Celestiial - Where Life Springs Eternal

June 21, 2010

It comes as no surprise that the coldest parts of the lower forty-eight United States would be the breeding grounds for some of the country’s best doom metal bands.  In the case of Celestiial, it is even less surprising when one considers that one of the members is also in Azrael and Jason Walton of Agalloch is also in the band.  Their second full length album Where Life Springs Eternal brings the essence of Minnesota in the winter time and offers little hope for escape.

Much of Where Life Springs Eternal can be characterized as a contradiction between the music and the album title, as the music is doom metal in an organic sense.  Of the five tracks that make up the album, two of them last longer than twenty-five minutes (“Great Storms Carry My Sadness” and “Offering in Cedar Smoke”).  The album as a whole can either serve as background noise for the listener doing something else or give the listener the feeling of being lost in the woods on a cold, winter night.  The first option allows for the listener to go through the album without the idea of keeping time, but deprives them of getting the full emotion of the album.  The second option takes some effort to do, as the long tracks can sometimes lead the listener to look at the time to see where they are, but it also leads to a rather rewarding listen.  Hints of Agalloch and Azrael are in the band’s music, which should get the attention of those who are looking into the band.  However, like most doom metal bands that have twenty minute plus songs, there is a lot of patience and the ability to block out time watching needed to fully grasp the album’s concept.  Vocals are there, but that is all, as the music and its ambience is at the center of what the band is about.

Overall, Celestiial is going to be one of the more difficult bands to get into, especially if the listener is uninitiated into the doom metal scene.  Its style of music will be a turn off to some, but it creates an atmosphere like few other bands.  Patience is a virtue when listening to Where Life Springs Eternal, but the rewards are well worth it if the listener can stay with it long enough.

Release Date: February 27th, 2010
Label: Bindrune Recordings

TRACK LISTING

1.  Spell Over Still Water
2.  Great Storms Carry My Sadness
3.  From Elm Blossoms a Rose
4.  Offering in Cedar Smoke
5.  Songbirds Depart Through
      the Passing Near the Garden

Total playing time:  56:38

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*Comments:

Reviewer: Peter