Celestial is the debut album by American post-metal band Isis, released in 2000 by Escape Artist and Hydra Head Records. It is their third "official" solo release and first full length.
| Celestial | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 3, 2000 | |||
| Recorded | January–February 2000 | |||
| Genre | Post-metal,[1] sludge metal[2][3] | |||
| Length | 51:58 | |||
| Label | Escape Artist (EA07.0) Hydra Head (HH666-59) Ipecac (reissue) (IPC-145) | |||
| Producer | Isis, Matt Bayles | |||
| Isis chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Re-release cover | ||||
.jpg) The cover of Ipecac Recordings' 2013 re-release | ||||
A year later, Isis released SGNL>05, an EP designed to act as an extension to Celestial; its tracks were all directly culled from the Celestial recording sessions.[4] Frontman Aaron Turner describes them as being “part of the same whole”, separated from each other because releasing a double album for the group's first full-length may have been overbearing for listeners.[5]
In addition to the regular CD and vinyl LP editions, Celestial is available in a double release, coupled with its sister EP, SGNL>05. On June 5, 2013, it was announced that Celestial would be re-issued by Ipecac Recordings with new artwork from Turner, as well as the audio having been recently remastered by James Plotkin.[6]
Themes
editTurner has acknowledged that the album deals with the erosion of privacy as technology advances, in a similar vein to 2004's Panopticon; however, he states that the theme is dealt with in a “more primitive way” on Celestial.[7] Towers are described as ‘thematic’ material by Decibel's Joe Gross.[8]
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 7/10[10] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10[11] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 8.5/10[12] |
| Metal Hammer | [13] |
| Mondo Sonoro | 9/10[14] |
| OndaRock | 6.5/10[15] |
| PopMatters | 7/10[16] |
| Stylus Magazine | A[17] |
Celestial was named the 53rd-finest metal record of the decade by Decibel, stating that "it's seen as a transitional record between the band's early work and the post-metal benchmarks such as Oceanic, but Celestial holds up in ways different from their later work [...] the elements of the greatness are present, but rawer, more direct."[8] Rock Sound placed it at #3 in their rundown of their top albums of 2001[18] and Metal Hammer named it one of the 20 best metal albums of 2000.[19] In 2011, William York, writing for AllMusic, described the album as Isis' best, and argues that the record needs to be “given time” – that it eventually develops an “almost epic feel”.[9]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Isis
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "SGNL>01" | 0:55 |
| 2. | "Celestial (The Tower)" | 9:42 |
| 3. | "Glisten" | 6:35 |
| 4. | "Swarm Reigns (Down)" | 6:02 |
| 5. | "SGNL>02" | 0:51 |
| 6. | "Deconstructing Towers" | 7:30 |
| 7. | "SGNL>03" | 0:35 |
| 8. | "Collapse and Crush" | 5:55 |
| 9. | "C.F.T. (New Circuitry and Continued Evolution)" | 5:43 |
| 10. | "Gentle Time" | 7:02 |
| 11. | "SGNL>04 (End Transmission)" | 1:07 |
Personnel
edit
|
|
References
edit- ^ Jahdi, Robin (June 24, 2015). "The 40 best post-metal records ever made". Fact. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
- ^ Slessor, Dan (June 16, 2020). "The 13 Most Essential Sludge Records". Kerrang!. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
- ^ Jahdi, Robin (May 8, 2009). "Isis: Wavering Radiant". FACT Magazine. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
- ^ Slevin, Patrick (May 26, 2009). "Interview with Aaron Turner of Isis: Radiating Energy". The Aquarian. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
- ^ "PRIMER: Aaron Turner Revisits Isis' Entire Catalog". Self-Titled. Pop Mart Media. June 4, 2010. Archived from the original on August 10, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
- ^ "ISIS Reissuing 'Celestial' – Remastered and New Artwork". Nefarious Realm. June 5, 2013. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
- ^ Rauf, Adam (June 18, 2010). "The Isis Interview: Exclusive". Blow the Scene. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
- ^ a b Gross, Joe (November 2009). "53: Isis – Celestial". Decibel (The Top 100 Greatest Metal Albums of the Decade): 21.
- ^ a b York, William. "Celestial – Isis". AllMusic. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
- ^ Popoff, Martin; Perri, David (2011). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 4: The '00s. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 243–244. ISBN 9781-926592-20-6.
- ^ Pratt, Greg (July 5, 2013). "Isis Celestial". exclaim.ca. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
- ^ Copus, Mike (July 3, 2013). "Isis – Celestial (reissue)". thelineofbestfit.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
- ^ July 2013, Ben Myers 23 (July 23, 2013). "Isis: Celestial". Metal Hammer Magazine.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "ISIS - Noticias, discos, entrevistas y conciertos".
- ^ "Isis - biografia, recensioni, streaming, discografia, foto". OndaRock.
- ^ Fiander, Matthew (July 10, 2013). "Isis Celestial". popmatters.com. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
- ^ Jarvis, Clay (September 1, 2003). "Isis – Celestial". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on June 24, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
- ^ "Rock Sound: Critics' Poll 2001". Rocklist.net. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ "The Top 20 best metal albums of 2000". Metal Hammer. Future plc. September 29, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- ^ a b Celestial (Media notes). Isis. Escape Artist Records. 1999. EA7.0.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)