Review: Celestial Silence – Silent Calls from the Other Side

Review by Jeger

Celestial Silence – Silent Calls from the Other Side

Record Label: Zazen Sounds

Year: 2025

Rating: 9/10

Some Black Metal, if you listen intently enough, can transform your perspective through philosophy, it can move you through poetry, or challenge your thinking through provocation. It’s the meaningful stuff that matters to me, not Dark Funeral and Dimmu Borgir. There is Black Metal to be entertained by and then there is Black Metal that I listen to because it reflects my lifestyle, my code of conduct and my worldview. I’m also a sucker for the depressive and the philosophical. Give me Advent Sorrow – “As All Light Leaves Her” and Rotting Christ – “The Heretics” all day. There’s also the argument that true BM should be Satanic in nature, but for some bands like Ukrainian / Finnish international Black Metal newcomers, Celestial Silence, it’s BM and philosophy along with the depressive parts of existence that go hand in hand.

Celestial Silence is one of several new acquisitions by Zazen Sounds. ZS is a production label that specializes in Occult Black Metal and Ambient projects. It is owned/operated by VP Adept (ΑΧΕΡΟΝΤΑΣ), who happens to be an esteemed Occultist himself. And while I’ve had the honor of interviewing a couple of the Occult bands on his roster; consequently opening the door for access into the realm of sacred Occult knowledge, I get the feeling that Celestial Silence is a different beast altogether. As “Fading Time” plays – track two from Celestial Silence’s debut EP, “Silent Calls from the Other Side”, released via Zazen Sounds – I’m reminded more of bands like Nordicwinter and Lifelover, as opposed to Watain or Ofermod. In other words, “Silent Calls from the Other Side” feels much like a depressive BM engagement; a sojourn within the realm of hope-lost, bereavement and the coming to of stark realizations. There is agony and there is utter desperation here, particularly when it comes to vocals – tortured cries backed by Black Metal of visceral qualities. Shades of “Resilient” era Nachtmystium surface from within what feels like very personal places. Places wherefrom whomever wrote it would likely not care to visit again. One of those artistic ventures…

“Sailing in a Storm” – a lyrical manifestation of futility, of boldly facing life’s existential tempests and longing for nothing more than to be free. Sluggishly stalking along to the melancholy like a man caught in the rain; a man who has abandoned all hope and is just strolling through it. Dreadful like the day before your son’s funeral is this, the album’s most misery-soaked offering… The entire recording moves along at a nice, reasonable tempo, which allows for the utilization of deeper melodies and more heartfelt drumming. This is as comprehensive as EPs get, as in-depth and as meaningful. It closes with “For Your Ruin” – a frenetic acoustic piece. Wildly strumming away as contemplative chanting vocalizations echo up from the backdrop as if from a loudspeaker. An unnerving track that strikes up feelings of pre-death panic, despite its acoustic nature.

As I mentioned previously, many would argue that true Black Metal is a Satanic art, but I would most certainly have to disagree. Something as transcendent as Black Metal cannot be confined to one concept. For instance, here we have the authentic BM experience, and it’s more than a vibe. True BM is the fruit of the dark side of the heart. It is the transformation of the spirit and so long as it is genuine, so long as you can really feel the music, then it is true. And here, what is felt is the sinking heart. That feeling of reaching the end of your sanity’s rope and just wanting to escape somehow. What a cathartic album: agony, disgust, rage, desperation and despair – all right here in concentrate for just under a half hour. If you lose yourself in an album like this one, you might find yourself a different person once it’s over. Black Metal has that ability and “Silent Calls from the Other Side” is one of those albums. Black Metal for the rueing of the day and for the lamenting of the night. For yearning…