Celestia - Archaenae Perfectii - L'Arche Arcane des Parfaits

Both a mainstay and a formative member of the Avignon, France, black metal scene that spawned Peste Noire and Alcest, Celestia has been moping around heartbroken since the mid-90s. Neither as raw and reckless as Peste Noire nor as saccharine and melodramatic as Alcest, Celestia play it pretty straight with stylistically unremarkable black metal taking the requisite queues from mid-era Mutiilation’s more melodic moments and displaying their sensitive side with gothic embellishments like acoustic guitars, deep-background synths, rain shower samples, and poetic lyrics about the inconvenience of being simultaneously dead and in love. 

There are enough blast beats and croaky vocals to justify the black metal tag and no blatant accoutrements to warrant an adjective before it.  On the other hand, Celestia rely primarily on relaxed tempos and sentimental tremolo picked melodies so anyone looking for something radically antimusical had best look elsewhere.  All mealy-mouthing aside, Archaenae Perfectii - L'Arche Arcane des Parfaits is among the best black metal I’ve heard offering this sort of lush romantic quality.  The warm organic production makes for good nighttime-by-candlelight listening (with a glass of fine wine), and though if you’ve been listening to the less philosophical schools of French black metal you’ve heard these same chord progressions many times before, Celestia keep it fresh with frequent tempo changes, acoustic interludes, and sonorous guitar solos. 

If it sounds a lot like Peste Noire’s first album that’s probably because Celestia has been playing this style for over a decade, and if this post-Opeth black metal is your cup of tea you can’t go wrong here at all.  It’s all too soft and fluffy for my taste honestly; it’s the kind of music that coddles the heart of tough guys so they too can shed a tear.  So while aesthetically it’s a modest flop in the songwriting department it’s top-notch.  I’ve heard all of Celestia’s three full-lengths now and Archaenae Perfectii - L'Arche Arcane des Parfaits is definitely the most accomplished, with the best production and the most diverse and mature display of ideas.

There’s a whole faction of the black metal fanbase that casts derision on the delicately emotional varieties of black metal exemplified best by Celestia and their peers.  If you’re a member of that class then stay far away from Archaenae Perfectii - L'Arche Arcane des Parfaits.  Those listeners with a more accommodating palate might be surprised to find this album among their favorite releases of the year.  Though due to their obscurity they’re likely to get proper notice, Celestia definitely deserves praise for a surprisingly enchanting and endearing little album.

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*Comments:

May 7, 2010

Release Date: April 6th, 2010
Label: Apparitia Recordings

TRACK LISTING

1.  Grandiohsia Obverturae /
     Vue Du Ciel
2.  Demhiurghic Deity (Devilution)
3.  Phoenemenae of Creation
4.  Dogmatii Duality / Au Crepuscule
     Sous Les Larmes
5.  Dominus Crux Spiritus
6.  ArcheArcanae Des Parfaits
7.  Perfectii Ketter Katharos
8.  Nuit Qui Brille Comme Soleil

Total playing time:  33:22

Reviewer: Matt