Three years after releasing PESSIMSTE(S), two years after NIHILISTES(S) and one year after MISANTHROPES(S) French black metal band CELESTE return with their latest offering MORTE(S)NEE(S) and on every one's lips the same question is poised. - "What the fuck is this (S) business all about?"

CELESTE claim to have their own unique sound, creating their own dark landscapes so why does it end up sounding like so many other bands I've heard in this genre? The forty minutes of music that makes up this album comprising of seven songs with incredibly long winded titles such as 'En Troupeau des louves en trompe l'oeil des agneaux' and 'De Sorte Que Plus Jamais Un Instant Ne Soit Magique' or the snappy little number 'Un Mirror Pur Qui Te Rend Miserable'.

My knowledge of the French language maybe somewhat limited yet even I can deduce these songs are not written about happy memories spent in the sun or sugar coated love songs, these songs are dark, fear provoking numbers spat out with hatred and bile from the band's their blackened hearts.

Ahead of this review I tried to research the band on the net and apart from discovering how bloody hard it is to find any credible information on them; I did however discover the band being discussed on various musical forums.... in French.... Doh !!!!

CELESTE are one band that can definitely be described as a Marmite band, and if any of the members of CELESTE are reading this you don't get any darker than Marmite believe me. Whilst some music fans claim CELESTE to be the best thing in black metal, others will describe the band as simply a fake metalcore band trying far too hard to be associated with the black metal scene - apparently a photo of the band positioned in the shape of an inverted cross was mentioned, yet I was unable to find it.

Personally I would describe the band as black metal and as far as the scene goes I feel it's a decent enough effort even though I don't believe they are about to steal the crown from the kings of black metal such as Immortal, Emperor or Dimmu Borgir anytime soon.

From the staring eyes of a child on the "none more dark" album cover to the heavy, intense music on offer, this really is an album full of little hope and plenty of distress. Yet whereas the latest Immortal album 'All Shall Fall' features a variety of heavy, dark songs, each one distinguishable from the next, I find it difficult to distinguish one track from another on this album as each number blends into the next.

As I write this, I feel horrified with this confession as I remember an elderly relative claiming that all Iron Maiden songs sounded the same and how mortified I was at the time that they could claim that 'Hallowed Be The Name' sounded the same as '2 Minutes To Midnight.'

Likewise I can imagine black metal fans worldwide horrified by my claims, yet I stand by my views that this is a fairly decent black metal offering dark, disturbing yet unfortunately nothing special music. And I still don't know what the fuck the (S) business is all about.

http://www.myspace.com/unhiverdeplus