Rating: 8 / 10 Stars
REVIEW – I love the female voice so much. I feel women have so much to offer music in terms of true heart, passion and depth. The Women in Metal movement that has been going on for so many years, just gets stronger and stronger each year. CELESTIAL RUIN are that band that people will see the picture of the beautiful woman with the guy decorations in the background and make their assumptions. That is what is truly hindering the music industry and film at that. People just assume and pass judgement before even giving it a half of a shot. Pandora puts it into kill mode right off the bat and gives you “Murder of Crows.” The song has this symphonic landscape that compliment Larissa’s vocals well. You can tell in the early moments, that CELESTIAL RUIN know what their vocalist is capable of and want to showcase it and compliment her talent. Where other bands choose to hide it or cheapen it by adding more to it. This is a band that really feel that fans will be compelled to hear her delivery and know this band has something unique to offer. “Sense of Exile” is our next track and it has such a depth and wealth of emotion to it. This song is as beautiful as the landscape that it wants you to journey on while listening. The musicianship on this song is just so raw. Like a hungry rabid animal who are wanting to be set free. This song is just full of emotion and fire. You would assume when they worked on this track they had to have goosebumps and feel, “this is our message and what will set us apart from the pack”.
While people may compare the song to early Gathering or Amy Lee demos before Fallen came out. The song has this familiar feel to it, but it also has this passion poured all over it, that makes it worth a listen. “No Quarter”, I will not lie. People know what a Led Zeppelin fan I am, I was stoked and going on and on at first thinking this band had the guts to cover a song by the mighty. Well sad to say, it is not a cover song. Even sadder to say, this song has such a serious tone to it, that I could not believe how much it won me over and made me forget my upset feelings over no Zep cover. All seriousness, this song capitalizes on what the band is giving us. It is giving us raw emotion, not the store bought stuff you get from most bands. But, a band who sounds so sure of itself but yet so scared of what it could become. “Nevermore”, so we go from a supposed Led Zep cover to the name of one of my favorite metal bands. I am starting to dislike this band and their damn teases. The song though has this slow pace that changes the direction of this album, but it also builds like an emotional breakdown. This song could be best described like an orgasm that at first you are awkward about, but as the act goes on you are enjoying it more and more. It is like an awkward orgasm. The lyrics to this song much like the whole album are solid. They are captivating enough, but yet mysterious in delivery.
If you are not sure what this band can deliver once they go live in your town, the closing track “Firestorm” is the song for you. This song is going to get people in the crowd involved with the band and really putting them on a plain all by themselves. The track is bold yet the delivery is clearly a band that I feel their weakness is being confined to a studio to make a record. This is a band who would be better in a live environment just with no bounds or studio restraints. Pandora is a really good sales pitch to a band that I feel has so much to offer and is only just getting started. The approach and direction of this album showcases a band that knows what will be said once their pictures and record come out, but they want to show that they are so much more than that. This is a band that if this is how they sound getting started, I would love to hear what comes out of them once they get established. CELESTIAL RUIN has put together a great EP in Pandora that is well worth the purchase.
More info can be found on CELESTIAL RUIN at:
www.CelestialRuin.com
www.Facebook.com/CelestialRuinCanada
www.Twitter.com/CelestialRuin
