Celestial (Isis album)
2000 studio album by Isis
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Celestial is the debut studio 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 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 3, 2000 | |||
| Recorded | January–February 2000 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 51:58 | |||
| Label | Escape Artist (EA07.0) Hydra Head (HH666-59) Ipecac (reissue) (IPC-145) | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Isis chronology | ||||
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| 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
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
| 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
All 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
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