Desolate North by Celestiial

Desolate North is the debut studio album by the funeral doom metal band Celestiial, first released by Bindrune Recordings on June 6, 2006. It comprises the five tracks from Celestiial's demo, Ashen, combined with three more tracks recorded separately. It was written, performed and recorded entirely by Tanner Anderson, the member of Celestiial, and was never written to be an album or to be performed. The Bindrune CD release is out-of-print, but Desolate North is still available digitally and in LP-format, the latter having been released by music distributor Handmade Birds in 2011. The album received mixed reviews—some critics claimed it was fresh and a new sound, while others argued it was very similar to music already available. Desolate North has an extremely slow rhythm and has only limited vocals. The music is interspersed with various woodland sounds, such as running water and footsteps. The natural imagery used on the album is reminiscent of that used in black metal, but the music is closer to ambient.