Celestial

Super Satan

A good friend of mine turned me on to this German band called Super Satan, and with a name like that, how could I not check it out. He certainly didn't steer me in the wrong direction as Celestial turned out to be quite good. It has a somewhat classic metal sound that is bolstered by the occasional doom and black metal inspired passage. The record also has a mythical air surrounding it which is brought about by the vocal dynamic between the two vocalists. One could say that the angelic female vocals on this record lure listeners in like a Siren while the harsh male vocal is the unsuspecting destruction and ruin we've unwittingly sentenced ourselves to.

The instrumental performances are quite solid too, especially in the case of the drumming. The band enlisted Sebastian Unić to handle drum duties and that was a fantastic decision. The blastbeats are incredibly tight and the footwork is speedy. On top of that though, and this is often overlooked, Unić brings a lot of creative drum fills to the table that almost single-handedly earn this record its progressive tag. The only instrumental blemish on the record occurs on Manta Rays where an unfortunate guitar solo tends to go awfully out of tune with no acceptable resolution, and the pacing also seems amateurish. I think the band needed to go back to the drawing board on that one.

There were two tracks that stood out the most to me. The first has to be the title track which sounds like a beautiful cross between the dream thrash of Astronoid and the transcendental black metal of Deafheaven. The second one is Darkest Night, which I found to be the most relentless track on the record. Its first half steadily builds in intensity and the incorporation of these discordant vocal synth pads elicit fear and terror. There's a brief moment of pause as everything but the vocal synths disappear. The lead vocalist performs some spoken word through gritted teeth. And then the rest of the instrumentation returns for a crushing finish.

Celestial is definitely a solid offering from this relatively unknown band. Perhaps it is a little too traditional for my personal tastes, but that doesn't mean I don't recognize the exceptional quality in the recording, performances, and songwriting. There is no reason why a more passionate metal fan than I would fall in love and/or bang their head upon listening to this record. So, if any of these metal buzzwords gave you a prick on the ears, then I think you know what you must do.