Celestial (Isis album)

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.

For the RBD album, see Celestial (RBD album). For other uses, see Celestial (disambiguation).

Celestial
Studio album by
Isis
ReleasedApril 3, 2000
RecordedJanuary–February 2000
GenrePost-metal,[1] sludge metal[2]
Length51:58
LabelEscape Artist
(EA07.0)
Hydra Head
(HH666-59)
Ipecac (reissue)
(IPC-145)
ProducerIsis, Matt Bayles
Isis chronology
Sawblade EP
(1999)		 Celestial
(2000)		 SGNL>05
(2001)
Re-release cover
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.[3] 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.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6] Towers are described as ‘thematic’ material by Decibel's Joe Gross.[7]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[8]
Exclaim!8/10[9]
The Line of Best Fit8.5/10[10]
Louder Sound[11]
Mondo Sonoro9/10[12]
OndaRock6.5/10[13]
PopMatters7/10[14]
StylusA[15]

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."[7] Rock Sound placed it at #3 in their rundown of their top albums of 2001[16] and Metal Hammer named it one of the 20 best metal albums of 2000.[17] 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”.[8]

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

References
  1. Jahdi, Robin (June 24, 2015). "The 40 best post-metal records ever made". Fact. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  2. Slessor, Dan (June 16, 2020). "The 13 Most Essential Sludge Records". Kerrang!. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  3. Slevin, Patrick (May 26, 2009). "Interview with Aaron Turner of Isis: Radiating Energy". The Aquarian. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  4. "PRIMER: Aaron Turner Revisits Isis' Entire Catalog". Self-Titled. Pop Mart Media. June 4, 2010. Archived from the original on August 10, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
  5. "ISIS Reissuing 'Celestial' – Remastered and New Artwork". Nefarious Realm. June 5, 2013. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  6. Rauf, Adam (June 18, 2010). "The Isis Interview: Exclusive". Blow the Scene. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
  7. Gross, Joe (November 2009). "53: Isis – Celestial". Decibel (The Top 100 Greatest Metal Albums of the Decade): 21.
  8. York, William. "Celestial – Isis". Allmusic. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  9. Pratt, Greg (July 5, 2013). "Isis Celestial". exclaim.ca. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  10. Copus, Mike (July 3, 2013). "Isis – Celestial (reissue)". thelineofbestfit.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  11. July 2013, Ben Myers 23 (July 23, 2013). "Isis: Celestial". Metal Hammer Magazine.
  12. "ISIS - Noticias, discos, entrevistas y conciertos".
  13. "Isis - biografia, recensioni, streaming, discografia, foto". OndaRock.
  14. Fiander, Matthew (July 10, 2013). "Isis Celestial". popmatters.com. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  15. Jarvis, Clay (September 1, 2003). "Isis – Celestial". Stylus. Archived from the original on June 24, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
  16. "Rock Sound: Critics' Poll 2001". Rocklist.net. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
  17. "The Top 20 best metal albums of 2000". Metal Hammer. Future plc. September 29, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  18. Celestial (Media notes). Isis. Escape Artist Records. 1999. EA7.0.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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