Artist: Celestial Season
Label: Displeased Records
Release Date: 1995
Rating: 4 Skulls
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Title: Solar Lovers Artist: Celestial Season Label: Displeased Records Release Date: 1995 Rating: 4 Skulls |
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Equinox's Review:
Although it sometimes seems as if every good doom metal band in the history of music has spawned from the UK, you can't forget about the early efforts of the Netherlands' Celestial Season, most notably their elegant opus Solar Lovers. As a whole, Solar Lovers is a very, very good Atmospheric Doom album. There are fine violin parts, nice growled/sung/whispered vocals and well-crafted tunes to spare. The album is nicely paced, slow when it should be and picking the tempo up when necessary, with well-timed acoustic breaks and atmospheric sections. There are a lot of great tracks, all with their merits, but two in particular stand out as the true highlights of the CD, and these two tracks definitely represent the best material to be found on the album.No lie, it is dark and rainy as I write this. Right now I am sure there are thousands of cars on the Mass Pike utilizing their windshield wipers, and, unbeknownst to them I am right there with them, with the blades I had installed on my eyeglasses working overtime to wipe away the precipitation caused by the first true highlight of the album, the incredible "Soft Embalmer of the Still Midnight." The best non-cover song on the CD, "Soft Embalmer..." is the dictionary definition of maudlin (and I'm not talking about what Kate Moss does for a living . . . although maybe Kate heard this song, and maybe that's why she's not eating). The lonely opening riff is one of the best I have ever heard, sounding both joyful and sad at the same time, and with some sweet violin on top of it, it gets the listener more misty than the ending of Braveheart. The whispered vocal lines melt along with the slow, solid drum beat to create a deliciously delicate harmony, then all of the instruments cease, with the exception of the strings. This tear jerking tune continues as another dreary riff joins the violin, and the growled vocals fade in, then fade out along with a spoken accompaniment. Seriously, folks, this one is as melodic Doom as melodic Doom can possibly be.
The second true highlight, you ask? Well, would you believe it's the band's cover of the Ultravox classic "Vienna"? Yes, it's true. Somehow, a cover of an Eighties Euro/Dance hit has a more overwhelming and powerfully Doomy effect than any other song on the album. Strangely enough, Celestial Season didn't really modify the song much from its original form; the tempo is the same (slow, yes, but unchanged), the lyrics are identical and the arrangement is right-on. The simple stand-alone drum beat at the beginning, coupled with the eerie whispered vocals leads to the first chorus, where the singing elevates to a harmonious growl, the vocal strains of Stefan sounding sadder and more desolate than any vocals I have ever heard. The simple beat continues, with some violin added in for good measure. As with the original, the song picks up at near the end, with an ethereal piano run and chugging guitar undertone, then drops off into the last, most desperate and doom-laden chorus of all. "Vienna" is simply amazing here, and leaves a lasting impression on the listener. Wow!
I will give you one guess as to what happened to these promising young Doomsters. "They went through a drastic stylistic change and became a run-of-the-mill rock band that was nowhere near as good as the original?" Correct, as that seems to be the normal path for talented Doom bands to take. But, hey, at least they stayed doomy for two entire full-lengths, unlike Cathedral, who only lasted an album and a half. Solar Lovers is a highly recommended buy for fans of the Doom metal genre, worth the price for "Soft Embalmer of the Still Midnight" and "Vienna" alone.
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