Celeste - Assassine(s) - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Celeste have been breaking the outer boundaries of heavy music for over fifteen years. When they first evolved from the Lyon hardcore punk scene, they were absolutely brutal and entirely unique, delivering extremity on their own terms that they pushed further and further with each successive album. InchWe just wanted to get darker and more violent,Inch says drummer Antoine Royer, until 2017's Infidèle(s) saw the incorporation of a more melodic streak. Their most focussed record yet, it was tremendously received, critically adored, and backed with the band's biggest shows to date. It's follow-up was always going to be something radical. Even by their own inordinately high standards, however, new record Assassine(s) is one hell of a step forward. Even if this album still contains cyclonic walls of guitar, of battering rhythm, and passages of blissful, rushing . It's unlike anything the band have ever released; embracing a modern and forward-thinking production, they're just as complex but more direct, diverse and accessible than before. InchOur leitmotif here was to open our minds,Inch says guitarist Sébastien Ducotté. InchWe made a real effort to think outside of our box.Inch During lockdown Celeste's members were forced to each write individually. InchWe each went further into our personal, inner views of what the songs were,Inch says bassist and vocalist Johan Girardeau. When eventually they began sessions under producer Chris Edrich, it was gruelling. InchWe ended up exhausted, physically and mentallyInch says Johan. InchThere was no break in two weeks. We didn't see the sun at all during that time. Every night we were so tired that we didn't enjoy being together as much as we're used to.Inch Nevertheless, in the same way the hardships of isolation led to richer and more complex songwriting, it's that relentlessness that led to the record's razor-sharp edges. Above