A typhoon of black metal, sludge, post metal and hardcore, France’s Celeste are unwavering in the enormity of their sound. Having already laid the foundations for experimentation with the ambitious mixture of genres they’ve managed to hybrid together, they’ve spent the last 17 years perfecting it. ‘Assassine(s)’ is the quartet’s sixth full length album and is doubtless their most polished performance yet.
Devastatingly heavy from the moment you press play, Celeste don’t release their stranglehold on the listener for a full, blistering 41 minutes. The atmosphere is suffocating as the drums crash like seismic waves alongside guitars that carry the weight of neutron stars. The audial pummeling is intensified by the guttural shrieks of vocalist Johan. His voice serves to add further brutality to songs already fit to burst forth from the speakers under their own enormity.
The complexity of the drum fills on songs such as ‘(A)’ lend post rock nuances to hardcore inspired vocals, amidst the metallic ring of blackened riffs shrouded in the murky sludge infused atmosphere. With so many elements at play it would be easy to call into question why Celeste don’t do more to push the envelope with each opus, however, as the old saying goes “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Celeste have already exceeded in terms of marrying together an eclectic mix of influences and making them sound absolutely monstrous.
No new ideas are being presented here, however, with every album Celeste perfect their sound and become more harrowing, heavier, immovable. This is another satisfying building block towards their mission to becoming a staple monolith of the heavy music scene. Innovation isn’t necessary when you possess the ability to pummel your listeners senseless with a maelstrom of sound and have them continue to ask for more.
(8/10 Angela Davey)
Leave a Reply