Review by Jack on May 15, 2003.

Here we have it. All Sonata Arctica groupies need not look further for another injection of estrogen ever again. Celesty is the band that can certainly provide the hit you have been longing for ever since “Silence” came knocking at your door.

All jokes aside, Sonata Arctica fans, and indeed most power metal fellows, will find a great deal of solace within the bosom of Celesty. “Reign of Elements” is a fine and uplifting power album that will certainly inspire you to run off and beat back the demon hordes that exist in today’s bleak society. Crystal clear production (this has got to one of the finest production jobs ever) makes every instrument brutally clear. Testicles-in-the-vice vocals, estrogen charged guitars, and rocket propelled drumming make each and every song strike hard and fast.

However, truthfully Celesty has delivered a top-notch power record. Even I can’t find too much wrong with the material on “Reign of Elements.” As said previously the production is fantastic, in fact brilliant. Each instrument is perfectly audible, making for a listen that can’t be faulted. Each musician plies his art with authority, but not the extent of drowning out any other member. The songs are catchy, head-moving creations that make you feel like a retard when you groove along with conviction (but hey, that’s what metal is about right?)

Bottom Line: Skeptical power metal critics like myself are the bane of most power records, but Celesty have come through on a unicorn and I can’t really fault what is a very, very solid output. You’ll feel like a fruit when listening, but I’m damn sure you’ll have some fun when listening to “Reign of Elements.”

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 10
Originality: 7
Overall: 7

Rating: 7.8 out of 10

Review by Felix on August 16, 2020.

I remember that I was disappointed after the first Primal Massacre listening sessions. From my point of view, Vomitory had created three of the best death metal albums of all times. Both Redemption and Revelation Nausea had triggered gargantuan blasts – and Blood Rapture even topped those masterpieces. Due to this background and in view of the fact that stylistic modifications were simply unimaginable, I thought Primal Massacre would be the next apocalyptic weapon.

On the one hand, it’s still a mystery to me why I do not like the album as much as its predecessors. Indeed, Vomitory deliver more of the same without any compositional experiment – and that’s actually a good thing. The output sounds energetic, the production is on an equal footing with those of the album’s predecessors and the authenticity of the band is beyond doubt. On the other hand, my disappointment (that I still feel, even 16 years after the release of Primal Massacre) is easy to explain. I miss outstanding songs that are able to challenge the excellent detonations of the former albums. The first, the last and only track that comes near to classics such as 'Under Clouds of Blood' or 'Eternity Appears' is 'Retaliation'. It shines with a great flow which is based on a simple, easily comprehensible riff and a profound “melody” during the mid-part. A minimum of tempo shifts ensures a dynamic appearance. A great song, but it fills less than three minutes of the album.

Music is a matter of taste. Sorry for this empty phrase. I just fall back on it in order to underline: the general frame of Primal Massacre does not differ from the previous works of the Swedes. You have some blast beats attacks, ultra-heavy mid-tempo sequences, raw, pretty low-tuned guitars, guttural, deep vocals and any other death metal aesthetics you love to experience. Everything is based on the strong, powerful and dense production – as mentioned above, in technical terms Primal Massacre does not need to fear any comparison. The mix can be described with the title of the above-average closer; the album appears as the soundtrack of a 'Chainsaw Surgery'. Its high degree of vehemence conveys the typical intensity of extreme metal – nonetheless, the quality of the riffs is good, but not unmatchable. Moreover, tracks like 'Eternity Appears' had proven evidence that it is possible to combine even wildest death metal with a catchy touch that highlighted single parts. Here the listener is buried by a wave of violence that mainly destroys the sight on individual aspects. It took some time until I realized the nice morbidity of the slow part of 'Gore Apocalypse'.

Well, time to stop grumbling. The fifth work of Vomitory presents songs that show the pure essence of the deadly subgenre without suffering from severe mistakes. It stands in the shadow of the previous outputs, but in its own right, it’s an album worth listening and it reflects the band’s unbroken joy of playing. I just regret that Vomitory began to make their monument crumble by releasing these songs.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10