Celestial (Isis album)

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Celestial
Isis Celestial.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 3, 2000
RecordedJanuaryFebruary 2000
Genre Post-metal, [1] sludge metal [2] [3]
Length51:58
Label Escape Artist
(EA07.0)
Hydra Head
(HH666-59)
Ipecac (reissue)
(IPC-145)
Producer Isis, Matt Bayles
Isis chronology
Sawblade EP
(1999)
Celestial
(2000)
SGNL>05
(2001)
Re-release cover
Isis - Celestial (re-release).jpg
The cover of Ipecac Recordings' 2013 re-release

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.

Contents

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

Turner 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

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [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 Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [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

All tracks are written by Isis

No.TitleLength
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

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