Desolate North is the debut studio album by the funeral doom metal band Celestiial, first released by Bindrune Recordings on June 6, 2006. It comprises the five tracks from Celestiial's demo, Ashen, combined with three more tracks recorded separately. It was written, performed and recorded entirely by Tanner Anderson, the member of Celestiial, and was never written to be an album or to be performed. The Bindrune CD release is out-of-print, but Desolate North is still available digitally and in LP-format, the latter having been released by music distributor Handmade Birds in 2011.
The album received mixed reviews—some critics claimed it was fresh and a new sound, while others argued it was very similar to music already available. Desolate North has an extremely slow rhythm and has only limited vocals. The music is interspersed with various woodland sounds, such as running water and footsteps. The natural imagery used on the album is reminiscent of that used in black metal, but the music is closer to ambient.
Recording
The album was recorded in three parts. First, Anderson recorded the music for Ashen. This was done in a wooden loft in the corner of the rehearsal space used by Azrael, of whom Anderson was, at the time, a member. Anderson has said that he does not remember how long this recording took him, as he slept there after finishing the work. He described that space as perfect for the recording, as there was nothing there to distract him.[1]
As the entire album was recorded and played by Anderson, the only option was to record the music in layers. First, he recorded the drums, using a drum kit. However, he was unhappy with the way they sounded, and so re-recorded on a drum machine. The next layers to be recorded were the guitar, bass and vocals, with other sounds being added later.[1]
The other three songs on Desolate North one was recorded at the same place in early 2005, and the other two, the harp pieces, were recorded at Anderson's home. He has said how this was the most difficult part of the recording. As it happened, Anderson misplaced his microphone stand and so recorded those two songs with the microphone tucked under his chin. Despite the hindrance, Anderson claimed that the microphone picked up everything, and he was happy with the result.[1]
Anderson has described the process as giving the album a "raw" sound,[2] and he has hypothesized that it is because of the raw sound of the album that critics have described his work as having influences from black metal.[3] Although the album's production was criticised by Ignacio Coluccio of Maelstrom,[4] Kim Kelly, of Pivotal Alliance, praised the album for its high quality recording, explaining that it "is not raw, necro black metal at all".[5]
Release
A small number of copies of Ashen were sent to various people. Marty Rytkonen, of Bindrune Recordings, was the only person attached to a record label to receive one, and Celestiial was then taken on by Bindrune. Anderson was very happy with this, as he had been an avid reader of Worm Gear (a magazine attached to the label) when he was younger.[1][3] Despite the fact that Anderson had not written Desolate North with the intention of it ever being released,[3] in 2006, it was released by Bindrune Recordings.[6] The CD version released by Bindrune Recordings is now out of print. However, in 2011, the album was rereleased in vinyl LP format by Handmade Birds, and the album remains available in digital format.[7][8][9]
Musical style
Desolate North has been described as taking "the template of the funeral doom genre... and disembowel[ing] the formula even further".[10] The album makes use of minimal vocals, instead relying on electronics, guitars, and syncopateddrums (with liberal use of cymbals). These sounds are also backed up by more traditional instruments, such as harps and Native Americanflutes.[11] Additionally, sampled sounds—including footsteps, water, birdsong and wind—are used.[10]
Anderson admits that there may be death metal influences in the vocals, but says that it was not a conscious design, and that the music does not have any other similarities to death metal. He claims that there are no black metal influences. He says that describing Celestiial's music as folk is a bad idea, as folk is such a broad, vague description as to make it meaningless. He says that what he is creating is neither folk, nor traditional, and even the harp songs are not traditional works, though they are influenced by the traditional music of the United Kingdom and traditional Irish music.[3]
Imagery
A publicity photo used by the band. It shows Anderson holding a piece of bark, demonstrating the band's heavy use of natural imagery.
Desolate North uses imagery very much based around nature, with natural sounds sampled in the music, and imagery involving woodland, and, as one reviewer put it, "the scary places that we all fear when the lights are out".[11] Bindrune recordings describes this affinity for nature by saying that "Celestiial was created to mirror mysticism in nature."[6]
Brandon Stosuy, of Pitchfork Media, talked of a black metal influence in the album's imagery.[13] Anderson responded to the claim of black metal influence by stating that he does not know why people compare his music to black metal; he hypothesized that it is simply the raw production of the music, or the double 'i' in the band name.[3]
Anderson was once asked about whether there were any pagan beliefs in Celestiial. He responded that Celestiial "is romanticized Paganism with very real Pagan values behind it". He talked of how Celestiial celebrated paganism and the natural world, but that paganism is often viewed as something that it is not.[1]
Desolate North received mixed reviews. The album garnered positive reviews from a number of ezines,[10][11][16] with comparisons to founders of the genre, such as Disembowelment.[10][11][12]AllMusic reviewer Eduardo Rivadavia, however, felt that Desolate North compared negatively with the efforts of more prominent bands, concluding that "Celestiial could be a hell of a lot worse, but they could be much better, too."[14] Scott Seward of Decibel Magazine felt that the music compared well to similar bands, said that Anderson "makes beautiful sounds out of the darkness that others would rather run from".[10]
Reviewers disagreed on the originality of the music—while Seward claimed that it was new and inventive,[10] Murat Batmaz, of Maelstrom, said that it was very typical funeral doom metal.[11] Negative reviews and comments talked about the poor production and guitars,[4] and the lack of speed in the music, combined with the monotony of the sound.[11] Seward felt that the album "is not 'heavy' music in the least, if we’re talking volume and crunch", but that "it is 'heavy' music if we’re talking about the end product: a deep and pervasively creepy atmosphere that is compelling in its use of silence and hushed reverence for the forest floor".[10]
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emphasis on atmosphere. Artists often appear in corpse paint and adopt pseudonyms.
Viking metal is a style of heavy metal music characterized by a lyrical and thematic focus on Norse mythology, Norse paganism, and the Viking Age. Viking metal is quite diverse as a musical style, to the point where some consider it more a cross-genre term than a genre, but it is typically seen as black metal with influences from Nordic folk music. Common traits include a slow-paced and heavy riffing style, anthemic choruses, use of both sung and harsh vocals, a reliance on folk instrumentation, and often the use of keyboards for atmospheric effect.
Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles. It also sometimes features soft instrumentation influenced by folk rock.
Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres. Both the music and the lyrics intend to evoke a sense of despair, dread, and impending doom. The genre is strongly influenced by the early work of Black Sabbath, who formed a prototype for doom metal. During the first half of the 1980s, a number of bands such as Witchfinder General from England, American bands Pentagram, Saint Vitus, the Obsessed, Trouble, and Cirith Ungol, and Swedish band Candlemass defined doom metal as a distinct genre.
A number of heavy metal genres have developed since the emergence of heavy metal during the late 1960s and early 1970s. At times, heavy metal genres may overlap or are difficult to distinguish, but they can be identified by a number of traits. They may differ in terms of instrumentation, tempo, song structure, vocal style, lyrics, guitar playing style, drumming style, and so on.
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual transgression".
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Virgin Black is an Australian symphonic gothic and doom metal band. The band was signed to The End Records and Germany's Massacre Records, through which it released 4 albums and 1 EP. A fifth album, originally planned for release in 2006, was released independently in 2018. As of 2021, they are signed to Australian record label, Dark Escapes Music. Formed in 1995 in Adelaide, they have achieved international acclaim during their career, receiving praise from such magazines as Orkus, Metal Hammer, Legacy and The Village Voice.
Agalloch was an American extreme metal band from Portland, Oregon. Formed in 1995 by frontman John Haughm, they released five full-length albums, four EPs, two singles, one split single, two demos, four compilation albums and one live video album. They announced their disbandment in May 2016.
Trouble is an American doom metal band from Aurora, Illinois, formed in 1979. They are often considered one of the pioneers of doom metal, and have been referred to as one of the genre's "big four" alongside Candlemass, Pentagram and Saint Vitus. The band created a distinct style, taking influences of the British heavy metal bands Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, and psychedelic rock of the 1970s.
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Post-metal is a style of music that is rooted in heavy metal but explores approaches beyond the genre's conventions. It emerged in the 1990s through the work of bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh, who transformed metal texture through experimental composition. Associated with and inspired by post-rock, post-hardcore, and sometimes shoegaze, the genre employs the darkness and intensity of extreme metal but emphasizes atmosphere, emotion, and even "revelation", drawing on a wide range of sources including ambient, noise, psychedelic, progressive, and classical music to develop an expansive but introspective sound. Post-metal songs are typically long, with loose and layered structures that discard the verse–chorus form in favor of crescendos and repeating themes. The sound centres on guitars and drums; any vocals are usually screamed or growled and resemble an additional instrument.
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Celestiial is a funeral doom metal band from Minnesota. Initially consisting only of Tanner R. Anderson, the band was later joined by Jason William Walton (bass) and Timothy Glenn (percussion). Celestiial is known for using numerous instruments in its music, combining traditional folk instruments with those more typically used in metal music, as well as sampling the sounds of the natural world. Celestiial's music is intended to evoke images of the natural world.
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Celestiial / Blood of the Black Owl Split is a split album released by Bindrune Recordings featuring one song each from funeral doom metal bands Celestiial and Blood of the Black Owl. It was limited to 500 12" vinyls, with each song exclusive to the album, and the first 50 albums shipped were delivered with two cloth patches.
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