Customer Reviews

Celestial

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I thought I didn't like the songs on this record, until I heard them live. The truth is that this is classic material, but it suffers from flat production. Riffs that could be majestic come across tinny and hollow. If you are new to this band, start with Oceanic and work forward, then backtrack and listen to this record in context. If you can still hang, then (and only then) get the earlier stuff. Red Sea and Mosquito Control are both really, REALLY alienating. I love them each in their own way, but late-90's Isis sounds like a totally different band, much less musical and much more violent. Before Celestial, Isis could have been any one of two dozen crust/grind/powerviolence outfits. This is the record that broke the mold, and it's the first record that sounds like Isis as it exists today. With Isis's newfound success, I suspect this record will be remastered to fit better with the rest of the later Isis oeuvre. I look forward to it - these are great songs; these recordings just don't have the power they deserve.

Isis create heavy, doom-laden sonic landscapes, not songs. Celestial is not for everyone, nor should it be. 7 to 8 minute tribal beatings will definitely not get you heavy radio airplay, and gratefully so. This will probably take a few listens to sink in, but when it does, be prepared for an album that is destined to become an underground classic. Aaron Turner's guttural voice highlights a good majority of this disc, but it is in the calm, atmospheric passages that Isis shine. Similar to Neurosis (in a good, not-copying-kind-of-way) in sonic extremity, Isis create an album as beautifully sedated as it is crushingly heavy. Check out Gentle Time, a personal favorite, for evidence of greatness, and remember that this is only their first full length. Isis goes on to shine, and outdo themselves, with Oceanic, but this deserves to stand on its own merits. Excellent.

Once again, Isis continue to impress with their first full length album, Celestial. I have been going backwards through isis' releases, starting with Panopticon. This is probably the heaviest of Isis' three major full lengths. The songs in the album are separated by SGNLs, most of which sound like someone typing in the depths of the rainforest. SGNL>02 is pretty creepy because there is a muffled voice in the background speaking, but it is really hard to understand what he is saying. After the first SGNL, Celestial(The Tower) kicks in. This great opening track is followed by one of my favorites, Glisten. It is a pretty heavy track. The album is very similar to Oceanic, and there are some soft breaks in the heaviness. There is also a really good instrumental(Deconstructing Towers). The only problems I have with this album are the muddy sound quality and the sometimes weird vocals that Aaron utilizes. But these are minor gripes, and this is another five star album from Isis. You should definitely own this if you are a fan of Isis, or if you listen to bands like Neurosis or Pelican.

ISIS have constructed a unique sound that should not go overlooked by anyone claiming to appreciate artisic creativity in music.

This album is unbelievable.

Gigantic, memorable riffs, intertwined with clean, surrealistic passages that stick with the listener long after the album has ended. "Celestial" will cause the listeners mind to drift off into uncharted, abstract areas. The album art uses imagery from La Jette, the short film which inspired 12 Monkeys. There's something extremely fitting about it, which helps to greatly enhance the musical journey. This is a sinisterly crafted album; for ISIS knows exactly what they're doing. Creating extraordinary music, with elaborate packaging, to give you an experience of eccentricity. ISIS went on to release their masterpiece "Oceanic", right after Celestial. Some say it's not as "heavy" as the latter, but then they must not be listening closely. Songs such as False Light are obviously the natural progression you'd expect from a band releasing an album like this.

ever since i heard isis back in the day i've always been a fan. upon hearing this record i was blown away. i'm a huge neurosis fan and this was their first record that's as good as neurosis. highlight tracks are glisten, collapse and crush, and the tower. This record is the definitive isis sound. if you're new to the band i highly recomend this one be you're first purchase.

up until the time when i purchased this album it was nearly immpossible for me to decide what me favorite isis album was,but not any more celestial in my opinion is the overal best isis album it has the furious violent elements the red sea & mosquito control had but it also has elements of oceanic & panopticon so i guess that about sums up why this is the best and most solid ISIS album...enjoy

Isis rock very hard and with a restraint and subtlety few bands will ever have. The restraint and progress further into Isis's later album "Oceanic" This band is one of the rare bands that continues to grow at such a rate as to truley keep thier fans salivating for more. While "Oceanic" for many will be easier to swallow, Celestial and its counterpart album SGNL>5 are easily up with the makings of unique and almost sonic metal that "Oceanic" is. Neurosis are of deep inspiration in the bands sound but Isis laid thier own tracks and have become their own fluid band with this album. If you like Neurosis and you like maybe even some hardcore like "Hopesfall" "Poisen the Well" you shouldn't have any trouble falling in love with this band.

Celestial was not only Isis's first full-length release, but it was also their first release with both Michael Gallagher and BC Meyer, adding a second guitarist and a multi-instrumentalist to the group. The additions to the already impressive core of Aaron Turner, Jeff Caxide, and Aaron Harris gave Isis the ability to spread their wings and leave the confines of their industrial/sludge-influenced sound and start going towards the post-metal sound that they ultimately perfected with Oceanic. That's pretty much what's reflected on the album.

The album overall is heavy and sludgy. However, the atmosphere is far more robust than they were for the first few EPs they put out (of course, having extra members only helps with that.) While the album is overwhelmingly heavy, the track "C.F.T. (New Circuitry and Continued Evolution)" gives a subtle hint of another direction Isis would soon be pioneering and by the release of Oceanic, were on the trail full force.

I recommend it for metal fans who want something less accessible to listen to and highly recommend it for fans of Isis, Neurosis, and sludge metal.

And by that I mean this album needs to be remixed and remastered. This album is heavy, crushing, all those wonderfully ISIS-iffic things we've come to love. But the production on this cannot hold a candle to the later efforts of "Oceanic" or "Panopticon". Everything sounds over compressed and small.

As far as the music is concerned, it's not nearly as thoughtful or thoughtout as the subsequent albums are. This pounds far more than their later efforts but as a gateway to those albums, "Celestial" is more than just a proving ground for blossoming ideas. It mananges to convey a sense of intensity that is tamed later on. As a three-set, "Celestial", "Oceanic", and "Panopticon" make for one heck of a listening experience ("In the Absence of Truth" didn't quite hit the mark for me).

I became a fan of Isis when Panopticon first came out. I had previously read a review of them in Guitar World. That prompted me to buy Panopticon. I was just blown away by that album. My first venture into post-metal. Loved every minute of it. After that, In The Absence Of Truth came out, I bought it. Then I decided to go backwards in their catalogue. I bought Oceanic, which was even more mindblowing than Panopticon. I read that Celestial was a more raw form of Isis, so I decided to go ahead and get it. While this is their first album where they start developing their sound. the production could have been better, but still you get what the guys are trying to get across. the heaviness and elegance comes through. When you listen to Isis starting with Celestial then going through to ITAOT, you definately see an evolution of sound. i love these guys. best band out there. i would also recommend checking out Neurosis, Pelican and Jesu if you love Isis as much as i do.