Celestial Son – Planetaria
Release Date: 4th November 2022
Label: Prime Collective
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Genre: Indie, Experimental, Prog, Synthwave.
FFO: Dim Gray, (recent) Depeche Mode, Perturbator.
Review By: Andy Spoon
Synthwave is becoming increasingly popular since the extreme popularity of Netflix’s hit Stranger Things, and its catchy musical riffs. Many fans feel that synthwave creates a sort of “uncanny valley” between reality and fantasy, dipping back into some of the early days of electronic music (e.g. before “techno” was a thing) Many of the instruments and samples are designed to sound like those from the 1980s and 1990s, with dark, saw and square wave loops and synth patterns. Many pseudo-metal acts emerged from that scene, including acts like Skinny Puppy, Nine Inch Nails and Depeche Mode, who had turned the crisp, twinkly synth tones into something dark and even ugly.
Celestial Son’s most recent release dips into that bag of tricks to employ their signature sound and electronic feel on Planetaria, released on November 4th on Prime Collective releases. Claiming to mix progressive rock with electronic music, Denmark’s Celestial Son has joined forces with Porcupine Tree’s drummer Gavin Harrison to join “synth-wave pop of 70s/80s with 90s melodic grunge.: Only time will be able to decide whether that description accurately describes Planetaria. For the time being, we will dive into the overall initial impression of the band’s third full length release.
The first thing that one might glean from the initial listen to the album is that there is what sounds like later Nine Inch Nails in the “mix” of tones. While there is definitely a difference of vocal tones, Celestial Son’s being much smoother and gentle. The tonal patterns, darkness, and atmosphere are quite similar. That is not necessarily a negative or a positive early in the album experience, but it definitely makes the listener wonder what Celestial Son is bringing to the table in the presentation. It’s obvious that they wouldn’t want to sound too much like other projects, but I was hesitant to make any judgments until I had heard more music on the album, which would eventually yield different tones across the board.
I really enjoyed the tracks with Harrison’s drums, which include Fakir, Interstellar Intercourse, Sound(E)scape, and Avian Heart. The drums are recorded in left and right channels extremely-well, giving a binaural effect as Harrison’s fills and riffs seem to dance between right and left channels. While I’m not necessarily a fan of Porcupine Tree, myself, I can absolutely see where some of the influence comes from in the music, which ought to absolutely reach out to present fans. I personally would have liked to hear these drums on every track, something that I think would have pushed Planetaria into the next level. While that might not have been the artists’ intent, it’s something that I thought about several times during the listen.
I’m certain that Celestial Son loathes the comparison to sounding like something out of the sci-fi music world (e.g. Blade Runner 2049 or the like). However, fans of heavier music, like those who read heavy metal reviews, are probably not *as* familiar as hardcore Porcupine Tree fans are, so there is a bit of a learning curve when crossing genres. Inevitably, you are going to find elements to the crossover music that are either new or uncomfortable. I think that it might be important to consider which things are mixed in the favor of heavy metal listeners’ sensibilities.
The deep, dark synth sound is reminiscent of heavy, distorted guitar, making the overall tone of the music aggressive and angsty from its core. It’s not a whimsical electro-pop experience like so many top 40 bands right now. Nor is it depressive, doomy, or angry (like Author and Punisher or Nine Inch Nails). If you really want a beautiful illustration of the artistic vision behind this project, I think that it comes across beautifully in the music video for Avian Heart, one of the Gavin Harrison featured tracks. The video just features a solo dancer performing interpretive dance, but the aesthetic, the dancing, and the atmosphere are so perfectly-matched, it conveys a sense of “newness” and life that one might not associate with a project that has music roots in the 1980s. Perhaps experiencing it is best, as attempting to accurately describe the overall sensory experience might not do it true justice.
My main contention on the album is that it feels like two entirely different albums together. One side features the Gavin Harrison drum tracks, becoming more “proggy”, something that I greatly preferred to the programmed drums on other tracks. The other side is much more subdued, even seemingly quiet in some ways. If I were to magically have the power to devise an entire album of that, I believe it would be more to my taste. As a metal listener, synthwave is somewhat foreign to me; but there are parts and pieces that speak to me in sound and performance. As a crossover album (in my view), this ought to be a good album for progressive metal, shoegaze/drone and industrial fans. However, I don’t see most extreme metal fans appreciating it. 
(2.5 / 5)
