Allow me to be quite frank with this one, please; if you do not own the vinyl release of Desolate North from Celestiial (no that is not a typo) that Handmade Birds put out, than my friend, you are doing it all wrong because this record is a singularly beautiful release (and I am not just talking about the artwork and packaging that this record is graced with for the vinyl release) that is a definite must hear by anyone with a penchant for music which creates an audible atmosphere.
With Desolate North, Celestiial treads on a path that drips with an earthy authenticity as if the music was conjured from some dusty forest floor through the performance of some long forgotten pagan rights (in reality this might not be that far off of a description); the songs move at their own pace as if completely oblivious to the existence of humanity almost as if a this album is a capturing of the emotion and wonderment of stumbling into a millennia old virgin forest that is thick with vegetation and the animal population is wary of the intruder (listen to the mournful cries of the birds in “Haunting Cries Beneath The Lake Where Our Queen Once Walked” as they seemingly react to the guitars and drums that are seemingly engulfed in the surroundings while vocals sound like a warning… the imagery is that vivid). No matter how you try to categorize the sonic milieu of Desolate North, the fact remains that the album is unlike much else out there; but for a somewhat point of reference I would say that someone could call this album a type of funeral doom while still stating its own uniqueness as Celestiial is not loud or sonically heavy here preferring to let the genuine emotional evocations create the heaviness of this record. Describing the album in any other way is a fruitless endeavor since listening to Desolate North is virtually a guarantee that you will experience time loss as it spins on the record player while you are absorbed in the myriad instruments (the woodwind in “Waldlander Im Herbst” amidst the pounding drums and intoned guitars is one striking example of the varying breadth of sounds that lie in wait) atmospherics, and nature sounds.
Luckily, I stumbled upon the vinyl release of Desolate North, which turned out to be a complete stroke of luck because I had never heard of Celestiial prior to this re-issue of a previously CD only release; seriously consider how much music that we all get to hear now in this digital or post digital age where many download music by artists far and wide and the idea that great music like this Celestiial record can still be missed is an excellent example of how the internet does not have all the answers for us to freely consume, and releases like Desolate North are proof that there is still a place for physical music instead of people having access to faceless digital files to voraciously and anonymously consume. Do yourself a favor and grab this release while you still can because Desolate North comes with a very high recommendation (not that my opinion matters really), a great record.
