Celestiial

Infobox musical artist
Name = Celestiial

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Img_capt = Tanner Anderson holding a piece of bark. Bindrune Recordings has described Celestiial as being "created to mirror mysticism in nature."
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Background = group_or_band
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Origin = Minnesota, USA
Genre = Funeral doom metal
Years_active = 2004 — present
Label = Bindrune
Associated_acts = Azrael
Autumnal Winds
Where Rivers End
URL = [http://crionicmind.org/bindrune/pages/celestiial_body.html Bindrune Recordings: Celestiial]
Current_members = Tanner R. Andersoncite web |url=http://www.doom-metal.com/bandlist_entry.php?id=827 |title= Celestiial|accessdate=2007-01-30 |work= Doom-Metal.com database|publisher= Doom-Metal.com] cite web |url= http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=3767|title= Review: "Celestiial:Desolate North"|accessdate=2007-01-30 |last= Batmaz|first= Murat|date= 2006-06-02|publisher= Sea of Tranquility]
Past_members =

Celestiial is a one man funeral doom metal band from Minnesota. The band consists of Tanner R. Anderson, who has been, and still is, a member of several other bands. Celestiial is known for making use of numerous instruments in its music, combining traditional folk instruments with more modern ones, as well as sampling the sounds of the natural world. The primary imagery of music by the band is that of nature.

Currently, Celestiial has one full length album released, "Desolate North", and is signed to Bindrune Recordings. A second, currently unnamed, album is in production.

History

Celestiial

Marty Rytkonen, of Bindrune Recordings, was one of the "maybe six or so" people to receive Celestiial's demo "Ashen", but that he was the only person associated with a label. He and Scott Candey agreed to take on the band, and in 2006, "Desolate North" was released on Bindrune Recordings.cite web |url= http://www.crionicmind.org/bindrune/pages/celestiial_body.html|title= Bindrune Recordings: Celestiial|accessdate=2007-02-02 |publisher= Bindrune Recordings] However, the album had not been studio recorded. Five of the songs; the five that "Ashen" comprised of, had been recorded one evening in the corner of the Azrael rehearsal space, and the three additional songs on "Desolate North" were recorded later. One of them was in early 2005, and was recorded in the same place as the first five, but the other two, the songs featuring the harps, were recorded at Anderson's home, with his microphone literally tucked under his chin. "Desolate North" received numerous positive reviews, along with comparisons to bands such as Disembowelment. However, it also received negative reviews.cite web |url= http://www.metalreview.com/2492/Celestiial-Desolate-North.aspx|title= Review of Celestiial- Desolate North|accessdate=2007-03-19 |last= Sessions|first= Chris|publisher= Metal Review] Bindrune are due to release Celestiial's second album in Summer 2007. By comparison, it is due to be recorded in a studio, which Anderson feels will give it a different sound. Also, the album will be produced with the intention of producing an album, something that was never the case with "Desolate North".

Celestiial's music was used by Ballet Deviare in their performance "Forged" in January 2007. In this, tracks by Celestiial was used alongside pieces by Arsis, Gwybleidd, Opeth, My Dying Bride, Swallow the Sun and Japanische Kampfhörspiele as backing tracks to the |accessdate=2008-05-03 ]

In 2008, it was announced that Celestiial was due to release a split album with Blood of the Black Owl on Bindrune Recordings.cite web |url= http://bindrunerecordings.com/pages/index_two.html|title= Bindrune News:Blood of the Black Owl / Celestiial|accessdate=2008-05-12 |date= 2008-03-29|publisher= Bindrune Recordings] The final mastering came from Mel Detmer, and the release (titled only as "Celestiial / Blood of the Black Owl Split" 12"LPcite web |url= http://bindrunerecordings.com/pages/celestiial_body.html|title= Celestiial: Discography|accessdate=2008-05-12 |publisher=Bindrune Recordings] ) is limited to only 500 copies. Each band contributed one song, with "White Depths Dove the Red-Eyed" from Celestiial.

Tanner Anderson

The sole member of the band, Tanner R. Anderson, is a former member of a black metal band, Azrael, and Autumnal Winds.cite web |url= http://www.rockdetector.com/artist,53509.sm|title= CELESTIIAL|Rockdetector|accessdate=2007-02-02|date= 2005-05-22|work= Rockdetector artist database|publisher= Rockdetector] Anderson is currently involved with several other projects. He is part of "an obscure death metal band" as well as several other small bands, which he has no desire to reveal details about. He is also involved in a long term project called Where Rivers End with A. Tolonen, from Nest and Shape of Despair, and Oscar Strik, formally of Pantheist. Anderson has also mentioned that he plays drums in Goatlust and plays guitars and provides vocals for Sidhe.cite web |url= http://www.geocities.com/darkrecollectionszine/celestiial.htm|title= Interview with Tanner Anderson|accessdate=2007-04-02 |publisher= Dark Recollections (recognised by Bindrune Recordings)]

Anonymity

Despite the fact that other bands signed to Bindrune Recordings have MySpace profiles or websites, Anderson says that he has no desire to promote Celestiial, and beyond answering e-mails and chatting on message boards, desires no Internet presence, and only allows himself to be interviewed through devotion to Bindrune Recordings. He has said that he plays in a band where "anonymity is important/understood by all involved". Anderson stated in the same interview that Celestiial is not a band, and so he did not intend to every do live performances, but said that it was certainly possible. However, since then, it has been announced that he will be working with a drummer on his new album.

Musical style

"Desolate North"

The music of Celestiial's debut album, "Desolate North", makes use of minimal vocals, instead relying on electronics, guitars and syncopated drums (with liberal use of cymbals). Also, these are backed up by more traditional instruments, such as harps and Native American flutes. Also, there is the use of sampled sounds of footsteps, water, birdsong, wind and the like.cite web |url= http://www.decibelmagazine.com/reviews/jul2006/celestiial.aspx|title= Celestiial "Desolate North"|accessdate=2007-01-30 |last= Seward|first= Scott|publisher= Decibel Magazine]

Celestiial is a funeral doom metal band.cite web |url= http://www.maelstrom.nu/ezine/review_iss44_3094.php?sid=&page_rs=3&osCsid=|title= CELESTIIAL - Desolate North - CD - Bindrune Recordings - 2006|accessdate=2007-01-30 |last= Coluccio|first= Ignacio|work= Issue 44|publisher= Maelstrom] However, "Desolate North" has been described as taking the genre in new directions with comparisons to ambient, goth, experimental and dark folk music being made. The music has also been described as meditative [cite web |url= http://www.unrestrainedmag.com/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=5&Itemid=27|title= Reviews (Celestiial)|accessdate=2007-01-30 |last= Bengtson|first= Tate|work= Issue 31|publisher= Unrestrained! Magazine] and medieval.

Anderson admits that there may be death metal influences in the vocals, but says that it was not a conscious design, and that the music does not have any other similarities to death metal. He claims that there are no black metal influences. He says that describing Celestiial's music as folk is a bad idea, as folk is such a broad, vague description as to make it meaningless. He says that what he is creating is neither folk, nor traditional, and even the harp songs are not traditional works, though they are influenced by the traditional music of the United Kingdom and traditional Irish music.

Unnamed second album

Although released in 2006, the music of "Desolate North" was much older. Anderson has said that he intends to incorporate ideas that he has had over the last few years into his new album, but that it will keep the same feel as "Desolate North". However, the new album is due to sound "full and cavernous", as opposed to the "raw" sound the original had. This is because it will now be more professionally produced, (by Chet Scott) as well as having a real drummer. As well as the harps and flutes, new instruments such as hammered dulcimers and nyckelharpas are due to be used, as well as more powerful guitars.

Imagery

The music of Celestiial is very much based around nature, with natural sounds sampled, and imagery involving woodland, and, as one reviewer put it, "the scary places that we all fear when the lights are out". Bindrune recordings describes this affinity for nature by saying that "Celestiial was created to mirror mysticism in nature."

Some critics have talked of a black metal influence in imagery and naming. For instance, the name Celestiial has been compared to that of Mütiilation.cite web |url= http://webzine.pivotalalliance.com/past_reviews.php?subaction=showfull&id=1165521152&archive=&start_from=&ucat=2&|title= Celestiial- Desolate North|accessdate=2007-03-19 |last= Kelly|first= Kim|date= 2006-12-07|publisher= Pivotal Alliance] Anderson responded to this by claiming that he doesn't know why people compare his music to black metal; hypothesising that it is simply the raw production of the music, or the double 'i' in the band name.cite web |url= http://magazine.absolutezeromedia.us/celestiial.htm|title= Interview with Tanner Anderson|accessdate=2007-03-27 |date= 2006-08-22|publisher= Absolute Zero Media Magazine LLC] He as instead described the double 'i' as being present in the name "to give it character."

Anderson was once asked about whether there were any pagan beliefs in Celestiial. Anderson responded that Celestiial "is romanticized Paganism with very real pagan values behind it." He talked of how Celestiial celebrated paganism and the natural world, but that paganism is often viewed as something that it is not.

Discography

* "Ashen" (demo) (2004) (Self released as sample)
* "Desolate North" (2006) (Bindrune Recordings)
* "Celestiial / Blood of the Black Owl Split" 12" LP (Bindrune Recordings)
* Unnamed second full-length album (Bindrune Recordings)cite web |url= http://crionicmind.org/bindrune/pages/index_two.html|title= Celestiial news|accessdate=2007-04-02 |last= Anderson|first= Tanner|authorlink= Celestiial|coauthors= Bindrune Recordings|date= 2007-03-18|publisher= Bindrune]

References

External links

* [http://www.crionicmind.org/bindrune/ Bindrune Recordings]