Celebratum was formed in early 1997 by Wahrrl, Romul & Scython and former Hellstorm drummer Vargon. The debut demo Carpe Noctem arrived in September 1999 followed by the Spirits session. Instinct is the second album of this Norwegian Black Metal band. The songs on this album are quite melodic with dual-guitar leads and severe blast beats. Their style can be defined as a mixture of true raw Black Metal which combines old school and new school all together.
Everything here has the aroma of hatred, misanthropy, blasphemy and utter darkness. The vocals by Romul could be described as bestial even though he might not represent the cream of the Black Metal scene. There is a massive use of blast beats which is something that many people might find it to be interesting but on the whole I think that it steals some of the album's unique atmosphere. There are also two very interesting videos included in this enhanced CD which really add to the whole effort. The production on this album could have definitely been better as the sound sometimes is very thin while I believe it should have been the opposite.
The fact that there are many dual-guitar leads may cause trouble to certain ultra true Black metallers. Isn't it so my friends? There are unholy shades of evil in the style of Immortal, Mayhem, Satyricon and Darkthrone spread throughout here, that is for sure! If you like blood-bathed Black Metal then this is your CD, man!
To sum it up, Instinct is not a bad Black Metal album but the production really reduces the entire result and definitely leaves a lot of room for improvement. If you are a Black Metal fan though, it is absolutely safe to say that you'll find many interesting things to dig into, in this album.
- Album Highlights: Death-gate, Ecstasy Of Pain, Act Of Insanity, Mirror Of Suffocation, Time Dwell.