Celestial Crown “She Brought the Night”

Year: 2024

Celestial Crown has been active since 2000, consistently producing music over the years. For those of us who haven’t engaged with many bands from the Baltic region, this group stands out as one of the rare acts emerging from Estonia. Their latest full-length album runs for 45 minutes and features a style I would describe as Western European-style modern doom-gothic metal from the second half of the 1990s.

At times, they incorporate early ’90s doom riffs and brutal-raw vocals, but for the most part, their sound leans toward a more modern gothic metal approach, dominated by clean and female vocals throughout the album. The songwriting primarily revolves around the guitarist’s riffs, leads, and rhythms. Their compositions align with the gothic doom metal wave that was abundant in the late ’90s and early 2000s.

The album’s production isn’t very professional, especially since the drums sound weak and off, which becomes the Achilles’ heel of the record for fans of this style. Personally, I didn’t enjoy this album much. I am not a fan of this kind of gothic doom metal, but there are still fans of late ‘90s modern gothic doom, both in Europe and in my country. Compared to similar bands from Central-Western and Northern Europe, this album doesn’t fall far behind. If you don’t mind the production flaws, you might actually enjoy it.