Celestial Sanctuary: “This new breed of UK death metal boasts something grimier: a disgusting edge”

It’s a long way from the Florida swamplands to the East Anglian Fens. Out by the cold, stagnant, shallow water of that English wilderness, though, brews the same appetite for truly gut-wrenching death metal sounds that emanated from the southeastern United States’ snakes and alligators three decades ago. Celestial Sanctuary aren’t here for pleasant countryside strolls. They prefer carnage. ​“I don’t think we incorporate enough bleakness into our sound,” grins frontman Tom Cronin. ​“Maybe we should take more inspiration from the Fenlands – they are horribly depressing.” Indeed, on 2021 debut Soul Diminished and even more so on 2023 follow-up Insatiable Thirst For Torment, the Cambridgeshire quartet could be accused of many things, but sounding down would not be one of them. In son...

unsplash-logoLilith Redmoon