Celestial Season
Solar Lovers

February 2006
Released: 1995, Displeased Records
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: Asassinkiller

Celestial Season truly is a loved band from my early Metal years. I remember getting their incredible debut FOREVER SCARLET PASSION and being blown away by their unique composition that mixed melody with decadent Sabbath inspired rhythms. Celestial Season was, after The Gathering (Oh, the Always days!), the band that introduced me into what then started to be known in a bigger scale as Doom Metal and the first band I heard violins from.



SOLAR LOVERS was a big impact on me even after the first listen. The opener, "Decamerone", with its pummeling rhythms and incredibly beautiful middle part, grabbed me from the start. "Solar Child" showed how 70`s music could play an important role in this “new” Metal genre. "Soft Embalmer Of The Still Midnight", was just a beautiful and painful piece of art with a great violin artwork. "Will you wait for the sun?" Also showed big influences from 70`s stoner music and worked as bridge for the second part of the CD, which in my opinion carried more Sadness.



A great surprise was listening to "Vienna", a cover version of Ultravox. It is a very entertaining piece that proves how a well played cover song can sound like. Definitely one of the highlights in SOLAR LOVERS.



The cover artwork is great and simple, and shows the open mindness that the band had towards new frontiers and sounds. Two hands waiting for anything to stop by.



The production has a very retro atmosphere and that gives freshness to the overall sound. I only wish the snare drum had been a bit more powerful and things would have been better.



SOLAR LOVERS is one of the first gems that the Doom Metal movement gave to the world and it was a pleasure to discover it at the time. Being all this said, I still have to say and owe respecto to FOREVER SCARLET PASSION, a release which was even more admirable and important to me that the great SOLAR LOVERS. Stay Heavy!!!