2008 • Molestin Records
Yeah, more of that dirty, filthy hardcore sludge stuff! Apparently it's all I listen to these days. (Granted, it's good music for this time of year.) Anyway, Celestine is an Icelandic band who started playing this kind of music a few years ago, and this—their debut album—is actually pretty impressive.
If you've heard any of the mathcore-sludge fusion stuff that's been put out lately (and that I've been reviewing lately), you'll already have a pretty good idea of what Celestine sounds like: it's heavy, dark, angry music, with quite a bit of diversity in the kind of riffs they play. There's your obligatory chugging sessions, progressive polyrhythmic sections, and quite a few breakdowns. There's a good handful of pretty catchy sections, too, but that still doesn't stop it from being an ugly album at the same time. Both the guitar and the vocals sound very tortured, straining to get themselves out, and I say that in the best way possible. It can sometimes make the album a tense listen as well. The drums and bass just kind of hang out in the background and support the drums and vocals, which is okay but I would have liked to hear them having a bigger role in things.
Still, I won't pretend it's anything particularly special—I feel like I've been hearing a lot of the same gritty, math-rock-fused style lately. (Maybe I've been reviewing it a lot by coincidence.) This makes it really difficult to give an unbiased opinion of this album—sure, maybe it's good, but I just feel so jaded right now.
So don't listen to me. If you haven't worn yourself out on this kind of stuff, give it a shot. Just don't expect to have your mind blown or your presuppositions of what sludge should be shaken to their foundations. It's a solid album, nothing more.
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