Celestia – Archaenae Perfectii (L'arche Arcane des Parfaits) (2010)

Celestia is one of those bands that has impressed us since their first EP we heard of them back in 1999 called “A Cave Full Of Bats”. The band has that raw, brutal and yet melodic Black Metal sound that we wish more bands had. Hailing from France, Celestia is currently releasing their third full-length album with “Archaenae Perfectii” and its one of the most intense whirlwind Black Metal experiences you will have in the last few years.

If you are a cult Black Metal follower then you should know who Celestia is. The band’s music borders in that fine line of raw brutality and beauty that not so many bands can dance around. On one side of the music you have the raw intensity of the riffing and the shrieks of pain, and on the other side you have that atmospheric melodic aspect that clearly contrasts Celestia’s type of Black Metal.

“Archaenae Perfectii” opens up with 3 minutes of acoustic music that brilliantly builds the anticipation for what’s to come with every second, and then you get the first onslaught of melodic raw Black Metal that will hit your face like a shovel. The combination of such aggressiveness with melody is top notch, and while many bands are making a name for themselves with this, used in a more ‘elegant’ way like Alcest, Agalloch, Wolves In The Throne Room, etc., we will always remember Celestia as one of the pioneers in this approach to Black Metal.

The album takes a magical turn into very ethereal lands around the middle of the song “Dominus Crux Spiritus” with some magical female vocals and arrangements. Then it keeps this slower pace in the instrumental “ArcheArcanae Des Parfaits” only to come back with a bit of a slower pace after that. We greatly like this mid-album change that will make purist of the genre think WTF?. But for all of us that know what to expect from Celestia this is all good.

Being only 33 minutes long “Archaenae Perfectii” feels like its longer than that (in a good way). The album closes with “Nuit Qui Brille Comme Soleil” a song that features a different opening before exploding into melodic Black Metal brilliance. We must say that the riffing through the album is not ‘super original’ but this is always the case with most BM bands, so it’s not something worth deducting points for in this release.

Celestia has greatly followed “Frigidiis Apotheosia: Abstinencia Genesiis” with a great release. The band is on top of their game and we feel they should be widely recognized for their contributions to the Black Metal scene, and hopefully one day we can see them again in the USA.

Release: April 6th, 2010

Country: France