature of their influences, as anyone attending a show will clearly see by the diversity of their fan base. Vocalist Sin explains, \"We [the band members] come from different backgrounds and have different musical tastes. Some of us have our roots in metal, while others come from a jazz background or are into mainstream rock. Rather than fight it, we embrace the elements involved and believe that just like an individual has different aspects to their personality, if they are being honest, so will their music. Being one-dimensional as a band would be disingenuous and essentially amount to calling our fans one-dimensional too, and we don't want to do that.\" In fact, \"13\" features songs ranging from slow and melodic (Breathless), to straight forward rock (Freedom), to songs one might consider throwback death metal (The Surgeon of New Orleans).\n\nWhen listening to \"13\" a return to intricate guitar musicianship will be noted as well as vocal styles that change to suit each song rather than making the music conform to the vocals. One dominant theme in the music of Ceremony of Darkness that will become evident to listener however is the dark, emotional, and haunting imagery that brings a mood of intensity to each song. \"I have always been a fan of Poe,\" recalls Sin, \"and what I took from his style is that no piece of your work should detract from your overall purpose. In the case of songwriting, we try to remove anything that is not in some way essential to the song's design. Our music is about emotion, so we describe each emotion in the greatest detail that we are able.\"\n\nThe Band Members -\nSin - vocals and rhythm guitar\nJ - Rhythm and lead guitars\nRyan Basch - Bass\nBrandon Zeisler - Drums\nJason Dix - Drums (alternate)\nBrian Mantia - Guitars\nGeorge Kiser - Additional live guitars (alternate)\nAlex Lopez - Additional live keys\n\nCeremony of Darkness have WON Best Metal/Hardcore Album of 2010, by the Independent Music Awards.\n\nTheir song \"The Surgeon of New Orleans\" has also been nominated in the Metal genre for the Hollywood Music in Media Awards.\n\nFor more on the band please visit their website or MySpace page.", "photo" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/img/ceremony_of_darkness.jpg", "web_url" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/ceremony_of_darkness/", "albums" : [{ "sku" : "cod-thirteennv", "name" : "13 (vocals removed)", "artist" : { "name" : "Ceremony of Darkness", "page" : "ceremony_of_darkness" }, "release_date" : "2026-10-20", "genres" : ["Hard Rock","Metal"], "vocals" : "vocals removed", "cover" : "https://magnatune.com/music/Ceremony%20of%20Darkness/13%20(vocals%20removed)/cover_400.jpg", "web_url" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/albums/cod-thirteennv/", "api_url" : "https://magnatune.com/api/albums/cod-thirteennv", "buy_url" : "https://magnatune.com/buy/album?sku=cod-thirteennv" },{ "sku" : "cod-fleshwitch", "name" : "Flesh of the Witch", "artist" : { "name" : "Ceremony of Darkness", "page" : "ceremony_of_darkness" }, "release_date" : "2013-09-29", "genres" : ["Hard Rock","Metal"], "vocals" : "vocals", "moods" : ["dark","dramatic","tense","mysterious","epic","aggressive"], "uses" : ["trailer","film score","horror or thriller","fantasy or medieval","emotional storytelling","period drama or history"], "energy" : 5, "instrumentation" : ["heavy guitar","powerful drums","male vocals","instrumental rock passages"], "sounds_like" : [], "summary" : "Intense hard rock and metal with dramatic, dark, and epic instrumental and vocal passages; ideal for trailers, horror, fantasy, and period-drama storytelling.", "cover" : "https://magnatune.com/music/Ceremony%20of%20Darkness/Flesh%20of%20the%20Witch/cover_400.jpg", "web_url" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/albums/cod-fleshwitch/", "api_url" : "https://magnatune.com/api/albums/cod-fleshwitch", "buy_url" : "https://magnatune.com/buy/album?sku=cod-fleshwitch" },{ "sku" : "cod-thirteen", "name" : "13", "artist" : { "name" : "Ceremony of Darkness", "page" : "ceremony_of_darkness" }, "release_date" : "2011-03-11", "genres" : ["Hard Rock","Metal"], "vocals" : "vocals", "moods" : ["dark","ominous","tense","dramatic","sensual","aggressive"], "uses" : ["trailer","horror or thriller","gaming","film score","emotional storytelling","sports or action"], "energy" : 5, "instrumentation" : ["layered guitars","haunting vocals","heavy rock drums","metal-influenced bass"], "sounds_like" : [], "summary" : "Intense melodic heavy rock with metal influence, haunting vocals and layered guitars, ideal for dark, dramatic, or suspenseful video and podcast projects.", "cover" : "https://magnatune.com/music/Ceremony%20of%20Darkness/13/cover_400.jpg", "web_url" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/albums/cod-thirteen/", "api_url" : "https://magnatune.com/api/albums/cod-thirteen", "buy_url" : "https://magnatune.com/buy/album?sku=cod-thirteen" }] }, "license" : { "music_license" : "Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 1.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 1.0)", "music_license_url" : "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/", "listening" : "Stream the free previews, or buy an album for $8 to download it in MP3, AAC, ALAC, FLAC, OGG or WAV. 100% of the price goes to the musician.", "non_commercial" : "Non-commercial projects may use the music under CC BY-NC-SA 1.0: credit the artist and Magnatune, and share alike.", "projects" : "Magnatune members may use any Magnatune music in their projects, commercial or not (videos, films, podcasts, games, apps, websites, adverts), including work for clients, under the Magnatune Project Licence. Projects released while a member stay licensed for good; new projects need an active membership. Credit is required. TV or radio broadcast, cinema, and background music in shops, restaurants or on-hold lines are not included: license those from the musician. Membership: $10/month, $99/year or $299 lifetime; agents can buy one themselves with MPP at /api/member-pass ($10 month, $99 year, $299 lifetime, one-off).", "projects_status" : "available", "projects_signup" : "https://magnatune.com/member/signup", "royalty_free" : "Membership is royalty-free licensing: no per-video, per-download or per-view fees, for every project created and released while a member.", "youtube" : "YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, podcasts: members may use the clean songs in monetized videos. Members register their YouTube channel (the set_youtube_channel MCP tool, or their account page) so YouTube's Content ID doesn't claim their videos. The free versions carry a spoken Magnatune voice and are non-commercial (CC BY-NC-SA), so they're not for monetized channels or client work.", "details" : "https://magnatune.com/info/licensing", "how_to_credit" : "Name the artist and \"Magnatune\", with a link to the album's web_url." } }