Artwork by Kate Roney.

Style: Gothic metal, doom metal, progressive metal (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Amorphis, Paradise Lost, Katatonia, Cemetery Skyline
Country: Australia/Finland
Release date: 16 January 2026

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There’s somethin’ about gothic metal I really love, man. That’s a dependable genre if there ever was one, with big names like Moonspell, Type O Negative, Theatre of Tragedy, Tiamat, among others, leaving an indelible mark on the worldwide metal scene. I always liked the mix of emotional storytelling and heavily atmospheric compositional styles in gothic metal, combined with an oftentimes deeply personal or even romantic lyrical focus that tends to resonate with me in a way that many other subgenres might not¹. Also, it’s just damn fun to play on guitar, and who’s not a sucker for a guy in heavy eyeliner? Upon my first introduction to Australian/Finnish self-styled “dark metallers” The Eternal, I’m finding their newest EP Celestial hits all those marks with stately precision and delivers on a captivating brand of gothic metal, leading a steady march to the end of its rather brief twenty-eight minute runtime with memorable refrains and consistent, declaratory songwriting that sometimes tends to get carried away by its own momentum.

Celestial exudes a certain charm despite its overall gloom-and-doom air: while the opening track “An Absence of Light” is a short instrumental piece with mournful violin melodies over chimes and bells, the album really kicks off with the second piece “Celestial Veil”, an emotional guitar-focused rocker with some restrained, melodic moments and a resoundingly memorable chorus. Indeed, the whole album carries through this mood of airy melancholia and wistful, decadent weariness, with heavy synth textures in the background that accentuate crunchy rhythm guitars and minor key leads, while the rich vocals of singer/guitarist Mark Kelson lull you into a trance with his smoky baritenor tone. I spoke earlier about momentum; while there’s a good amount of cohesion here as the whole album is a reliable, consistent listen from the second track onwards, that can be a double-edged sword at times, and by the fourth track “Bleeding Into Light” I find myself wishing they’d pick up the pace a little. It’s a very deliberate, slow-moving album, and the tempo seldom wavers until the last song, “Everlasting MMXXVI”, where my prayers are answered with a slightly more upbeat track. 

While I concede that Celestial’s blend of doomy, gothic metal isn’t wont to break into explosive uptempo pieces, there are instead some compelling progressive elements presented in the compositional structures of its track listing. I want to highlight, in particular, the strong evolution of the song “Celestial Veil”—the way its interlude/bridge section changes feel from rapid double-kick over a synth solo, to heavy tom use in the drums, and a shredding solo that transitions into an impassioned vocal passage that leads back to the chorus. Brilliantly executed. I also spotlight the penultimate “Casting Down Shadows”, which has a strong modern Amorphis feel to it, starting with a grooving rhythmic percussion intro and building upon that piece by piece until we get to a rising crescendo at the end, with strings and multiple layered vocal harmonies and a very satisfying, powerful ending. This particular track also features a strong phrygian dominant feel that the aforementioned Amorphis similarly tends toward, and one that’s evocative of a vaguely orientalist sound usually present in MENA folk metal groups like Türkiye’s Pentagram or Egypt’s Riverwood. Beyond these more progressive stylings, Celestial is a release that otherwise strongly echoes Paradise Lost and Katatonia, and—maybe this is heretical to say—I also hear a little bit of Kamelot². Not strictly in the power metal sense, but more in the ways that Kamelot occasionally presented some undeniably gothic sensibilities, and especially in the timbre of Kelson’s upper register which I found to be very reminiscent of ex-Kamelot frontman Roy Khan’s timbre. 

The Eternal has somehow eluded me thus far, but I’ve become a convert after Celestial. It’s a bold and cinematic work that should sit well with fans of the gothic doom style. The album doesn’t end with closure, but an acceptance, learning to live in its sorrow; where gothic metal usually embodies romantic despair, there’s a devastation here instead that sinks into resignation. However, between the quiet, moody verses and loud, passionate choruses, I found that much of the earlier part of the album was a little too unvarying and wanting for diversity, whereas the latter half was a bit more engaging compositionally. Having said that, this is still an iron-strong production which never deviates too far from the band’s established direction, and with its competent songwriting and one guaranteed earworm per track, I think Celestial makes for a worthwhile listen.

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Recommended tracks: Celestial Veil, Casting Down Shadows, Everlasting MMXXVI
You may also like: Novembre, Cemetary, The Foreshadowing
Final verdict: 6/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Reigning Phoenix Music

The Eternal is:
– Mark Kelson (vocals/guitars)
– Richie Poate (guitars)
– Niclas Etelävuori (bass)
– Jan Rechberger (drums, percussion)

1. Not when I’ve heard the umpteenth song about war, dragons, viscera, or Satan ↩︎
2. See: “March of Mephisto”, “Necropolis”, “The Zodiac”, et al. ↩︎