Celestia
Apparitia-Sumptuous Spectre
Paragon (2007)
More melody than mayhem, France's Celestia is a band that catches your ear immediately because while they can definitely fly the black flag over their heads, they have an oddly upbeat overall tone to the music. Of course this is a paradox to the true nature of the genre of black metal, but it does open it up to a different sound and, although one shudders to speak the word aloud, a kind of growth that is usually nowhere to be found in the darkness. Apparitia-Sumptuous Spectre is one in a long line of somewhat-obscure yet essential reissues the glorious people of Paragon Records have seen fit to bestow on us slovenly North Americans. Originally released in 2002, Apparitia-Sumptuous Spectre has now been remastered and repackaged (in what apparently is a very nice digipack, though this promo was sadly a mere photocopy) for the gluttonous black masses. The remastering of course provides a cleaner sound with a bit more bass in the mix - bass being something usually non-existent in the coarser, rougher original mixes of its ilk, but can almost be a bit distracting from the music. This is music that doesn't want to be pretty; it wants to … Read more
Inhale Exhale
The Lost, The Sick, The Sacred
Solid State (2007)
The Lost, The Sick, The Sacred starts off with this atmospheric near dirge ditty that I thought I might have … Read more
Our Resolve
Demo
Independent (2007)
If you glance over the list of hardcore bands coming out of Cleveland over the years, you'll find that most … Read more
Leftover Crack / Citizen Fish
Deadline
Fat Wreck Chords (2007)
Have you ever bought a split record that made absolutely no sense because the two bands sharing a disc sound … Read more
