Label: Inverse Records
Review by Tony Cannella
Caelestia is a progressive melodic death metal band from Greece. The band formed in 2012 under the name Me and Myself before changing their name to their current moniker in 2013. That brings us to their debut full-length, “Beneath Abyss”. With this effort Caelestia brings together a solid mix of death metal, progressive metal, symphonic and cinematic influences are present as well, and healthy amounts of melody ties it all together to create a relentlessly, chaotic and beautiful piece of metal work.
“Beneath Abyss” begins dramatically with the intro of the opening track “Malleus Maleficarum – The Secret Cult” before the track reaches an explosive crescendo and this is a great introduction. The band uses extreme male vocals evenly with clean female vocals – a technique that they use quite well. Throughout the 10-song, 50-minute disc the band does not let up or come up for air for the most part. “Gate of Shadows” is next and builds steadily throughout the song before developing into a bombastic thrash metal assault. The two minute instrumental “The Grand Sublimation” is next and is followed by the powerful “Blessing of Tragedy” which features Bjorn from Soilwork. This is one of three songs to feature guests, the other two are “Beneath Abyss” (Andre Geo from Alter Self) and “Secret Rite” (Markus from Sodom) all of which are major highlights. “Blessing of Tragedy” in particular is one of my favorites and one of the heavier tracks.
To put it bluntly, “Beneath Abyss” is a fire-breather of an album. There is nothing phony or contrived about Caelestia and the end result is “Beneath Abyss”.
Rating – 88/100
Tracklist
- Malleus Maleficarum “The Secret Cult”
- Gate of Shadows
- The Grand Sublimation (Instrumental)
- Blessing of Tragedy (Feat. Bjorn Strid of Soilwork)
- Beneath Abyss (feat. Andrew Geo of Alter Self)
- Mi Ultima Vida
- Secret Rite (feat. Markus Freiwald of Sodom)
- Silent Despair (Instrumental)
- Lake of Decay
- The Rise of the Hidden Nature
Line Up
- Dimi V – Vocals
- Panos V – Guitar
- Vassilis T – Guitar
- Nik P – Bass & Vocals