CELESTIIAL - USA

Desolate North - 2006 - Bindrune
Where Life Springs Eternal - 2010 - Bindrune

Celestiial image
  
 
Members
Vocals
Autumnal Winds, Obsequiae, Goatlust>>TANNER REED ANDERSON>>Obsequiae, Goatlust

Guitar
Autumnal Winds, Azrael, Obsequiae, Goatlust>>TANNER REED ANDERSON>>Obsequiae, Goatlust, Hiraeth Eschar, Panopticon, Hulder, Crypt Sermon

Bass
V.B.G., Agalloch, Especially Likely Sloth, Circadian, Sculptured, Nothing, Cold Colours, Subterranean Masquerade>>JASON WALTON>>Agalloch, Especially Likely Sloth, Sculptured, Indelible, Nothing, Dolven, Subterranean Masquerade, Self Spiller, Crossed Paths, Snares Of Sixes, Khôrada, JWW, Sleepchains, DeathCollector, Poisoning Wave, F-Space, MoonBladder

Drum
Fog>>TIMOTHY GLENN>>Fog, The Blight, Obsequiae




History & Biography
Formed in 2004 in the Northern US state of Minnesota, Celestiial was a funeral doom band with an affinity for nature formed initially as a solo act by Tanner Reed Anderson and becoming a full line-up in 2006. The band recorded a demo, called Ashen, prior to obtaining a recording deal with the upstart Bindrune Recordings. Anderson’s other band, Obsequiae, would also sign on to the same label later. The gap between albums one and two was bridged via a vinyl-only split with Blood Of The Black Owl. The second album was the end.

Andrew Broder of the band Fog has worked with the band as an engineer and producer. Glenn is also a Fog member. Walton went on a project spree.


Reviews

CELESTIIAL - WHERE LIFE SPRINGS ETERNAL - BINDRUNE  
Celestiial is a quasi-funeral doom metal band and like several other groups within the sub-genre, draws inspiration from nature and the natural world’s sensations that surround us. It is both the words and the sounds that convey the contact message even if the titles say more than texts here because the band gives the vocals (heavy grunts) minimum spotlight in favour of instrumentality. The samples and the sounds of the consistently running and flowing water give support to this idea.
The band is neither the slowest nor the heaviest of the bands in the sub-genre, which is fine in itself, for groups like Disembowelment, Dusk or Paramaecium are probably better picks for those seeking superlatives in those departments. Instead, Celestiial emphasizes a flow to its music and a more relaxed stance. Here is where the band gets into trouble and easily loses points. The closer it gets to its end, the more and more the album sheds its metal vestiges and descends into something one would hear at a spa or health resort. With water drops as the background, the songs become mere New Age accompaniments to acoustic strums and relaxing tempos better suited to a high–end massage table. Where in the name of heaviness is the metal?
The album begins with a discordant take on Slayer’s famous Raining Blood intro and has plenty of crushing moments early on, be it the vocals or the music itself, but at some stage this homage to nature becomes more Enya and less the music of the gods. To its credit though, Where Life Springs Eternal (Unleashed would have a thing or two to say about that with its Where No Life Dwells) skirts keyboards, synthesizers and girlfriend whinings and sets itself up for impact. There is both positive and negative here after all. - Ali “The Metallian”


Interviews







Celestiial