Celeste – Assassine(s) | Album Review

Whilst black metal and extreme bands tend to revel in their infamy or notoriety, there are also those that will often choose to maintain an air of mystery about them, only making their presence known when they have something to declare. French outfit Celeste are one such group.

Having branded themselves “metalnoir”, Celeste create their own unique blend of black metal, sludge and post-metal that in turn conjures up some incredibly bleak and gut-wrenching soundscapes. This year sees the band release their highly anticipated new album Assassine(s), their first record to be released via Nuclear Blast instead of their previous home, indie German label Denovali.

Assassine(s) is thoroughly laced with equal parts beauty and violence. From the large atmospheric, post-metal leanings of tracks such as ‘Nonchalantes De Beauté’ and ‘Elle Se Répète Froidement’ that continuously build, throwing up wall after wall of noise. They naturally build soundscapes with such enormity that it’s not difficult to see what the band are referring to when stating that they “refuse any other bands as influences”. There’s a primal instinct about their music be it the dark, aggressive instrumentals or the sheer gruesomeness of bassist and vocalist Johan Giradeau’s voice, there’s pain expressed in every line, all the more impressive to detect since every word is spat with such venom in the band’s native French language.

Prior to the album’s release the band promised a “triptych” in the form of three singles, accompanied by music videos produced in collaboration with video artist Gregoire Orio. Part one ‘Des Torrents De Coups’ was initially a teaser of what to expect from Assassine(s) and how the band’s sound had progressed since 2017’s Infédel(s). The second in the series visualises ‘De Tes Yeux Bleus Perlés’, a raw mix of brutality through palm mute riffing that’s met with an overwhelming sense of melancholia and a punishing breakdown that arrives as though the abyss had just swallowed you whole.

The crown jewel that shines the brightest on Assassine(s) is the album’s closer and most recent single from the video series, ‘Le Coeur Noir Charbon’. With guest features from vocalist Emily Marks and a guitar sample by Katsuta from Heaven In Her Arms, the album’s climax showcases Celeste at their most haunting and diverse, the addition of female vocals gives the track an air of latter-day Oathbreaker about it. In fact, Celeste create atmospheres worthy of any group under the Church of Ra banner. Whilst ‘Le Coeur Noir Charbon’ builds tension and atmosphere the closing moments are really where the goosebumps kick in. Celeste state that it “lets all its passion burst in probably one of the most grandiose riffs the band has ever written.”

Celeste have the ability to transport the listener to another world, conjuring images as bleak as they are ethereal. Despite arriving in January, Assassine(s) has already set the bar high and proven itself to be one of the most exciting album releases of the year.