Celestiial
Where Life Springs Eternal ()
Wydane przez Bindrune RecordingsRok wydania Kraj USANapisał Wouter5
Now onto their second full length Minnesota funeral doom metal combo Celestiial continue with their tradition of lengthy, repetitive ambient soundscapes with wailing screechy vocals, minimal percussion and thin guitars. The lush sounds of nature with chirping crickets, birds, flowing rivers, etc form a good contrast to the band's introspective wanderings. Self-editing and restraint on the composers' part wouldn't hurt this band one bit however. A lofty thirty-three minute 'Great Storms Carry My Sadness' is pushing it, even for fans of this particular subgenre. On the other hand two instrumental piano pieces 'From Elm Blossoms a Rose' and 'Songbirds Depart Through th Passing Near the Garden' form a welcome contrast to Celestiial's otherwise bleak musical palette, this side of the band begs to be further explored. 'Offering In Cedar Smoke' clocks a brief 15 minutes and plods on aimlessly without any real crescendo or climax to speak of. The biggest downfall of this record is that most tracks last too long without any payoff. Celestiial know the strengths of the genre but aren't able to fully employ them at this point. "Where Life Springs Eternal" does offer the listener a fine journey into the more ambient side of the metal spectrum, but hardly is able to keep its listener on the edge of his/her seat. The production is on the thin side as far as the string instruments in concerned. The percussion and keyboards are produced well enough. The artwork is fitting but nothing truly mentionworthy. For fans of Xasthur, Skepticism, Nortt, Until Death Overtakes Me and to a lesser degree Striborg.
www.bindrunerecordings.com
